The Weekend Vigilante

Hello from Nassau, Bahamas,

I flew in via float plane from Santo Domingo a few days ago.  It took a total of about 10 hours and 2 fuel stops to get here on the small single engine aircraft but it was worth it just to avoid my only other option for getting here, which would entail a stop over and mild raping by the Miami TSA.

My partner, Michael Bach, flew back to Acapulco a few days ago... and he was so shocked at how they treat you in US airports now he chose to fly back through Bogota, Colombia just to avoid Miami!  He actually went to a whole different continent to avoid them!

I have never been to the Bahamas before, so this has been a learning experience for me.  The Bahamian people are very nice, overall.  That makes sense, I suppose... when you grow up on an idyllic island in the Caribbean you'd tend to be pretty relaxed and happy.

I've been staying at the Atlantis hotel on "Paradise Island".  The island used to be called "Hog Island" actually, but they changed the name when they built the hotel.  Probably a pretty smart move!

The hotel isn't for me.  You might as well be in Las Vegas... everything here is just like it would be in Vegas.  It's built as a sort-of all-inclusive resort where everything you could possibly need is all here on the grounds.  And it is all exactly the way it would be in the US.  I've never understood why people would want to go to a place like the Bahamas, never leave their hotel and want everything in the hotel to be exactly how it is at home.  But, thousands of mostly fat Americans waddle around here all day, seemingly enjoying it.

The hotel, however, is in some serious financial trouble.  The word is that it hasn't recovered from the 2008 financial crash and now, just like in most places, the Chinese Government is moving in and building a $3.4 billion, 1000 acre resort on the island.  Interestingly, they are also bringing in 8,000 Chinese workers on the project.  I guess that's job creation and stimulus, Chinese style.

Probably the funniest thing I've seen since I've been here is a place called "Island Luck".  I and a TDV subscriber, Stefan S., were out at a local bar for a drink and I asked if they had wifi.  I don't like to use my Mexican cellphone for roaming data as checking my email can cost $50, so I look for wifi whenever I can.  The bartender told me that there is an internet place upstairs but I have to use their computers, they don't have wifi.

So, I wandered upstairs and was surprised at what I saw.  There, at about midnight on a Wednesday evening, were dozens of Bahamians at the internet cafe... but the strange part was, they were ALL playing the same game on the computer.  It looks like a slot machine game and morbidly obese Bahamian women just sat their watching the digits spin.

I've since learned it is called "playing numbers" and it is an underground form of gambling.  The Bahamian Government has declared that Bahamians cannot gamble in the casino here in Nassau.  So, instead, chains of "internet cafes" sprung up around the island where people can play an internet game that is basically the equivalent of a slot machine but is payed out in such a way that it skirts the law.

Chalk up another win for the free market.  The owner of Island Luck is apparently quite wealthy from all this... he's an internet cafe mogul!

BAHAMAS AS EXPAT LOCATION?

Should you consider moving here?  Well, it's not that easy.  To be a resident you have to own a piece of property of $500,000 or more.  But, if you have that kind of money and are looking to live in a tropical paradise, maybe Bahamas is for you.

As we flew in on the float plane I was surprised to see how many private islands had their own airplane runway.  And each island is disconnected from the others, meaning almost complete privacy... and all are self sustaining, mostly with generators.  So, it wouldn't be a bad place to sit out the next few years of western monetary system collapse... if you can afford it.  And if you don't mind living on a private island.  As romantic as it may sound, I'd go stir crazy being cut off that much from the world.  But, to each his own.

THE NEXT ISSUE OF TDV UPDATE

For subscribers, please note that the February issue of TDV has been slightly delayed mostly due to all my travel lately.  We are aiming to get it out on Monday now... or Tuesday at the very latest.  We apologize for the delay.

TDV GOLDEN TRADER RACKS UP BIG GAINS

Vin Maru's TDV Golden Trader newsletter has been off to an incredibly hot start.  Just check out his winning streak so far (stock symbols removed):

I asked Vin to give us a brief summary on his thoughts on the gold bullion and mining sectors right now.  Here is what he said:

Here at TDV, we are all long term bullish on precious metals and the mining sector.  While we see gyrations in the markets, all indicators point to the trend remaining intact and the worst of this correction through this past fall seems to be over.  I am finally starting to see some good price action with the juniors where they are trending upwards based on no news or events.  After being beaten down over the last year, they are still way undervalued based on today’s gold price of around $1750.  It looks like the junior sector is bottom bouncing within a 10% - 15% range advancing two steps forward with one step back.    

It’s times like this where investing in gold and the mining sector is probably the easiest and most profitable.  Now that the floor has been laid down in December and the trend is slowly reversing back to the upside, all we have to do is stay with the trend.  Trading the gold stocks will be much easier from here and if a typical Elliot wave pattern develops, we should see three major waves up with two minor corrections in between, giving us five major trading opportunities before we see the next cyclical high. We trade our positions based on price action at support and resistance levels, technical indicators such as MACD, RSI and volume. 

Once you can establish a new trend, trading it for great profits can be very easy if you have a trading strategy and stick with it.  That’s what the Golden Trader is all about, finding a new trend and looking for trading opportunities early enough so that the trend becomes our friend.  Once the gold sector finishes bottoming and the sector as a whole starts to blast off, then the trend becomes your next best friend and you want to be on his side until he bends. 

Great advice from Vin.  You can check out his newsletter here: http://www.tdvgoldentrader.com/.  The Dollar Vigilante newsletter's portfolio has definitely perked up in the last few weeks also, so hopefully Vin is right and we are in the beginning of an overall move higher.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SILVER CIRCLE

At the recent Vancouver resource show I had the pleasure of speaking with Megan Duffield of the upcoming movie about the end of the Federal Reserve and a return to precious metals money called The Silver Circle.  You can see more on the movie here: http://www.silvercirclemovie.com/.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

That's all for this week, have a good one!