Champagne Gifts on a Beer Budget.

by Natalie Pace.

6 Tips for Exceptional Taste Without Ruining Your Dough.

Wine may be $18 a glass and gas $4.00 a gallon (in California), but the Great Recession has kept the price tags on most gifts and clothes haute retro (at 1980s prices). Below are 5 Tips to make your holidays bright, on any budget.

1. Never Pay Retail.
2. Creative Gifts.
3. The Gift of Time and Talent.
4. Heirlooms and Hand-me-downs.
5. Day After Sales.
6. Sharing the Wealth

And here's how it works...

1. Never Pay Retail. - Whether you are buying a couple's get away vacation or a designer bag, always consider the discount options. Ross Stores, TJ Max, Marshall's and other "dress for less" shops offer designer clothing at obscenely low prices. Shoes, accessories, perfume, candles, makeup and some bed furnishings are sometimes to be found as well. For getaways, Priceline, Expedia, Kayak, and other travel web sites often offer 5-star experiences at 3-star prices. So, a little extra thought and time can effervesce into a Dom Perignon experience on a Budweiser budget.
   
   
2. Creative Gifts. - Some years, when the bottom line looks a little toxic, you might be tempted to forego gift giving altogether, however this is when the most creative gifts can be inspired and created. Does everyone love your recipes, or songs, or poems, or photos or inspirational quotes? Can you create an e-book, e-photo album, MP3 or inspirational calendar to gift your loved ones? Do you have photos and video that you can edit into a timeless movie for the family?
   
   SnapFish, Shutterfly and Kodak all have excellent online storage for your photo sharing, as well as bargains for your personalized gifts, cards, calendars and books. The Zoom video camera (retail $120) and iMovie software make it easy for computer dummies to cut, score and share their Silly Pet Tricks (and other video gems).
   
   
3. The Gift of Time and Talent. - One year, when the budget was lean, one of the gifts I gave the kids was a King for the Day gift certificate. For one day, they were allowed to make the rules and decisions. Yes, you can expect unusual meals, out-of-the-way expeditions and even to be reprimanded for the same offenses that you dole out. But the smiles and memories last a lifetime -- a lot longer than most toys, which might be forgotten before Valentine's Day. Other variations on this theme include: Chef for an Evening, Massage and Pampering for your sacred beloved, Handyman for the Weekend, and ??? Get creative!
   
   
4. Heirlooms and Hand-me-downs. - How long has it been since you cleaned out your jewelry case, or hope chest, or safe or garage? Is there something priceless waiting to be gifted to that exactly right someone special? Some of my favorite gifts have been heirloom jewelry; some were extremely valuable, and others just sentimental. Gold coins, rosaries, rock collections, stamp collections, costume jewelry, semi-precious and precious stones, war medals, ancestor journals and more offer a unique way to pass along heritage, memories and value to those you love.
   
   
5. Day After Sales. - The day after Christmas sales are truly amazing, and if you've never done this, you're going to be amazed at how cheap 75% off is! If you get really good at this, you can buy most of next year's gifts at far less than the Black Friday prices -- without having to enter the Ultimate Fighting Match that ensues when a thousand people try to nab five flat screens at the same time... Using this tactic, you can spend $5 on a $40 gift -- which you were tempted to purchase just two days before at full price.
   
   
6. Sharing the Wealth - While you're shopping, don't forget those who are less fortunate. Below are links to various nonprofit organizations that will make sure that your gifts get to someone whose holiday will become brighter (or at least less bleak) as a result of your love and generosity.
   
   Teens Living in a Group Home & Children Who Have Been Neglected or Abused: Contact your local county Department of Children and Family Services for information on how you can donate gifts to children and teens in need. Click to go to the website for Los Angeles County.
   
   Toys for Tots Literacy Program: This is a nationwide nonprofit that was founded by the Marines. There are over 14 million children living in poverty. The Toys for Tots Literacy Program seeks donations of books and financial support for community literacy programs to serve these children. Of course, you can also donate Kindles, toys and other gifts to Toys for Tots as well.
   
   Dress for Success: Dress for Success Worldwide is an international non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women located in 110 cities across 12 countries. The organization provides professional clothing, employment retention programs and ongoing support to underserved women. Dress for Success accepts gifts of time, talent, money and clothing.
   
   VolunTeaming and Give Back Getaways with the Ritz Carlton: For your next corporate off-site, consider partnering with the Ritz Carlton to promote team building, leadership and philanthropy through literacy, green and/or Habitat for Humanity projects. You can also spend a few hours during your stay at the Ritz giving back to a local community, making your time in the city even more memorable -- for yourself and for those whose lives you impact. Visit RitzCarlton.com to learn more about Volunteaming and Give Back Getaways.

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a philanthropist, she has helped to raise more than two million for Los Angeles public schools and financial literacy. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

Is GroupOn a Deal?

by Natalie Pace.

Caption: Photo by Doug Mazell.

Groupon is a lot like The Tourist. Has all the makings of hot, hot, hot, but keeps getting panned by the critics... I never saw The Tourist, and I've never used a Groupon coupon, so I guess I shouldn't speak, but I have tried to understand GroupOn's financials, and, well, when the darkest regions of my lover's mind are easier to navigate, I start getting a little worried. Angelina and Johnny are two of the hottest stars in Hollywood, and GroupOn deals are sizzling sensations, so why doesn't it all add up to a hit?

Figuring Out What the F (as in Financials) is Going on with GroupOn
Here's your first challenge. Try finding the Investor Relations page on GroupOn.com. And once you've done that, try to understand why this company floated only a small percentage of its shares to the public in its IPO (hint: so the insiders could sell their shares to the public). And that will lead you to understand why Groupon shares are worth about half today as their 52-week high.

The IPO launched at $20/share, and went as high as $31.14 on November 4, 2011, but has settled back into the $14-$19 range. Insiders are selling their shares to the public in droves, which drives down the share price, at a time when unsophisticated purchasers might not understand that a hot name brand doesn't always translate into a hot stock. (Just ask purchasers of eToys stocks, and errr, those who spent $100 million funding The Tourist.)

Executive Exodus
Massive insider selling is not the only problem behind closed doors at GroupOn. There has been a revolving door in the executive suite, particularly in the #2 spot -- Chief Operating Officer. Former COO Margo Georgiadis resigned after only five months on the job, to return to Google, as President, Americas. This was announced by CEO Andrew Mason in his blog on September 23, 2011, only one month prior to the announcement of the IPO (red flag). No press release was issued, though this was a material event (another red flag).

Both Mason and Georgiadis played nice, issuing notes of confidence in one another, however, it is telling that Margo's predecessor, Rob Solomon, also resigned abruptly, on March 22, 2011, after about a year on the job. He, too, resigned without a transition strategy. Mason explained that allowed more people to report directly to him...

57% of the executives at GroupOn are newbies who have been hired since the beginning of the year. That's a problem, though, admittedly, the resumes of these execs are quite impressive, with everyone recruited from such marquise brands as Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Pepsico and Amazon.

Rollercoaster Revenue
There's a revolving door in the COO suite and the revenue is on a wild rollercoaster ride as well. Revenue was down almost 38% in the 3rd quarter, to $430 million, from $688 million in the prior quarter. This could be seasonal and the fourth quarter, with holiday spending, could be a rocket ship. Only time will tell if GroupOn is a fading fad or catching its second wind, but the Internet metrics do give us some indication.

GroupOn's Unique Visitors (UVs) were down 4% last month from June, while the Google sites gained 4% over the same period, at 11 1/2 million and 187 million UVs, respectively. Amazon's UVs have jumped 12%, to 107 million. People spend about four and a half hours a month on Google, about 24 minutes on Amazon and five and a half minutes a month on GroupOn...

Borrowing from Peter to Pay Off Chairman Eric P. Lefkofsky
Between December of 2010 and January of 2011, almost a billion dollars was brought into GroupOn through a new stock issuance, of which only $136.2 million was allocated to the company itself. $809.8 million was used to pay off existing investors, including the biggest payout -- $319 million -- to Groupon's executive chairman Eric P. Lefkofsky (and his wife). Paying off the insiders was more important than strengthening a startup before its IPO (red flag). The Chairman didn't have enough faith to just sell his shares on the open market (another red flag). That transaction led Forbes to name Lefkofsky as one of 2011's new Billionaires (good for Lefkofsky; not so good for GroupOn).

David Vs. Goliath
With GroupOn, you have a cash negative company, with poor husbandry skills (demonstrated by the $800 million insider payoff), using creative accounting, that is unable to stay married to its partners (COO exodus), that is losing revenue, trying to compete with the world's most successful Internet brand -- Google. Google has a net profit margin of 27%, has seen revenue growth every quarter since its IPO, takes great pains to explain its financials, has an uncanny ability to make outstanding acquisitions and has 16 times as many unique visitors each month as GroupOn.

Google Offers is still in beta testing. However, it's not difficult to understand that Google's recent purchase of restaurant giant, The Zagat Guide, could play a beneficial role in Google Offers...

GroupOn: Deal or Dud?
Because GroupOn is a fad, it is possible that investors could make money on this stock, particularly if there is a Santa Rally and if the fourth quarter earnings reflect strong revenue growth and improved profitability. However, I'm not convinced that the CEO and chairman at GroupOn are interested in more than lining their own pockets. So, buyer beware...

I added GroupOn to my Watch List today. If the price soars, you'll probably see it migrate over to the Cooling Off list...

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a philanthropist, she has helped to raise more than two million for Los Angeles public schools and financial literacy. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

Please note: NataliePace.com does not act or operate like a broker. We report on financial news, and are one of the most trusted independently owned and operated financial news corporations in the U.S. This article is intended to educate and inform individual investors, and, thus, to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. The publicly traded companies mentioned in this article are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations.

ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies.   Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a long, safe strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience.

Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable however NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.

The Sexiest (& Safest) Investment in the World.

by Natalie Pace.

Photo by: Mary-Margaret Stratton. Megorama.com.

Imagine a place that is more free than the United States, has one of the lowest debt to GDPs in the world, the highest bond yields, is one of the richest countries in its region and still retains a AAA credit rating. Wouldn't you want to invest there? And isn't that a great place to diversify, in the hopes of getting better than zero return on your investment, while staying safe?

Although it sounds too good to be true, Australia is all of these things. Three marquise fund companies are making it easy to invest in Australia, while providing an extra layer of international exposure and safety to your nest egg. See below for details. Click to view my FoxNews appearance where I discussed Australia with anchor Tracy Byrnes.

The Safest & Best Investment in the World: Australia

1. #3 Most "Free" Country in the World. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Australia is the #3 most "free" country in the world. The U.S. is #9. What makes Australia so free? According to the editors of the Index of Economic Freedom, "With robust supervision and sound regulation, the banking system has coped well with the financial turmoil, and the government’s budget deficit is much lower than those of other major economies."
   
   
2. One of the Richest Countries in the Asia Pacific. Annual GDP is $882.4 billion, which is impressive for a country of just 22 million people. China, which has over 1.3 billion people and a GDP of over $10 trillion, is one of Australia's biggest customers. (source: CIA.gov World Fact Book)
   
   
3. Low debt to GDP. Australia's debt to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world, at 28.8% (source: CIA.gov). This compares to 119.1% in Italy, 143% in Greece and almost 100% in the U.S. (when you include Treasury borrowings from U.S. trusts, like Social Security, Disability, etc.)
   
   
4. West to East migration of money beneficiary. China has been racing up the charts in global growth and is currently the world's second largest economy, well behind the United States' GDP of $14.66 trillion. Some analysts say China will surpass the U.S. in purchasing power by 2016, but there are a lot of if's in those projections. One thing is for sure, however, China is much richer today than it was 15 years ago, and one of their favorite playgrounds and shopping meccas is Australia. The Chinese interest in Australian companies and land has became so pronounced over the last few years that the Australian policymakers have begun to review Australia's foreign investment rules.
   
