from FinancialSurvivalNet
Mickey Fulp and I reviewed market performance for last month. Besides the bloodshed on the TSX-V, most stock markets went up around 1 percent. Precious metals and copper were flattened, with the notable exception of Palladium. Energy was also down, except for natural gas which has been helped by a cold winter in the Northeast. But the surprise of the month was the strengthening dollar. It was up 3.5% while the euro lost 3.8%. Will wonders ever cease?
Click Here to Listen to the Audio
Sign up (on the right side) for the instant free Financial Survival Toolkit and free weekly newsletter.
While Mayor Michael The Nanny Bloomberg just keeps going. This is just the tip of regulatory iceberg. They’re intent on taking away your rights, one calorie at a time. Bloomberg has just under a year left at the helm of New York City, and he seems hell-bent on inflicting the maximum amount of damage. His ban on large sugary drinks goes into effect on March 12, 2013, a day that will forever live in infamy, unless the courts strike down this preposterous rule.
We caught up with 
We caught up with 
10 years ago, 
Jonathan Burton is the money and investing editor for MarketWatch, overseeing coverage of investment news and strategies. His Life Savings column focuses on money and personal finance matters. Since the stock markets are off to such an enthusiastic start for the year, we may well see good performance in 2013. Higher dividend paying stocks will remain in vogue, as will larger cap stocks that are better able to navigate an uncertain future for the world economy. He’s hesistant to make comments about the political situation, but sees ample reason for concern on that front. But for now things look pretty good.
Dr. Rosalene Glickman coined the term Optimal Thinking. While positive thinking is nice, it won’t necessarily get you what you want, or where you want to be. Instead, her theory is to get you to live the best life you possibly can as much as you can. This means changing self-limiting thoughts and being totally honest with yourself. We can be our own best friend or our worst enemy. The choice is always ours to make. The consequences are obvious. And always remember that success in one area of your life, does not mean you’ll have a successful life. That requires Optimal Living.
When it comes to making every minute count, you should look into joining a time bank. Members exchange hours for credit and receive services from other members in repayment. Best of all it’s non-taxable and even fun. Delia thinks it’s all part of the collaborative economy coming to the forefront. She believes that the Senate’s new cross the aisle attitude is all a part of it. While your host wouldn’t quite go that far, there’s certainly some merit to people joining and looking for non-governmental solutionsl Most of the problems that society suffers today are the direct result of excessive over-reaching government.
People are rising up against Drones surveilling their activities and reporting back to the police. Seattle just banned the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) from their skies and Florida has a bill pending in the legislature that would also severely restrict local governments’ ability to watch you from the sky. Many other states are considering similar actions as well. However, the user/abuser of Drones is the federal government. Remember about a year ago, I was flying down the East Coast and personally witnessed one patrolling the skies. Every state bill passed will need to have an exception for Homeland Security, when they are purportedly going after terrorists. However, what exactly constitutes a terrorist in this day and age is an open question. You are seeing the beginning of a revolt by the people to limit their government’s power.
When it comes to figuring out what’s going on in the debt, currency and precious metals markets, no one is better informed or more insightful than