“May you live in interesting times” … Ancient Chinese Curse That’s right. This famous Chinese proverb was actually written as a curse, and I’d say that it totally and completely sums up this past year. 2008 just became the worst investment year since the Great Depression, with losses of 35-40% for most major indices.

When the news broke about the $50 billion Ponzi Scheme that Bernie Madoff engineered over a twenty to thirty year period, I knew the story rang a bell. I went back through my records and found the original Barron’s article in 2001, and written by Erin Arvedlund.

The bear market rally continued today, this time thanks to never before seen moves by the US Federal Reserve. They not only dropped the Fed Funds rate by .50%, but also made it very clear in their forward looking comments that they would provide record amounts of liquidity to the markets going forward …

It’s snowing here as I write this…actual flurries. We rarely get snow in Houston, so this is a fun time for us. The last time we had snow was Christmas eve, 2004. Prior to that it had been at least 10 years, so I’ll have to ask all of you that live in colder climates to bear with my reaction to the white stuff.

As I forecast yesterday, the market had a fairly tough day today, ending down over 240 points. If the auto bailout does not take place…as the market is expecting…we could see a 500-1000 point drop in no time at all. I continue to believe …

It's probably the last thing anyone wants to hear so soon after news of the 533,000 lost jobs lost month (announced on Friday) -- but if history is a guide, it's only going to get worse from here. Details to follow…

This is the scariest market I have ever seen. How can anyone be expected to trust their investments when the market can drop 300 points in less than 30 minutes? Day after day after day this is happening, and if you’re wondering what the heck is going on…

One of the best trades possible is shorting the market whenever Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke make TV appearances. So, it should be no surprise that the market dropped 670 points (8%) on Monday as BOTH decided to grace us with their presence. The markets message is clear; more government interference is NOT what we need.