   
5. Rich in natural resources. Australia is one of the world's leading commodity exporters. The country is rich in copper, gold, iron, natural gas, renewable energy sources, trace metals and minerals, lithium and more.
   
   
6. Highest Government Bond Yield in the World. You can get over 6% interest when you open a savings account in Australia! Bond yields offer some of the safest, highest yielding returns in the world currently. This has led WisdomTree and Pimco to create Australian bond products for American investors.
   
   
7. AAA credit rating. Australia's premiere banks are rated some of the safest in the world, according to Global Finance. Standard and Poor's, Moody's and Fitch all give the country a AAA credit rating.

Ways to Play:
Some of the most trusted money managers in the world -- Pimco and Morgan Stanley have new fund products that make it very easy for American investors to participate in the promise of Australia. Below are three ways for investors to play in Australia.

iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (symbol: EWA)
WisdomTree AUNZ: Australia and New Zealand Debt Fund
PIMCO Australia Bond Index ETF (symbol: AUD) (launched Oct. 2011)

I added the Pimco Australia Bond Index to the Hot List today. The iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (symbol: EWA) has been on the Hot List for a few months, at a buy price of $19.36.

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a strong believer in giving back, she has been instrumental in raising multi-millions for public schools, financial literacy, underserved women and girls and the arts worldwide. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

Please note: NataliePace.com does not act or operate like a broker. We report on financial news, and are one of the most trusted independently owned and operated financial news corporations in the U.S. This article is intended to educate and inform individual investors, and, thus, to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. The publicly traded companies mentioned in this article are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations.

ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies.   Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a long, safe strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience.

Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable however NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.

Image from launch of Virgin's iPad magazine Project at Apple.

True Business Leaders Think Differently.

by Sir Richard Branson.

Leadership doesn’t have a secret formula; all true leaders go about things in their own way. It’s this ability to think differently that sets them apart - and that enabled Steve Jobs to create perhaps the most respected brand in the world.

What leadership boils down to is people. Whatever your style, whatever your method, you need to believe in yourself, your ideas and your staff. Nobody can be successful alone – and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead.

Steve Jobs' leadership style was autocratic; he had a meticulous eye for detail, and surrounded himself with like-minded people to follow his lead. While he was incredibly demanding of his people, he wasn’t the best delegator – he wanted to involve himself in every detail, which is the opposite of my own approach. Personally, I have always believed in the art of delegation – finding the best possible people for Virgin and giving them the freedom and encouragement to flourish. When I set up Virgin Records, I even decided to separate myself physically from the company, by moving into a houseboat.

If you are not always there, it forces other people to call the shots, which in turn improves their own leadership skills, builds their confidence and strengthens your business. But whatever your approach, it is necessary to give other people the space to thrive, to catch people doing something right, rather than getting things wrong. Look for people who take their roles seriously and lead from the front, but who are not slow to see the lighter side of life. People who are inventive yet organized, focused yet fun, tend to be determined to succeed, and equally keen to have a good time doing it. A company should genuinely be a family, who achieve together, grow together and laugh together.

Steve Jobs wasn’t known for his sense of fun, but he was always at the centre of everything Apple did. Over his extraordinary career, he learned the same lesson I have – that even when you’re successful, it is vital that you don’t solely lead your company from a distance. Walk the floor; get to know your people. Even though I don’t run Virgin's companies on a day-to-day basis any more, I still find it crucial to get out and about among our staff. No one has a monopoly on good ideas or good advice, so as a leader you should always be listening. Be visible, note down what you hear and you’ll be surprised how much you learn.

Having said that, you also need to know your own mind. You have to walk the walk as well as talk the talk – and that’s something Jobs showed in everything he did. Nobody respects a leader who doesn’t know how to get his hands dirty and innovate personally. The trick is in striking the right balance between empowering your staff and being an example for them to follow.

Of course, there will be times when strong and decisive leadership is necessary, to make sure the right moves are made. If you place the emphasis on getting the little things right, and address the everyday problems that come up, you can encourage a culture of attention to detail. You can also have a lot of fun with these relatively tiny issues, whether it’s dealing personally with customers’ complaints – as Jobs often did via email – or surprising your front-line staff with a visit.

Despite his long battle with illness, Jobs never lost his love of Apple. Indeed, if you don’t enjoy what you do, then it isn’t likely to work out. I try to find fun in everything I do, from business commitments to philanthropic ventures, to my personal life. You are far more likely to be inspired and have great ideas if you love what you do, and can instill that spirit of fun throughout your company.

Jobs may not always have been the best leader of people – which may, in part, have been due to his health problems – but he was innovative, determined and, above all, passionate. Finding gaps in the market, and creating products that make a real difference to people’s lives, can only be accomplished if you have passion for what you are doing. If you make something you are proud of, that filters down to your staff, as well as your customers. Today, more than ever, you’ve got to do something radically different to make a mark.

In a 1997 marketing campaign for Apple, entitled "Think Different," Jobs said: "Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently." I am proud to say that, in the accompanying montage, he counted me as one of them. I think it’s an attitude that’s shared by all leaders who make a difference – and it’s one reason why, despite our vastly different styles, Steve Jobs was always the entrepreneur whom I most admired.

About Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson is the founder, Virgin Group, and the author of Screw Business as Usual.

Reprinted with permission from the author.

The Origin of Money is Gratitude.

by Natalie Pace.

Photo by: Mary-Margaret Stratton. Megorama.com.

Wall Street tells you to just get rich and then "do good" with all the money you make. Did that ever make sense to you? Do you really think that your pension or 401K or annuity or IRA should be invested in and profiting from cigarette sales if your father died of lung cancer? Or that you should earn dividends on defense contractors if you are anti-war? Or that you should promote old school oil and coal over solar, wind and geothermal, in the name of getting rich at the expense of our planet? As a final nail in the coffin, Bernard Madoff, the man who promised 12% return annually, went bankrupt and so did many of the nonprofit organizations that relied upon his fabricated expertise and track record, so that they could then "do the right thing" with their earnings.

Some peacemakers and spiritual leaders want to put their money where their heart is -- but they don't know how to do it. You see, the "system" is quite happy investing your money for you, which keeps everything status quo and cronyism economics flourishing -- which is most often at odds with the agendas of peacemakers and spiritual leaders.

The antidote is wisdom, which is why it is so important that you read You Vs. Wall Street, incorporate the principles and start taking ownership of the world we live in. Our world is a direct reflection of our collective investments and nothing will create more peace, more prosperity, more health and more good will than making sure that we are profiting from and purchasing goods and services from socially conscious, green corporations. The sad truth is that peace protestors who own stock in major defense contractors are the "they" that they are protesting against -- even if they have never dug into their financial statements and realized that.

It’s hard to imagine that network financial pundits still have their job, let alone the same old tune, after 2008, when American taxpayers got porked with a $10 trillion bailout of the banks, insurance companies and car manufacturers. If your flying machine didn’t fly, you wouldn’t be the expert on flying. So why are the grand fabricators of such phrases as the New Economy, Y2K, liar’s loans, "greed is good" (no, unfortunately this isn’t just a line in a movie) and Bailouts still called experts? Why do they get to pontificate and spread their (anti)wisdom and (non)knowledge all over our free airwaves?

Below is a quote from a major network’s "Chief Financial Correspondent" who appeared on a segment opposite me, on May 9, 2009. This CFC explained why "socially conscious investing" doesn’t work, saying:

Huh? Does that make any sense at all in a post-bailout world? I could have pressed him to come up with one example of a "greedy" company that was doing very well on May 9, 2009, however, the network never allowed us to debate one another and edited out my (winning) side of the commentary.

Toyota, the company doing the "right thing," i.e. making hybrids and a line of fuel-efficient cars instead of Hummers and SUVs, rewarded investors richly between 2000 and 2009. Investors of Ye Old Gas Guzzler lost it all. Google, the company that expressly professed not to do evil, was the most successful IPO on Wall Street of all time, having scored more than seven times Return On Investment for IPO investors between 2005 and 2008.

In fact, if you were to incorporate just one simple thing in your investment strategy – of investing in products and services that you actually use and purchasing products that you think are best for our world – you would ensure that you are always invested in companies that were poised for the best return on investment. Why? Because ROI is directly tied to sales. When a company can’t sell its product, for whatever reason, it’s in trouble. When a consumer can’t get enough of their product or service, the company’s value soars. Logical, right?

When people align their investing list with their shopping list, they earn stronger gains and avoid companies that are destined to be bailed out or bankrupt. This is a very old investing maxim, however, there’s more to it than just that, which is why I wroteYou Vs. Wall Street. Investing in emerging markets and products is a strategy that is far more sound than "Greed is good," but there are cycles that must be understood, so that you are not always buying in or selling out at the wrong time. Putting your money where your heart is is an easy way to ensure that you are not invested in the gas guzzler when the electric car zooms into showrooms across America, or the typewriter when the computer is in every office, or the payphone when the iPhone can rock your world and ring your bell to boot.

Don’t rely on stupid advice dispensed for free nationwide by idiots who still think that "greed is good." (Oh my. Did I really say that?) 2009 was the second time in under ten years that Americans lost half of their nest egg, under their system, commentary and expertise. (First we had the New Economy DOT COM implosion and then the Great Recession.) It’s your job to stop listening to their misinformation and start educating yourself with investing strategies that work. They are easy as a pie chart, so don’t worry, you won’t have to get a PhD in economics to get smart and successful in investing. And once you set it up right, it’s just a matter of annual rebalancing.

Why not fund tomorrow’s cure for cancer with your investment dollars, instead of today’s cigarette? Why not fund clean water, instead of plastic water bottles? It’s not that hard!

Don’t feel silly that you didn’t trust your instincts before reading this. I have been speaking at conferences about getting smart about what you own in your 401(k) for over a decade now. It is, unfortunately, my experience that even bestselling "spiritual" authors were resistant to making changes in their retirement plan because: 1) they didn’t know "if they could"; 2) they didn’t know how to do it; 3) they didn’t know whom to trust; and, 4) figuring all of this out was too hard. Even if I was stuck at the same conference with these gurus for three full days, few sought me out to make these changes. In other words, it is much easier to carry a sign protesting war and cigarettes, while still owning and profiting from those very things, than to send the powerful and effective message that thousands of savvy protestors are pulling their money out of the company and investing in health and peace. Today, citizens of the world are aware that we must become conscious and figure this out, to save our planet and start prospering again.

The origin of money is gratitude, not Wall Street, not the Federal Reserve, and not balding pundits and their blather on the merits of greed. In order to truly understand this, you have to travel back with me to the first time "money" exchanged hands. Back to the cave.

The Origin of Money
Imagine a family in the Stone Age, living in a cave. On a frigid night, the parents are crying in one corner while their seven-year old daughter lies dying in the other. They have tried everything -- cold compresses, hot broth, prayers, herbs, dances in the name of the Gods, libations and still the fevers rage. Finally, the mother races out into the neighboring tribe and drags the medicine woman, through the snow, back to her home. The medicine woman clears the cave with smoked sage, and administers her special poultices and remedies that, over the course of a few days, save the child’s life.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, the mother serves a feast for the medicine woman. The father breaks out his mead. The brother scratches a painting on the wall with a stick and beet juice.

Every morning for the next six months the mother delivers a loaf of bread to the medicine woman -- out of gratitude. It was a close call. She might have lost her daughter forever, were it not for the healing gifts the medicine woman brought to her. And she is grateful. The medicine woman is grateful as well. She doesn't have to cook, which leaves her more time to heal and to gather her special remedies.

Money as Magic Tokens of Gratitude
So, how do we apply caveman logic to today’s investments and bills? Most of us feel more like we’re being eaten alive by bills, rather than grateful for the services they provide.

However, you don’t want to jam a hot wire into the electrical grid, risking your own life to light up your home or cook a meal; instead, you write the check to the utility company and are grateful for the light, the ovens and the warmth. (Stay with me here for a moment. I know it’s hard.) Similarly, when Tesla builds a gorgeous, 100% electric luxury sedan, you are grateful that they made EVs sexier than a golf cart, with enough battery range to get you to work. You don’t want to have to research the technology, mine the lithium, create the leaner/meaner lithium ion battery and then build it yourself. Out of gratitude and desire, you purchase the Tesla S sedan over the gas-guzzler, and invest in the company to boot (if it’s trading at a good price and not carrying too much debt, etc.).

Americans enjoy an exceptionally luxurious daily lifestyle. If you can’t be grateful, it’s not because the products and services aren’t outstanding. It is because your budget is out of whack. If you had to go a week without coffee on demand, twelve million channels on television, air conditioning on thermostat, automated traffic lights and smooth roads, you’d certainly feel grateful the day those conveniences were back to being available with the touch of a finger.

Think of check writing as the daily bread of gratitude we give for the services provided. Think of investing as actually owning the company that is making the products and services you are proud of. When you invest in real-world products, goods and services that you believe in, you have pride in ownership, in addition to better returns. You know how to value what you own. And, because others really love the product, too, you’re poised for a great Return on Investment.

Another money myth is that gold is better than paper money. The real thing being exchanged is not gold or paper; it remains gratitude. The medium is only the token. The token can be currency, or gold, or a gallon of oil or even the ability to heal. Even in the Apocalypse, those who add value and have things that are needed and desired will fare well. The death of Steve Jobs did not destroy Apple’s ability to build iPhones and iPads. Downsizing doesn’t take away the techie’s ability to program for another firm. No matter what tokens America uses, we are still the innovators of the planet, and the world values Americans for that, as well as our beautiful land, which is protected on both sides by oceans.

The truth is that every cent you own and every moment you spend is always an investment. How valuable are you right here and now, as a business owner, spouse, sibling, lover, boss, co-worker, team player, parent, educated being? How hot are you? Did you know that a person with an advanced degree earns four times (or more) as much as someone without a high school diploma? Did you know that hot and heavy couples are not only sexier (and happier), they are healthier too? Getting hot is a smart move!

Below are 4 easy ways that every single person can rethink, act anew and rebuild a greater planet, starting with how they spend their time, their money and their Buy My Own Island Fund (formerly referred to as your retirement plan).

1. Gratitude, not greed (or entitlement). Be grateful for those companies that provide comfort to you and your life. Write checks for your mortgage, for your electricity and gas and food with a smile, giving thanks for the shelter and comfort you receive. If your bills are out of whack and you cannot smile, then you’ve got to redesign your life according to the Thrive budget, instead of the "Bills are Eating Me Alive!" budget.
   
   
2. Emerging, not dying, industries. Align all of your investments with the products, goods and services that you believe are the best on the planet today and going forward. Refuse to invest in companies that are poorly run, that make bad products and/or are stuck in the status quo of yesteryear. This fuels innovation. And it offers the greatest returns over time.
   
   
3. Happy people make better products, faster, cheaper. Put your heart into your work and watch your company transform. Your co-workers will be inspired. Your bosses will enjoy greater sales, greater productivity and higher operating margins. Your competition will be forced to constantly innovate to stay a step ahead of you. Whether you are in charge of the company, in charge of your office or just in charge of getting yourself to work on time, be a beneficial presence. Brighten the light in your home, in your office and in our world. Shine!
   
   
4. Wisdom and right action, not blind faith. In the old system you handed your money over to someone else to manage and didn’t care what they did with it as long as they gave you back ten cents on every dollar. That didn’t work so well, and it was the life-blood of Wall Street greed! Stocks returned next to zero on the dollar between 2001 and 2011, not 10% per year. Real estate tanked. Invest in the products and services of an emerging world and you can get rich, while enriching our nation – a win-win for all of us.
   
   
5. Modern Portfolio Theory and annual rebalancing. This system has worked for the last decade, while buy and hold failed investors. Learn more in You Vs. Wall Street. You can also spend 3-days with me at a Get Rich and Enrich Retreat to learn hands-on how to implement this easy-as-a-pie chart strategy into your beautiful bottom line.

Now is our chance to take ownership and co-create a great tomorrow. Yes, you can get rich and enrich. In fact, since the origin of money is gratitude, as you become a person that others are more grateful for, they will begin showering more tokens of their thanks (money) on you.

Winter Solstice Mantra: Create
I am a co-creator of my world, my home, my neighborhood, my city, my state, my nation and our world. Every cent I own and every moment I spend is always an investment. I’m committed to being an angel in the lives of my family, my beloved, my neighbors and those around the world. I’m also committed to being a renegade, to follow what I know is right, deep in my heart, instead of having blind faith in the status quo and what others tell me to do.

Action Plan:

1. Know what you own. Find out the Top 25 Holdings in the mutual funds that you own. Go to NataliePace.com. Enter the 5-letter symbol for the mutual fund in the Research Now box. You will be directed to a stock page for that mutual fund. Click on Top 25 holdings.
2. Write down 10 companies that you would like to own instead of the top holdings of the mutual fund you now own. Even if you don’t own them yet, you now have a blueprint of what you want. First steps!
3. Wall Street is owned by Main Street. So create a better world by owning great companies (and getting rich while doing it).

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a strong believer in giving back, she has been instrumental in raising multi-millions for public schools, financial literacy, underserved women and girls and the arts worldwide. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

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Occupy Wall Street Update.

by Natalie Pace.

Wall Street Remains Barricaded.

Police and barricades surround Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) in NYC on Nov. 17, 2011

By now, most Americans have seen the startling image of a police officer pepper-spraying a line of seated, non-violent and unarmed students at UC Davis, and, prior to that, police officers doing a similar spraying of young women penned in by police fencing in lower Manhattan. The world knows the name of Scott Olsen, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, who suffered a skull fracture and loss of language (temporarily) after being hit by a projectile in a police tear gas and rubber bullet raid on Occupy Oakland, on October 25, 2011. (Click to see Scott Olsen speaking in his first television interview on The Ed Show, from November 30, 2011.)

All of these events have only raised the profile and popularity of the Occupy Wall Street "99%" movement -- a movement that is best characterized simply as anti-oligarchy. According to the OccupyWallSt.org website, the movement is "is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations... and aims to fight back against the richest 1% of people that are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future."

Just How Powerful is OWS?
OccupyWallSt.org is rapidly becoming one of the most trafficked websites in the world. (Some enterprising venture capitalist might already be seeking to monetize those eyeballs.) On November 19, 2011, the UC Davis pepper spraying event trended the highest search on Google. Add: AOL's data lists Occupy Wall Street as the #8 most popular news search, behind Osama Bin Laden's death, the Penn State scandal, Arab Spring, the Japanese Earthquake, the Royal Wedding, Gabrielle Giffords' shooting and Casey Anthony. Through comScore Inc. declined to provide traffic data for the site, Alexa.com ranks OccupyWallSt.org as #1,556 most popular site in the U.S., with 8,612 sites linking in. That's not quite as popular as Oprah or The Daily Show, but 5X more popular than Bill O'Reilly, 23X more visited than the official Tea Party website and almost 100X more trafficked than SarahPac.com (Sarah Palin's website).

On November 17, 2011, Occupy Wall Street celebrated their two-month anniversary with an impressive feat. An estimated 30,000 protesters marched across Brooklyn Bridge. (Click to watch video footage of the Occupy Wall Street 2-month anniversary march, including a "Bat Signal.")

Even though the movement is peaceful, the NYPD certainly considers Occupy Wall Street to be a threat. Wall Street has been off limits to the public since Day One of the movement. Beginning on September 17, 2011, the NYPD barred entry on Wall Street to everyone except residents and workers with, street lifters, police on horseback, barricades, block sculptures and police zones. The last time Wall Street was so closely guarded was in the wake of 9.11.

Police and barricades guard the bull sculpture in New York City

Occupy Wall Street began in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, but it has spread to over 100 American cities and 1500 cities globally. Most encampments include tents, tarps and semi-permanent residents who meet daily in General Assemblies and march, typically alongside police reinforcements, to protest the corrupt 1%. One of the most popular refrains of the movement continues to be, "Banks got bailed out; we got sold out," and one of the symbols is an American flag with the names of major corporations taking the place of the stars.

Protest marches occur daily around the world in support of people who have had their homes foreclosed, in support of workers who have had benefits reduced and salaries stagnate and against war, big oil, big pharma and more. On November 30, 2011, Occupy Wall Street protested "War Profiteers" at the 17th annual Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference in New York City. On November 20, 2011, there was a 24-hour drum circle jam session outside Mayor Bloomberg's residence near Central Park. On December 2, 2011 in Times Square,

Occupy Broadway will fill the streets with artists, musicians and actors, in the hopes that "New York re-imagines itself as a work of art, rather than a retail shopping mall."

And that is another unique aspect to the movement. The protesters are as serious about the arts as they are their politics. According to Justin Wedes, a diehard who has been with the movement since Day One, who spoke to me on September 21, 2011 (Day Five), "Above everything, what unites us is that we want to find unity and we want to find agreement about changes that need to occur in our society in order for it to be more equitable, in order for it to be more just, in order for it to be more participatory, and more artistic and more beautiful." Sounds utopian to jaded, Recession-weary citizens, but who really doesn't desire a cleaner, greener, healthier, more artistic world where the banksters aren't tossing families out of their homes and running amok with our tax dollars?

Liberty Square in Lower Manhattan
The pepper spray and rubber bullet clashes with police have certainly been less than beautiful, but the protestors remain committed, united and strong. On November 15, 2011. NYPD officers swept through Liberty Park (Zuccotti Park) at 1:00 a.m., tearing down tents and tarps, confiscating bikes, books, instruments, generators, computers, heaters and sleeping bags. A perimeter of barricades was put up, so that everyone must go through a narrow opening, monitored by police, to enter the park. Large bags, instruments and other "prohibited" items are not allowed. Protesters are no longer encamped, but the drumming and dancing and General Assemblies continue, with diehards taking shifts occupying the park. Other geeks and techies have secured more comfortable winter quarters close by in their #OccupiedOffice. And the movement remains focused on targeted protests across America, using the Internet to get information out to sympathetic citizens.

The "99%" Occupy Wall Street movement is too diverse to have a cohesive statement, which may limit how effective they can be in influencing the powers they are protesting against, however, the central message remains that they will "no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%." The most popular areas of consensus tend to be around sustainable energy, sustainable food, natural health remedies, anti-war, anti-corruption, anti-greed -- and drumming and the arts.

Though some people in the movement are definitely socialist and unions have attempted to ally themselves with Occupy Wall Street, there are also many capitalists, economists and Wall Street traders in the movement, who think that cronyism economics has corrupted the free markets. General Assemblies allow for everyone to have a voice, though the audience can weigh in if they believe the speaker has gone off point, if they disagree, or with "up sparkles" (waving fingers) if they strongly support what is being said. Most "spokespersons" for the movement are quick to advise that they "speak for themselves and not the movement."

Perhaps the biggest question (and the biggest hope for Mayor Bloomberg) is whether or not the movement will survive the dead of winter. #OccupiedOffice certainly answers some of that question. Other solutions that have been discussed include "hibernating" to re-emerge stronger in Spring and building igloos in Liberty Square.

One thing is for sure. Occupy Wall Street, like the Arab Spring, is a very popular movement born of the people. It is a loud cry for greater democracy, less corruption and shared prosperity. And, based on the rapid globalization of this cry and the far-reaching alliances that have sprung up in only two months, it is unlikely to go away until at least some of its aims are achieved.

If you wish to read my initial report from Day One of the Movement, go to HuffingtonPost.com/Natalie-Pace and read "NYPD Shuts Down Wall Street." I have also uploaded videos of various protesters, in their own words, on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/NataliePaceDOTCOM. There you'll find war veterans, sexagenarians, BAs, BSs, greenies, mothers and more... In my pretty extensive firsthand experience with both Occupy Wall Street and Occupy LA, students are slightly more than half of the people assembled in the Occupy Wall Street movement. However, as the search trends show, the movement has hit the mainstream in a very large way.

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a strong believer in giving back, she has been instrumental in raising multi-millions for public schools, financial literacy, underserved women and girls and the arts worldwide. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

Occupy Wall Street.

by the Honorable Richard Posner.

Caption: Man protesting at Occupy Santa Monica on October 13, 2011

What is one to make of the "Occupy" movement? Is this the return of the turbulent 1960s? Is it the American version of the "Arab Spring"? Or of the French and English riots of recent years?

I think only three things are clear: first, human beings are imitative, and the success of the Arab riots that brought down several governments and have shaken others was bound to attract imitation in some form (a necessary qualification: the "Occupy" "occupations" have been minimally violent); second, the social media have reduced the cost of organizing collective activity by strangers; and third, a depression (which we have now been in for more than three years, since the financial crisis of September 2008) gives rise to street demonstrations. (Think of the "Bonus March" on Washington of 1932, broken up by U.S. soldiers under the direct command of General MacArthur, who at the time was the chief of staff of the Army.)

The police I think made a tactical mistake in routing the "Occupiers" from Zuccotti Park near Wall Street. That is the lesson of the 1960s. Arrests, whacking demonstrators with billy clubs, dragging screaming women to paddy wagons, and other police actions just create anger, martyrdom complexes, and sympathy for the demonstrators. The Occupiers had made the mistake of—occupying urban spaces (in imitation of the Egyptians who occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo), rather than marching in them. The occupations attracted criminals, panhandlers, and lunatics, and created unattractive, unsanitary conditions. Self-destruction impended, which cold weather in most of the country would have accelerated, had not the arrests interrupted the natural process of decay. As a result there is an increased danger that the occupations will be replaced by a movement—how effective a one I do not know. (In January 1969, student radicals occupied the Administration building of the University of Chicago. The police were not summoned, and after two weeks the radicals abandoned the building; almost 100 were then expelled or suspended from the university. The university was largely spared the turmoil that continued for years at other major universities.)

The grievances of the "Occupiers" appear to be three: income inequality, lack of jobs, and the baleful influence of the banking industry ("Wall Street"), broadly defined to embrace pretty much the entire financial sector. The three grievances are related, and a skillful leader could make them coherent, as follows. Income inequality had been growing for many years, most rapidly at the top of the income distribution; between 1979 and 2007, the income of the top 1 percent had grown by 275 percent, and the average income by only 18 percent. The income of the top 1 percent has actually declined during the current depression, but the growth of unemployment and underemployment has highlighted the enormous disparity in wealth between top and bottom. Although unemployment is much lower among college graduates than among others, the unemployment rate of young college graduates has increased sharply during this depression, from 2 percent in 2007 to more than 7 percent today. This helps to explain the prominence of college students and young college graduates among the "occupiers" and their emphasis on unemployment and income inequality.

Income inequality at the top of the income distribution has been further highlighted by the enormous publicity concerning the extraordinary incomes that continue to be obtained by financial executives despite their role in the current economic distress. Their incomes do appear to be excessive, in the following senses. These incomes are generated to a significant extent by speculation, which has social value in increasing the amount of information about asset values and the speed with which that information is generated, but these social values are smaller than the profits of successful speculators, since those profits consist primarily of gains, often produced by sheer chance, at the expense of the people or firms with whom they are trading.

Speculation is not a zero-sum game, because valuable information is generated, but the value is smaller than the gains of the successful speculators. In the case of nonfinancial products and services, the producer is typically unable to capture anywhere near the full value that he creates. Bill Gates is believed to be the wealthiest person in the world, but the business model that he invented, and its implementation by Microsoft under his leadership, have created far more value than he and the other leaders of Microsoft have appropriated. And without government assistance, whereas the incomes of financial executives have been bolstered by the efforts of the government to keep banks from failing.

Banking moreover has never been popular. The main reason I think is that banking is one of the few industries that simply refuse to sell to many of their most willing, even desperately willing, customers. For what they are "selling" is loans, and mainline banks won’t lend to people who have poor credit, leaving them to deal with the payday lenders, the car title lenders, and the pawn shops.

Because many financial executives have very large incomes, and because banks have huge financial resources, the banking industry has enormous influence on legislation and regulation. In the regime of deregulation and lax regulation of the financial sector that began at the end of the Carter Administration and accelerated in subsequent Administrations (notably Clinton’s and the second Bush’s), bankers were enabled to engage in a variety of risky and sharp practices—and competition forced them to do so. Banks depend mainly on short-term capital, both financial and human, and firms that depend on short-term capital are constrained to compete to the fullest extent allowed by the law and regulatory authorities, or else they lose their capital to their bolder competitors. Competition in such an industry is Darwinian.

Railing against income inequality, job loss, and banking abuses is thus understandable, but it doesn’t do any good. The "Occupiers" are anarchic and disruptive, and the solid middle of American society, which rejects the Tea Party because of its goofy ideas, is likely to reject the Occupy movement because of its style, while broadly sympathetic to its antipathies. But if the movement attracts charismatic leaders amidst a stagnant or worsening economy, it may become a force in American politics. Already Kalle Lasn and Micah White, who appear to be the nearest thing the movement has to leaders, have published an articulate manifesto, "Why Occupy Wall Street Will Keep Up the Fight," (visited Nov. 20, 2011), which reminds me of Tom Hayden’s 1962 "Port Huron Statement of the Students for a Democratic Society," (visited Nov. 20, 2011).

About Judge Richard A. Posner
Judge Richard A. Posner is Judge, United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals & Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School. His most recent book is The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy. Read his ongoing blog with Dr. Gary Becker at http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner.

This blog has been reprinted with permission of the author. All rights are reserved by Judge Richard A. Posner.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement.

by Dr. Gary S. Becker.

Caption: Man getting his shoes shined, across the street from the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street

Will the "Occupy" movement develop into a significant political force? I am doubtful: the movement is already losing supporters in most places where it has been active. Cold weather will accelerate the decline. The movement is losing ground not because the issues it raises are unimportant, but rather because the great majority of Americans and those in other countries with Occupy groups do not sympathize with most of the people doing the occupying.

We discussed the unemployment situation in the US last week, and reform of banks in several previous posts, so I concentrate my comments on the inequality issues raised by occupiers. American inequality in the distribution of incomes, and inequality in many other Western nations, has grown a lot since the late 1970s. This growth can be separated into the growth in earnings inequality across education and other skill classes, and the growth in income at the very top of the income distribution. I start with the inequality by skill, since that is what most closely affects the vast majority of people.

Many of the Occupy Wall Street participants are college students- it is easy to miss classes at most colleges for a few days and even much longer- and other young persons who had gone to college. They have complained about the "high" unemployment of college-educated persons, and also about the burden of college loans. Yet the large increase in earnings inequality during past 30 years has mainly taken the form of a growth in the earnings of college graduates and that of others with high levels of skills relative to earnings of high school dropouts, high school graduates, and others with lower skills. Although unemployment grows for all education groups during recessions, it has not grown any faster during the Great Recession for college-educated persons than for persons without college, and is still much lower for the college educated. For example, in October of 2011 the unemployment rate for college graduates was under 5% compared to an unemployment rate of almost 14% for high school dropouts.

Nor are the complaints by occupiers about the burden of student loans much better founded for the great majority of graduates. The typical rate of return to a college graduate, especially those with post-graduate degrees, has risen greatly since the late 1970s, certainly high enough to support even sizable student loans with interest payments that are heavily subsidized by the federal government. The real ones with a gripe are high school dropouts who not only have high unemployment rates, but also low real earnings that may have fallen for dropouts during past 30 years, poorer health than others, bad marital prospects, and weak access to home ownership and other consumer luxuries.

The Occupy Movement and everyone else worried about earnings inequality should be emphasizing the need to find ways to encourage more high school dropouts and high school graduates to get the required background and study habits so that they can, and want to, continue on for a college education. A daunting task, but a necessary one in order to respond in an effective way to the anatomy of the large growth in earnings inequality.

The income share of the top 1% in the United States has declined a lot since the onset of the Great Recession, but it is still much higher than it was in the 1970s. Earnings are also an important component of these very high incomes, but these are earnings of top management and executives, including the top earners in banking, and in hedge funds and other managers of money, and including also the top earners in medicine, law, consulting, and some other fields. According to a November 2010 study by Bakija, Cole, and Heim (I am indebted to Steve Kaplan for referring me to this study), more than 60% of the persons in the top 1% of the income distribution in 2005 consisted of (non-finance) executives, managers, and supervisors, medical personnel, lawyers, and non-finance persons doing computing, math, or engineering.

Although, on the whole, I believe that most members of the top 1% provide useful services to society, I share the concern of "occupiers" and Tea Party members about many of the bailouts. The rich bankers and others who took large risks should have taken much larger haircuts. I have also supported from the beginning of the recession higher capital requirements for banks, especially for the large "too big to fail banks" that will be bailed out if they get into financial difficulties. 

Nevertheless, the overall earnings inequality has far greater relevance for the vast majority of occupiers and Tea Party supporters than do the earnings of men and women at the very top of the financial sector. The most effective way for the US to reduce overall inequality that will help the largest number of young persons is by finding ways to bring American high school and college graduation rates up to the levels achieved by the other nations, such as South Korea and some European nations, that have replaced the US as worldwide leaders in education achievements.

About Dr. Becker
Dr. Gary Becker is a University Professor, Department of Economics, and Sociology Professor, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1992 for his groundbreaking work in "human capital." President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007.

To keep track of Dr. Becker's continuing research and commentary, visit his website and blog.

Beyond the Super Committee.

by the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

The Super Committee is co-chaired by Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)

After months of negotiations, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the "super committee") announced that it could not reach agreement, stating: "We have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline."

The super committee had a deadline of November 23 to make recommendations to trim at least $1.2 trillion from the budget deficit, but the law required that the super committee post publicly any recommendations at least 48 hours before the deadline, or on Monday, November 21.

What's beyond the super committee? Schwab answers the key questions.

• Why did the super committee fail?
• In the event of a super committee failure, automatic spending cuts are supposed to take effect starting in 2013. How large are those cuts and which programs are affected?
• Will these spending cuts actually happen, or is there a mechanism for either Congress or the President to intervene?
• A significant number of tax cuts are due to expire in 2011. What are they and will they be extended?
• Are there other important provisions of the tax code that must be addressed before the end of 2011?
• The Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire at the end of 2012. When will their fate be addressed?
• The 2012 election is less than a year away. Did either party's chance for gaining ground benefit from the super committee failure?
• What are the implications of the super committee's failure for the stock market overall?
• What's the bullish case for US stocks?
• What's the bearish case for US stocks?
• Are we more persuaded by the bulls or the bears?
• Are specific sectors or industries at greater risk in the event the automatic cuts happen?
• Is there a chance that Moody's will downgrade US debt as a result of the super committee's failure?
• What would happen if there were another downgrade of US debt?
• Are US treasuries still a safe-haven investment?

Why did the super committee fail?
The 12 members of the super committee struggled to bridge a huge philosophical gap between the two parties in an effort to come up with a plan. The main issue has been the desire of the panel's six Republicans on the committee not to increase taxes, while the panel's six Democrats have opposed significant entitlement cuts without tax increases. This is the same fundamental disagreement that led to the near-shutdown of the government in March, and to the debt ceiling crisis in August. The two sides were never able to come to any agreement.

In the event of a super committee failure, automatic spending cuts are supposed to take effect starting in 2013. How large are those cuts and which programs are affected?
Under the law, automatic, across-the-board spending cuts totaling $1.2 trillion will take effect on January 2, 2013, and will be spread out evenly over the next nine years. About $200 billion of that figure comes from savings on interest on the debt, so the total amount of cuts over the nine-year period is about $1 trillion. Half of that amount will come from defense spending and half from non-defense spending. In the latter category, a number of programs are exempt from the cuts, including Social Security, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, children's health programs, and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Will these spending cuts actually happen, or is there a mechanism for either Congress or the President to intervene?
Because the cuts do not take effect until January 2013, there is more than a year for Congress to undo the cuts. Legislation to exempt more programs could be introduced, approved by both chambers of Congress and signed by the President. A number of members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have said that they will make attempts in the coming year to reduce or eliminate many of the planned cuts. The President has indicated that he would veto such efforts, but no specific proposals have been put forward yet.

A significant number of tax cuts are due to expire in 2011. What are they, and will they be extended?
Over the next several weeks, Congress will have to scramble to extend tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of this year. Lawmakers were waiting to see what the super committee did with some of these tax items, and now that nothing has happened, they must be addressed.

Topping the list is the 2011 payroll tax cut. In 2011, the amount of payroll taxes an employee saw taken out of each paycheck was reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%, but that amount is set to revert to 6.2% on January 1, 2012. President Obama has proposed reducing the payroll tax further, to 3.1% for both employees and employers. That proposal has not yet been considered by Congress, and its price tag—about $245 billion—may make it impossible to get through a divided Congress. Just extending the current law for a year would cost about $100 billion. Congress is expected to consider some kind of payroll tax cut extension in December.

Are there other important provisions of the tax code that must be addressed before the end of 2011?
Yes, there are a host of other tax provisions expiring at the end of this year.

Businesses are particularly concerned about the expiration of the research and development tax credit, and several other expiring business tax provisions.

On the individual side, among the items set to expire are the deduction for state and local sales tax, the deduction for college tuition and the IRA charitable rollover. Also expiring at the end of this year is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) "patch." For more than a decade, Congress has passed a series of patches that increase the amount of income exempt from the AMT. Without this fix, the exempted amount would tumble, potentially exposing an estimated 20-30 million Americans to higher taxes. However, the provision is in place for the 2011 tax year (for which taxpayers will be submitting returns in April 2012), so this does not need to be addressed until sometime before the end of next year.

The Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire at the end of 2012. When will their fate be addressed?
This is the biggest issue. These tax cuts include the reduced income tax rates, the 15% tax rate for capital gains and dividends, the estate tax, and other provisions.

Congress will need to deal with those before the end of 2012. There is a good chance that Congress will wait until after the 2012 elections to address the issue, in what is known as a "lame duck" session of Congress in November/December 2012. That's what happened in 2010, when Congress waited until December 17th before passing a two-year extension of the tax cuts.

The 2012 election is less than a year away. Did either party's chance for gaining ground benefit from the super committee failure?
It's hard to say, but our first reaction is that neither party will benefit from this failure. Public reaction is very negative, and there appears to be plenty of blame for both sides.

What are implications of the super committee's failure for the stock market overall?
The market action on Monday was grim, but we believe it may have had as much to do with the ongoing eurozone crisis as it did with the failure of the super committee to come to an agreement.

It does add to the confidence crisis that's been pervasive, however, and the market will remain attuned to the payroll tax cut, which is due to expire at year-end. Failure to extend that cut could cut shave as much as 1% from gross domestic product in the first half of 2012.

In the meantime, the market continues to resemble a seesaw, moving from risk-on to risk-off mode, depending on news flow. After a nearly 10% rally in the first four months of the year, the market suffered a near-20% correction over the next five months, before rallying a big 17% in October. Since then, the market has been consolidating some of those gains.

We continue to believe the market is in a trading range, but with an upward bias—because although the picture is mixed, there are plenty of positives going for both the economy and the market.

What's the bullish case for US stocks?
We believe there are many positives for US stocks right now, including better economic news from the United States and recent moves on the part of global central banks.

• Better US economic news:
• Recent weekly unemployment insurance claims below 400,000¹; layoff announcements down; and job postings up (strong Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report).
• Bank lending up, both among consumers and businesses.
• Business and consumer optimism ticking back up after the summer swoon.
• Inventories have been cut to the bone, taking growth from the third quarter, but are set to be additive in the fourth quarter, as they are now too low relative to sales growth.
• Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) up sharply in latest report, with positive contributions from nine of the 10 sub-components².
• Core inflation moving lower, which should boost "real" gross domestic product (GDP); gasoline prices near their lowest levels of the year.
• Much better housing news: building permits, new home sales and recent National Association of Home Builders housing index all exceeded expectations.
• Global central bank and eurozone political leadership capitulations. Although decisive plans to stem the crisis are lacking, the European Central Bank (ECB) and other global central banks have moved into loosening mode, which should help boost growth.
• Eurozone recession likely underway, but trade with Europe only accounts for 1.3% of US GDP.
• Strong third-quarter corporate earnings: 18% year-over-year growth in the S&P 500, with companies beating expectations by an average of 6%³.
• Cheap stock valuations: The S&P 500 has a forward price-earnings ratio of 12 vs. a median of 16.8 since 1990 (the period through which we have data)⁴.
• Paltry bond yields: If they begin to rise (while bond prices fall), money could re-allocate from bonds to stocks.
• Over the past five years, outflows from equity mutual funds of over $400 billion and inflows to bond mutual funds of over $800 billion: $1.2 trillion spread is by far an all-time record flow in favor of bonds.
• Still-pessimistic investor sentiment, suggesting the "wall of worry" markets like to climb is intact.
• Market has consistently bounced back quickly after sell-offs, suggesting market players are underinvested and worried about missing out.

What's the bearish case for US stocks?
We believe the bearish case rests on a number of factors.

• Spikes in yields have moved from the eurozone's periphery to core countries like Italy and Spain.
• Germany and the ECB are (so far) rejecting calls to bail out struggling countries by buying bonds and acting as lender of last resort.
• Eurozone is likely already in a recession.
• Consumer confidence taking another hit from the super committee's failure.
• Oil prices are climbing on Middle East tensions flaring again.
• Ongoing debt deleveraging by private sector with public sector just starting.
• Rampant market volatility is keeping individual investors on the sidelines.
• "Stall speed" of economy means recession risk is not eliminated: downward revision to third quarter GDP adds fuel to that view.
• The Federal Reserve is pushing on a string; if another round of quantitative easing is coming, it brings unintended consequences, including commodity inflation.
• Concerns about a hard landing in China, the world's second largest economy.

Are we more persuaded by the bulls or the bears?
The bulls. Admittedly, the bearish case is the more intellectually powerful and will continue to put pressure on the US economy and markets. But we believe much of it is already built into expectations (and prices). When the expectations bar gets set as low as it has been, the ability for results to hurdle that bar becomes easier. As the market's huge rally in October attests, you don't need a rash of exceptionally good news—just marginally better news than the consensus expects—to pull some of the massive sidelined money back into the market.

Are specific sectors or industries at greater risk in the event the automatic cuts happen?
By far the largest industry at risk is in the defense area, which could see up to $900 billion in cuts over the next decade, according to Strategas Group in their report dated November 21, 2011. Highly placed officials inside the military and members of both parties have criticized the cuts, but the President has said he would veto any attempts to "undo" the automatic cuts triggered by the failure of the super committee. Should the cuts go into effect, revenues, profits and ultimately the share prices of companies that are heavily dependent on US defense contracts would likely be impacted negatively.

While not as severe, health care companies that deal with the government, especially with Medicare, also stand to be hurt should nothing be done. In the same report, Strategas estimates $120 billion in cuts for those companies that provide Medicare services.

Obviously, there is a long way to go, but we advise investors to keep an eye on the negotiations and monitor their holdings in the above-mentioned industries, as the impact could be substantial if the cuts proceed as planned.

Is there a chance that Moody's will downgrade US debt as a result of the super committee's failure?
There's always a risk, but for now the rating agencies appear to be waiting for further developments. After the super committee announcement, all three of the major rating agencies—Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings—reaffirmed their current ratings. S&P, which downgraded longer-term US sovereign debt last August, affirmed its AA+ rating, indicating that the imposition of automatic spending cuts is enough to keep the rating unchanged for now. In our view, Moody's, which has the United States still rated Aaa but on negative outlook, could downgrade the US debt if the automatic spending cuts are canceled. Fitch indicated that it is reviewing its AAA rating with a stable outlook in light of the committee's failure to come up with an agreement. Regardless of the debt rating, Treasury yields continue to trade near 40-year lows and the United States continues to see inflows of foreign capital. Even with downgrades, the market action suggests that the US Treasury market remains the benchmark for global investors. We believe that the market will determine interest rates on US debt, not the rating agencies.

What would happen if there were another downgrade of US debt?
If Moody's does downgrade the United States, we doubt it would have a major impact on the market. Rates fell sharply after the S&P downgrade, showing that the focus is more on economic growth, inflation expectations and the safe-haven status of US Treasuries. Some institutional buyers may need to change investment guidelines to hold US Treasuries if two out of three agencies lower the rating, but it is likely these guidelines have already been changed as a result of the S&P move.

Are US Treasuries still a safe-haven investment?
We continue to view the US Treasury market as the benchmark safe-harbor rate even if there is another downgrade. Most tellingly, Treasury yields fell on Monday, which suggests a greater concern about Europe than the super committee's failings.

1. United States Department of Labor.
2. The Conference Board.
3. Thomson Reuters, as of November 14, 2011.
4. FactSet, Standard & Poor's, as of November 11, 2011.

Footnotes:
1. United States Department of Labor.
2. The Conference Board.
3. Thomson Reuters, as of November 14, 2011.
4. FactSet, Standard & Poor's, as of November 11, 2011.

Important Disclosures
The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. The investment strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own particular situation before making any investment decision.

All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions. Data contained herein from third-party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed.

Examples provided are for illustrative (or "informational") purposes only and not intended to be reflective of results you can expect to achieve.

Fixed income securities are subject to increased loss of principal during periods of rising interest rates. Fixed income investments are subject to various other risks including changes in credit quality, market valuations, liquidity, prepayments, early redemption, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors. For municipal securities, income may be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), and capital appreciation from discounted bonds may be subject to state or local taxes. Capital gains are not exempt from federal income tax.

Equity-Indexed Annuities—A Complex Choice.

A FINRA.org Investor Alert.

Why an Alert on Equity-Indexed Annuities?
Sales of equity-indexed annuities (EIAs)—also known as "fixed-indexed insurance products" and "indexed annuities"—have grown considerably in recent years. Although one insurance company at one time included the word "simple" in the name of its product, EIAs are anything but easy to understand. One of the most confusing features of an EIA is the method used to calculate the gain in the index to which the annuity is linked. To make matters worse, there is not one, but several different indexing methods. Because of the variety and complexity of the methods used to credit interest, investors will find it difficult to compare one EIA to another.

Before you buy an EIA, you should understand the various features of this investment and be prepared to ask your insurance agent, broker, financial planner or other financial professional lots of questions about whether an EIA is right for you.

What is an Annuity?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company in which the company promises to make periodic payments to you, starting immediately or at some future time. If the payments are delayed to the future, you have a deferred annuity. If the payments start immediately, you have an immediate annuity. You buy the annuity either with a single payment or a series of payments called premiums.

Annuities come in two types: fixed and variable. With a fixed annuity, the insurance company guarantees both the rate of return and the payout. As its name implies, a variable annuity's rate of return is not stable, but varies with the performance of the stock, bond and money market investment options that you choose. There is no guarantee that you will earn any return on your investment and there is a risk that you will lose money. Unlike fixed contracts, variable annuities are securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To learn more about variable annuities, read our Investor Alert, "Should You Exchange Your Variable Annuity?"

What is an Equity-Indexed Annuity?
EIAs are complex financial instruments that have characteristics of both fixed and variable annuities. Their return varies more than a fixed annuity, but not as much as a variable annuity. So EIAs give you more risk (but more potential return) than a fixed annuity but less risk (and less potential return) than a variable annuity.

EIAs offer a minimum guaranteed interest rate combined with an interest rate linked to a market index. Because of the guaranteed interest rate, EIAs have less market risk than variable annuities. EIAs also have the potential to earn returns better than traditional fixed annuities when the stock market is rising.

What is the Guaranteed Minimum Return?
When EIAs were first sold in the mid-1990s, the guaranteed minimum return was typically 90 percent of the premium paid at a 3 percent annual interest rate. More recently, in part because of changes to state insurance laws, the guaranteed minimum return is typically at least 87.5 percent of the premium paid at 1 to 3 percent interest. However, if you surrender your EIA early, you may have to pay a significant surrender charge and a 10 percent tax penalty that will reduce or eliminate any return.

How good is this guarantee?
Your guaranteed return is only as good as the insurance company that gives it. While it is not a common occurrence that a life insurance company is unable to meet its obligations, it happens. There are several private companies that rate an insurance company's financial strength. Information about these firms can be found on the SEC's website.

What is a market index?
A market index tracks the performance of a specific group of stocks representing a particular segment of the market, or in some cases an entire market. For example, the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index is an index of 500 stocks intended to be representative of a broad segment of the market. There are indexes for almost every conceivable sector of the stock market. Most EIAs are based on the S&P 500, but other indexes also are used. Some EIAs even allow investors to select one or more indexes.

How is an EIA's index-linked interest rate computed?
The index-linked gain depends on the particular combination of indexing features that an EIA uses. The most common indexing features are listed below. To fully understand an EIA, make sure you not only understand each feature, but also how the features work together since these features can dramatically impact the return on your investment.

• Participation Rates. A participation rate determines how much of the gain in the index will be credited to the annuity. For example, the insurance company may set the participation rate at 80 percent, which means the annuity would only be credited with 80 percent of the gain experienced by the index.
• Spread/Margin/Asset Fee. Some EIAs use a spread, margin or asset fee in addition to, or instead of, a participation rate. This percentage will be subtracted from any gain in the index linked to the annuity. For example, if the index gained 10 percent and the spread/margin/asset fee is 3.5 percent, then the gain in the annuity would be only 6.5 percent.
• Interest Rate Caps. Some EIAs may put a cap or upper limit on your return. This cap rate is generally stated as a percentage. This is the maximum rate of interest the annuity will earn. For example, if the index linked to the annuity gained 10 percent and the cap rate was 8 percent, then the gain in the annuity would be 8 percent.

Caution! Some EIAs allow the insurance company to change participation rates, cap rates, or spread/asset/margin fees either annually or at the start of the next contract term. If an insurance company subsequently lowers the participation rate or cap rate or increases the spread/asset/margin fees, this could adversely affect your return. Read your contract carefully to see if it allows the insurance company to change these features.

Indexing Methods. As described in the table below, there are several methods for determining the change in the relevant index over the period of the annuity. These varying methods impact the calculation of the amount of interest to be credited to the contract based on a change in the index.

• Index Averaging. Some EIAs average an index's value either daily or monthly rather than use the actual value of the index on a specified date. Averaging may reduce the amount of index-linked interest you earn.
• Interest Calculation. The way that an insurance company calculates interest earned during the term of an EIA can make a big difference in the amount of money you will earn. Some EIAs pay simple interest during the term of the annuity. Because there is no compounding of interest, your return will be lower.
• Exclusion of Dividends. Most EIAs only count equity index gains from market price changes, excluding any gains from dividends. Since you're not earning dividends, you won't earn as much as if you invested directly in the market.

Can I get my money when I need it?
EIAs are long-term investments. Getting out early may mean taking a loss. Many EIAs have surrender charges. The surrender charge can be a percentage of the amount withdrawn or a reduction in the interest rate credited to the EIA.

Also, any withdrawals from tax-deferred annuities before you reach the age of 59½ are generally subject to a 10 percent tax penalty in addition to any gain being taxed as ordinary income.

Do EIAs and other tax-deferred annuities provide the same advantages as 401(k)s and other before tax retirement plans?
No, 401(k) plans and other before-tax retirement savings plans not only allow you to defer taxes on income and investment gains, but your contributions reduce your current taxable income. That's why most investors should consider an EIA and other annuity products only after they make the maximum contribution to their 401(k) and other before-tax retirement plans. To learn more about 401(k)s, please read Smart 401(k) Investing.

Is it possible to lose money in an EIA?
Yes. Many insurance companies only guarantee that you'll receive 87.5 percent of the premiums you paid, plus 1 to 3 percent interest. Therefore, if you don't receive any index-linked interest, you could lose money on your investment. One way that you could not receive any index-linked interest is if the index linked to your annuity declines. The other way you may not receive any index-linked interest is if you surrender your EIA before maturity. Some insurance companies will not credit you with index-linked interest when you surrender your annuity early.

If You Have Questions
If you have questions about EIAs, you can contact your state insurance commissioner. You can check out whether the person selling an EIA is registered with FINRA. Check FINRA BrokerCheck or call our hotline at (800) 289-9999.

Additional Resources

• FINRA Investor Alert: Variable Annuities: Beyond the Hard Sell
• FINRA Investor Alert: Should You Exchange Your Variable Annuity?
• FINRA Investor Protection: Protect Yourself From Early Retirement Scams 
• Notice to Members 05-50, Member Responsibilities for Supervising Sales of Unregistered Equity-Indexed Annuities
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Buyer's Guide to Equity-Indexed Annuities.
• Securities and Exchange Commission's Variable Annuities: What You Should Know

To receive the latest Investor Alerts and other important investor information sign up for Investor News.

About FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. All told, FINRA oversees nearly 4,800 brokerage firms, about 170,400 branch offices and approximately 643,000 registered securities representatives.

FINRA believes investor protection begins with education. Using the Internet, the media and public forums, we help investors build their financial knowledge and provide them with essential tools to better understand the markets and basic principles of saving and investing.

Should You Pick Up the Check?

by Natalie Pace.

Are you Princess Kate, Britney or Angelina?

Women earn more than their husbands in 1/3 of two-income households. With this newfound financial freedom comes an age-old dilemma. Who picks up the check?

The bride and groom Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Fortunately, thanks to the hard work of the women who have come before us, women are free, free, free to get an education and pretty much any job we desire, so, these days, many of us can afford to pick up our own check anytime we wish to.

But should we? Or should a woman politely excuse herself to the powder room just before the check arrives, to allow him to make the choice? Should she discuss it with him beforehand? Should she take charge and just snatch the bill before he does, so he won't think she's only after him for his money?

As if procreating the species and having a monthly period wasn’t hard enough, now we have to figure out an entirely new mating dance! Who picks up the check?!!

If you were time-transported back a century, the waiter would hand the bill directly to him, and the girl would just "Be a lady and let him pay." Those old mores are more than a little responsible for keeping women barefoot, pregnant and without a vote, for nearly a century and a half after America was founded.

But old mores die hard. The current version of "Be a lady and let him pay" is based upon the assumption that letting him pay the bill makes him feel more manly and is simply more romantic. Plus, it's a gauge of just how into you he really is. But is this true?

I looked at three very high profile women, and a few throughout history, and what I discovered was that the real question isn't who picks up the check. The real question is: What kind of relationship are you interested in? Picking up the check (or not) sends a subtle relationship signal to your date early on about the kind of relationship that you are interested in. Not who wears the pants, but, rather, who pays the bills. And rest assured, there is a good man available for many different types of payment scenarios.

So, would you rather be Princess Kate, Britney Spears or Angelina Jolie?

Girls Who Pick Up.
Do you own your own castle?

Are you so wealthy that the only guy who can pick up your check is Prince Harry?

Let’s face it. Britney Spears could have dated a prince or perhaps even an Internet billionaire, if she wanted to play the damsel in the relationship. However, she picked a dancer to be the father of her two children – someone she would have to support. In 2009, she began dating her agent – another man she supports.

Now, Britney divorced her first (and second) husbands, but picking up doesn’t necessarily doom the relationship. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have been married for centuries (okay, since 1947). Prince Philip renounced his own bloodlines, assumed the title of his maternal grandparents and then moved into Windsor Castle. Who knows what goes on behind the castle walls, but the adoring public wants to see and touch their Queen, and you will never see the Prince Consort upstaging her.

If you have more money than the Queen of England (like J.K. Rowling does), or have a dream job that you want to place as a priority in the relationship, and/or are looking for someone to play a supportive role to you, then, by all means, reach for the check (with all of the femininity that you desire to summon) on ALL of your first dates. Be aware, however, that if you do reach for that check on the first date, and he lets you pay it, he’s also sending a tacit signal to you – that he’s fine letting you support him!

The challenge of being a woman who rules the roost in a relationship is finding a great guy and not just a gigolo who is fawning all over you because he likes your lifestyle! This is certainly possible. Cindy Lou Hensley, daughter of a wealthy Phoenix, Arizona beer distributor, seems quite pleased with her choice for a husband, Senator John McCain. Let's hope Jennifer Aniston's new romance turns out so well.

Girls Who Are Provided For.
American girls are doing pretty well in finding their Prince Charming. Grace Kelly, the former Queen of Monaco and Princess Caroline’s mother, was an American actress when Prince Rainier came calling. Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, was originally just a California girl. But the most famous commoner to marry a royal today is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Today's damsel in distress is not kept behind closed doors in the castle. Princess Kate went from Waitey Katie party girl to royal philanthropist and People headlines overnight. Queen Noor is now one of the most important voices for peace in the world, and, even more importantly, a symbol for women’s equality in the Middle East.

Smart, motivated women can carve a niche for themselves, even if their husbands are the rich, famous ones -- provided he respects, loves and believes in her and lives in a land where women are valued. Princess Kate and Queen Noor’s lives are certainly very different from that of Dr. Zenat Karzai, the First Lady of Afghanistan, who is rarely seen in public or heard from. Dr. Karzai may be living the life of her dreams behind closed doors, but she is certainly not setting an example of empowerment for the women in her country.

Girls Who Want an Equal Partnership (and Pick Up the Check Sometimes)
They won't even admit when the first date actually occurred, and if it occurred on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, then the catering crew probably picked up the tab... What we do know about the Jolie-Pitt family is that both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt each command beaucoup bucks for their films and are rich enough on their own to buy homes, planes and nannies for the kids.

Do they support and applaud one another’s dreams? It is widely reported (and documented) that when Jolie is working, Brad entertains the kids and vice versa.

So, is it possible that Angelina picked up the tab on the first date, or on some of their well-publicized date nights away from the kids? Who knows? However, it is evident that Angelina has established a very equal partnership with her very hot baby daddy, Brad Pitt.

Are you a Queen, a Damsel or a Democrat?
Now… Some psychiatrists insist that women should be wary of men who don’t reach for the check. Pop authors will say that if the dude doesn’t reach for the bill, he’s just not that into you. However, the truth is that romance is a dance and there are dances today where men take the lead and others where partners kick up their heels pretty much on their own, but in close proximity to one another. Picking a great dance partner is far more important than insisting on the minuet or some other timeworn tradition, while trance music is pulsing in the background.

Having said that, there are a few date specific tips that you might consider.

1. If he asked you out, he’s probably planning on buying. And that may be a big piece of his special way of wooing you. So don’t blow a special night by snatching the bill. In that case, you’re just being rude.
2. If he says, "Let’s go Dutch," and it’s your first date, he’s just not that into you or he’s a cheapskate. A guy who wants to win you over would figure out a better way to romance you than that – even if you’re much richer than he is.

Bottom Line: So, to pay or not to pay is an important choice! But, the most important decision you’ll ever make isn’t who pays, but is this guy a really great person, who will delight you, empower you, respect you and love you. With lovers and husband candidates: It pays to pick a good one, regardless of who buys lunch.

About Natalie Pace:
Natalie Pace is the author of You Vs. Wall Street. and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, and the founder and CEO of the Women’s Investment Network, LLC. She is a blogger on HuffingtonPost.com, and a repeat guest on national television and radio shows such as Good Morning America, Fox News, CNBC, ABC-TV, Forbes.com, NPR and more. As a strong believer in giving back, she has been instrumental in raising multi-millions for public schools, financial literacy, underserved women and girls and the arts worldwide. Follow her on Facebook.com/NWPace. For more information please visit NataliePace.com.

The Not So Super Committee.

by Natalie Pace.

The Not So Super Committee Fails America. By Natalie Pace. Includes my Hot News on Cool Stocks List.

December 1, 2011

General Stock Market Performance

Wall Street Highs/Lows in the New Millennium:

Hot News on Cool Stocks Important Data
Up to 19X gains on U.S. Gold, our 2009 Company of the Year!
NASDAQ Doubled the Dow Jones Industrial Average gains from 2009-2011
Gold continues momentum, at 28% gains so far in 2011 (-8% off of high of $1,895/ounce set on 9.5.11)
13 out of 14 Company of the Month features from 2010 posted gains.
Gold tops stocks, real estate, bonds and T-Bills Over the Last 10 Years.

Compare those returns to the returns of stocks, real estate, bonds, Treasury bills and gold over the last 30 years.

Market Update: The Not So Super Committee
On August 5, 2011, the bickering American political parties failed to come up with $4 trillion in budget savings over a 10-year period and the U.S. credit was downgraded for the first time in American history. At that time, there was a Super Committee created that was charged with coming up with $1.2 trillion in savings before Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, the Super Committee failed, however, even if they had succeeded, the U.S. is still be at least $2 trillion shy of the mark needed to keep the AAA credit rating that the U.S. used to enjoy.

Thankfully, some Congressmen understand this. On November 2, 2011, 100 members of the House sent a letter to the Super Committee asking them to "Go Big," writing that the goal is $4 trillion in savings, not just $1.2 trillion. "This letter is signed by conservative, moderate, and liberal members of the House, and while their political philosophies may differ, they all understand the urgency that our national debt crisis represents," according to Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID).  "They understand that the Super Committee represents our best, and possibly only, chance to make the real reforms needed to return our country to fiscal health," Rep. Simpson continued, in a statement. Here's a link to the press release, so that you can see the few elected officials in Washington who deserve to be elected again.

You can learn more about why the U.S. was downgraded, what "budget savings" means and what leading economists are recommending to achieve the goal in my Huffington Post blogs, "Debt Downgrade and Default," and "FAQs on the Standard and Poor's Downgrade." In short, the U.S. is spending far more than it takes in, and, if we don't want to become as stinky to the world as PIIGS is (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain), we're going to have to raise more revenue (taxes) and cut our spending.

PIIGS countries had their sovereign bonds trading near rock bottom a few years ago. Recently, however, rising credit concerns pegged astronomical borrowing rates for those countries. Lenders are tired of writing checks to countries that show no hope of living within their means. The U.S. is currently enjoying free money, but if we continue to live off of the world's credit cards, interest rates will raise, our debt will compound, and the austerity measures that will be forced on us will be much harder to swallow than a plan for budget savings now that can be implemented while borrowing costs are still very low.

What does the Super Committee's failure mean for investors and bondholders?
Stocks: Standard & Poor's has already downgraded the U.S. credit rating; Moody's may, as well. Wall Street is on a rollercoaster ride. Essentially, investors are weary of the Great Recession and take stock values up whenever there is a glimmer of hope. There is always bad news waiting right around the corner, so the glory days tend to be very short-lived, meaning that investors must seize their returns in very short windows. Limit orders are the best bet in that scenario. Stop losses will kill your returns; whereas Stop Gains can help you to make incremental progress toward solid annual growth.

As Dr. Marc Miles, a global strategist writes, "The outlook until at least 2013 is for average growth below 2.5 percent, average unemployment above 8.5 percent and a gyrating stock market. Only as markets finally begin to sense more TLC (transparent, long-term and credible) will this pattern of malaise transform into growing confidence and the economic and financial outlook improve."

Bonds: Treasury bills weren't negatively impacted with the first downgrade, mostly because PIIGS were far stinkier than the U.S. That remains the case -- for now. However, while Treasury bills could remain robust, there is a broader concern about bonds in general, which is why I've been issuing bond alerts for the last year. Read the articles "Are Bonds Safe?" and "State Bond Defaults: Today’s Reality," from the May 2011 ezine. If you think your bonds and preferred stock are safe, ask someone who held Lehman Bros. and General Motors a few years ago.

I featured a sexy, safer bond fund in this ezine. Be sure to read that article.

Bottom Line:
Debt, bipartisan bickering, angry citizens, broken entitlement promises, the global recession, slow growth in the developed world, oil addiction and more are dragging on economic growth and keeping unemployment stubbornly high. That means that, even though earnings are back in many U.S. corporations, the markets are going to be rocky. What's the cure? In the words of Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), Americans need to "put country before political parties."

Having said that, on Oct. 1, 2011, when the markets were very low, I highlighted 28 companies as being in buying range. Those companies earned between 10-60% in less than 90 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 13% since the October lows.

So, targeted investing, combined with opportunistic profit-taking, can be rewarding, even now.

Your best bet remains getting educated on how to:

1. Employ Modern Portfolio Theory in your 401K, IRA, health savings account, etc.
2. Keep enough of your nest egg safe
3. Know what is safe in a world where bonds are vulnerable
4. Avoid the bailouts
5. Add in hot industries and countries
6. Rebalance 1-3 times a year
7. Incorporate limit orders to maximize your buying and selling strategies

Sounds difficult, but it is easy as a pie chart, and you really need all seven of the tricks above to succeed. You can read about these strategies in my book, You Vs. Wall Street. You can learn and implement them immediately by attending my 3-day Investor Educational Retreat. A small investment in wisdom and information could save your a$$ets! So call 310-430-2397 now to get smart, get safe and start earning gains again.

Investor Edu Retreat:
Modern Portfolio Theory (what my Easy-as-a-Pie Chart Nest Egg strategy is based upon) saved Bill and Nilo Bolden's nest egg in the Great Recession and had novice investors doubling the returns of the Dow. Call 310-430-2397 NOW to learn how you can attend a boardroom retreat with just 12 others, learning these strategies hands-on from me.

Investor Alerts:
1. OPEC: The trade imbalance with OPEC is currently over $12 billion per month, which is one of the top assassins of GDP growth. Be sure to read my article, "Oil is Killing U.S. Growth," from the November 2011 ezine, volume 8, issue 11.

2. Debt: Standard & Poor's lowered the U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA+  on August 5, 2011. The Budget Plan of August 2, 2011 fell short by almost $2 trillion.  A lowered debt rating means we will pay more interest (eventually) -- a lot more -- which makes it even more difficult to balance the budget and spark GDP growth. 

3. Real Estate: There were 9.3 million foreclosure filings between 2007 and 2010. At least 3.7 million properties are in a seriously delinquent stage. This means that there will no upside in real estate prices (except in certain cities) until 2013. Could be a good time to buy, while interest rates are low. If you are underwater on your mortgage or delinquent on your payments and are considering the "unthinkable," email Heather at NataliePace.com to get the links to some very important articles.

4. 911 Investor Alert: Bonds and Treasury Bills. Read up on how to understand the risk in bonds and select high quality safe areas for your money in two featured bond articles in the May 2011 ezine (volume 8, issue 5). In the meantime, low-risk, cash-positive hard assets are King (and no, I'm not suggesting to go all in on gold, see below). Bonds and bond funds are vulnerable to loss of principal value now. Interest rates will rise (eventually) if the U.S. debt problem is not fixed. It might take a few months or even a few years, but without reform, credit risk will increase, driving up interest rates.

5. Gold: If you purchased gold at $850/ounce in 1980, you had to wait 26 years for the value to return. Most of the time, gold seesawed between $250-$350 an ounce over that period. Now, with prices near $1800/ounce, large holders of gold, including the United States, Brazil and more, could be tempted to sell high. For a brief history of gold and information on which countries are the biggest holders of gold, read, "The Gold Crash of 1980," from the September 2010 ezine, volume 7, issue 9. Gold continues to be a hot industry, but you do not want to be all in and be careful about buying high.

So is There Anything Good Out There?
Yes, believe it or not, there are some excellent areas in the economy. My 2009 Company of the Year, U.S. Gold, posted up to 19X gains. Applied Materials, the 2010 Company of the Year, posted 25% gains within a few months of being named. 13 out of 14 Companies featured in my Company of the Month articles in 2010 were winners. Your nest egg has almost fully recovered from the Great Recession. If you have a great credit rating and can get a loan, there are areas of the country where you can buy cash positive, low risk income property. And even if you're in trouble, in doubt, losing a home or declaring bankruptcy, there are some very important things to do to squirrel away as many assets as possible. The best way to learn about these things is to read this ezine top to bottom, read You Vs. Wall Street and register to attend the next Get Rich and Enrich Retreat. Once you have the wisdom and education that you should have received in high school, all of this will be easy and can be set up on auto-pilot. Until then, you are vulnerable to more boom/bust markets.

Banks Are Still Failing
There were 157 bank failures in 2010, 140 bank failures in 2009 and 25 in 2008. 90 banks have already failed in 2011 (source: FDIC.gov). Don't be seduced by the banks reporting record earnings! Most of them are fairy tales. (Nonproducing loans are carried off the books; TARP and other Federal Reserve swaps are about as easy to figure out as the origin of the life.) 13 million homes (or more) will be lost between 2007 and 2012 and not all of them hitting the financial statements with as much force as they should...

Track Record of our Reporting
While the markets are still down significantly since their high in October of 2007, the Hot News and Cooling Off lists below have a winning track record before, during and after the Great Recession -- in bear and bull market years. 123 positions listed over the last four years -- 84% -- have delivered impressive gains, even while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still trading lower than it was in 2007 (when it cracked through 14,000)! Only twenty-five of our listings went in the opposite direction of the reporting, which is quite impressive given the market gyrations of more than 7000 point swings since 2008.

Remember that the trading portfolio should be equal to your experience, and should not be part of your nest egg. (The nest egg is money you earn while you sleep, not while you day-trade.) If you're new, you should be using education or fun money, not your nest egg, to learn on. Take your trading profits early and often in these volatile, whip-sawing years. (Your nest egg is better off just rebalancing once or twice a year, not trying to market time.)

Half of My Company of the Year selections more than doubled.  My 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009 Companies of the Year posted up to 9000% gains (Taser), up to 690% gains (Opsware), up to 215% gains (Suntech Power Holdings), and up to 18X ROI for U.S. Gold, respectively. Applied Materials, 2010 Company of the Year, and MySpace, my 2006 Company of the Year, were both super performers within a few short months of their listings.   So seven out of nine Company of the Year selections were the best Wall Street has to offer. That's the kind of record that made me a #1 stock picker.  (I launched my first publication on 11.15.02, and featured the first Company of the Year, Taser International, on 1.1.03.)

13 out of 14 companies featured in the Company of the Month articles in 2010 earned gains -- 93%! Some other big hits were Google at the IPO (over 7X gains), Rio Tinto (tripled in value) and shorts like Fannie Mae (in 2003), real estate (2005), General Motors (2005) and Las Vegas (2008).

The NataliePace.com ezine was the first to list the following 911 alerts:

1. Muni bond and bond funds 911 Investor Alert in Sept. 2010.
2. 2008 Recession (Get Safe)
3. Trim back on Faded Blue Chips in 2006
4. Get out of Dodge (real estate) in 2005
5. Google at the IPO! (May 2004)
6. To get Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of your 401(k) in 2003

Market Movers:
The Federal Open Market Committee and Monetary Policy
The Fed funds rate continues to be "0 to 1/4 percent." The next FOMC meeting takes place on December 13, 2011.
GDP Growth Rates: The second estimates of 3rd quarter GDP growth were 2.0%. The new FOMC projections for 2011 GDP growth are 1.6-1.7%, which means we're on pace for 2.2-2.5% growth in the 4th quarter (barring more unexpected events, like a further rise in oil prices).

1^st quarter 2011 GDP growth rates were revised downward to 0.4% (blame the high price of oil), and 2Q growth was an anemic 1.3%. So, don't assume these growth rates or FOMC projections will hold. 3rd quarter 2011 (second estimates) will be released on November 22, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

GDP Growth in the U.S.

Source: BEA.gov

These release days tend to be very active on Wall Street.  For more information on GDP growth and other important economic statistics, go to the BEA.gov website and be sure to visit the NataliePace.com calendar section often.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITES AND INFORMATION:
1. FOMC Information: Interested in reading the minutes of the November 1-2, 2011 FOMC meeting for yourself? The official Federal Reserve document is available online. Go to FederalReserve.gov to read! According to the Committee, "The Committee continues to expect a moderate pace of economic growth over coming quarters... [But] there are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."

The tentative FOMC meeting schedule for the 2011-2012 calendar is December 13, 2011 (Tuesday), January 24-25, 2012 (Tues.-Wed.), March 13, 2012 (Tuesday), April 24-25 (Tuesday-Wednesday), June 19-20 (Tuesday-Wednesday), July 31 (Tuesday), September 12 (Wednesday), October 23-24 (Tuesday-Wednesday), December 11 (Tuesday), January 29-30, 2013 (Tuesday-Wednesday).

2. Calendar Section: Conferences, Online Chats and more: Check out the Calendar section of NataliePace.com regularly. You will find great opportunities to attend the most exclusive business and Green Conferences, learn about upcoming TV and radio shows and other educational opportunities -- many are FREE! Get more information on how to best use our articles in the FAQs article, located under the Investor Edu link on the home page of NataliePace.com.

Don't miss the Pace and Prosperity Show with Natalie Pace on BlogTalkRadio.com. Check BlogTalkRadio.com/NataliePace for upcoming shows and call-in and log-on instructions and to listen back to any shows that you might have missed. These shows are pod casts and are FREE!

BlogTalkRadio offers a Q&A format, where you can call in with your most pressing questions. Be sure to keep a list of your questions as they come up, and join our ongoing dialog on peace and prosperity, getting rich and enriching, green investing, the Thrive Budget and more on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NWPace.

3. Survey Results: Each month we have three new surveys so that we can stay in touch with your needs and desires. Cast your vote on our survey page.

4. Euro interest rates: ECB rates are at 1.25% (main refinancing), 2.00% (marginal lending) and 0.50% (deposit facility). The next meeting and interest rate announcement are scheduled for December 8, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. CET. (December 22, 2011 & January 12, 2012 after that.)

Hot Stocks List
Investors who "never pay retail," note that the BOLD highlighted stocks are trading at their 52-week lows or near the price featured in NataliePace.com's article. This may be a good buying opportunity. (If the stocks are not highlighted, then in our estimation, this is not a good time to buy. Reasons are explained in the news commentary.) The companies that are listed below which are not highlighted may not be in a good buying range, but they appear to be poised to continue performing well (if you have already purchased them). There are never any guarantees in life, and all stocks are risk-based investments. Consult your certified financial planner before making any changes to your investment strategy. And remember that these "Stocks on Steroids" are not intended to be part of your nest egg strategy at all -- not even for "pros." If you've never traded individual stocks before, this is your "fun" or "education" money. You should not stake your future on anything that you don't have mastery over.

Hot News List (highlighted).  Be sure that you are buying low.
Pimco Australia Bond Index (AUD)
MEMC Electronics (WFR)
Netflix (NFLX)
Shutterfly (SFLY)

DELETIONS (Take your profits early and often):
ENER1 (HEV) 11.14.11
KLA Tencor (KLAC) 11.14.11
Tesla (TSLA) 11.14.11
VMWare (VMW) 11.14.11

HOT NEWS on COOL STOCKS LIST

Deleted Companies 2010-2011:
Deleted 1.11.10: KCI with 88% gains! Deleted 8.1.10: Galaxy Resources with 48% and 9% returns and Rio Tinto with 21% gains. Deleted 9.13.10: American Superconductor (flat) & AOL (flat). 10.1.10: Blockbuster busted out in bankruptcy on 9.28.10. KLAC was deleted with 11% gains. 10.15.10: ENER1 was deleted with flat performance. 11.11.10: ENER1 was deleted with 37% gains. VECO was deleted with 2% & 41% gains. 12.1.10: KLIC was deleted with 12% gains. 1.14.11: Advanced Materials was deleted with 30% gains. 2.2.11: BEARX with losses of 14%. 2.14.11: U.S. Gold with 14.5X gains. 6.13.11: EPU with flat performance. 9.7.11: Deleted Eldorado Gold with 38% & 52% gains. 11.14.11: HEV with heavy losses, VMW and KLAC for gains of 32-33% & Tesla for 40% gains.

Deleted Companies 2008-2009:
60 winners and 9 losers.

Recently Deleted from the Hot News list:
ENER1 (HEV) on 11.14.11
KLA Tencor (KLAC) on 11.14.11
Tesla (TSLA) on 11.14.11
VMWare (VMW) on 11.14.11

Stocks to Watch
Some of these are great companies that we're thinking of adding to the Hot List and some are stinkers we're thinking of adding to the Cooling Off List.  Read carefully to identify which is which!  Note that right now most of our favorite companies are on the Watch List. Getting the price right is as important as picking the right company. Never pay retail!

Recent Additions:
GroupOn (GRPN) added December 1, 2011
KLA Tencor (KLAC) on 12.1.11
Tesla (TSLA) on 12.1.11
VMWare (VMW) on 12.1.11

Recent Deletions:
None

Cooling Off Stocks List (may be Poised for a Decline in Share Price).
Note: The companies listed in bold have recently been added to this cooling off list and/or may be currently poised for a decline in value. Investors who have them in their portfolio should read the recent news and consider whether it is time to sell and take profits, dump losses, short the position and/or simply weather the storms, while keeping the company in their long-term portfolio. At any rate, always consult your certified financial partner before making adjustments to your portfolio. (Again, note that the stocks on this chart are expected to go DOWN in price.)

ALERT: We are in a pre-election year. The markets have been volatile and down-trending, but oil prices have backed off and GDP growth is expected to pick up in the coming quarters. So, even though consumer sentiment is down, now may not be the best time to initiate a short position. Some of the stocks on the list below are here simply to keep you from buying them high.

Highlighted Companies (Cooling Off List):
None

DELETIONS:
None

Deleted in 2010-2011:
Deleted AMAT on 8.1.10 with gains of 12.5% & 7% (put gains would be double or more). 8.30.10: Deleted FIG (-10% & -40%), MXWL (-37%), MDT (-4% & -24%), MSFT (-20%) -- all for gains. Deleted MGM 9.13.10 for 61% gains. Deleted Tesla on 1.14.11 with 20% & 24% gains. 3.1.11: Deleted Shutterfly with12% gain (cooling off gain) and Sears with mixed results (up & down). 3.11.11: Deleted PIMCO Muni Bond fund with flat performance. Deleted Amazon, American Express, Capital One, Ford, Kulicke & Soffa, Netflix, Taubman, VMWare with mixed results. Deleted Apple, Baidu, Berkshire Hathaway, Intel, Transocean & Wells Fargo with losses. 4.28.11: ABAT with 51% gains. 6.13.11: LinkedIn was deleted with 25% gains, Orocobre with 18% gains, Shutterfly with 20% gains, Priceline with mixed performance and eBay was deleted with flat performance. 6.23.11: Yahoo was deleted with 12% gains. 8.15.11: LinkedIn with 10-11% gains, Netflix with -6-18% gains, Priceline with 6% gains, Tesla with 7% gains. Wynn Resorts was deleted with mixed results. 8.31.11: Toyota was deleted with gains of 14%.

Deleted 2008-2009:
19 gainers and no losers.

Recently Deleted:
None

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER (PLEASE READ):
Please note: NataliePace.com does not act or operate like a broker. We report on financial news, and are one of the most trusted independently owned and operated financial news corporations in the U.S. This article is intended to educate and inform individual investors, and, thus, to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. The publicly traded companies mentioned in this article are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies.

Investors should NOT be using the Hot News on Cool Stocks list or the Cooling Off list to trade their nest eggs. Your retirement plan should reflect a long, safe strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable however NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.

NataliePace.com Calendar:

Very Important Muni Bond Webinar (Free) Hosted by Standard & Poor's.

The NataliePace.com Calendar section features conferences, teleconferences, retreats, educational opportunities, cultural events, galas, market events and online chats with executives and VIPs. Stay plugged in! We add online chats, article updates, teleconferences, etc. as they are booked, so be sure to visit the calendar section early and often.  Below is only a partial listing of what’s happening this month.

To access links to the event website and registration, go to the Calendar section at NataliePace.com.

Sultry Sag Elevate Dance Party, Ojai, CA
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
A Total Lunar Eclipse Dance Party featuring DJ Marques Wyatt at the Elevate estate in Ojai, CA.

Massachusetts Conference for Women
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
Community and connection, information and inspiration, motivation and momentum for 7000 attendees! Speakers include athlete Marion Jones, TV host Joe Scarborough, America Ferrera and more.

FOMC Meeting
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
The Federal Open Market Committee meets to determine Federal Reserve policy in the U.S.

Understanding Munis Webinar
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
9:00AM PT
Understanding U.S. Municipals in a Volatile Year. Complimentary Webinar by Standard & Poor's Capital IQ team.

Winter Solstice
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
The depth of winter!

GDP 3Q 2011 (3rd estimate)
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
8:30AM ET
The U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA.gov) releases its third estimate on GDP growth in the 3rd Quarter of 2011.

Yoga Retreat. Kona, HI
January 28-February 4, 2012
7 nights of deep yoga and relaxation at a gorgeous eco-retreat on the north shore of the Big Island of Hawaii. Yogi Chad Hamrin hosts. Restore and renew.

Love & Money Retreat. Santa Monica, CA
February 24-26, 2012
Investor Educational Retreat taught by #1 stock picker Natalie Pace. This is an extraordinary opportunity to learn investing for gold, real estate, stocks, bonds, budgeting and passive income in an intimate boardroom setting with just 12 other people.

Beat the street with the ONLY strategy that has worked over the last decade. Get educated, get smart and start gaining!

NOTICE: NataliePace.com is NOT a stock brokerage service, and does not operate or act as one.