The REIT had a nice bump yesterday closing up around 4%. In terms of this one as an investment I am a little disappointed that there is zero dividend. REITS are known for having some of the highest dividend payouts in the market place, so when considering an investment choice, I would probably look for an alternative REIT that also provides dividend income. Any thoughts?

Perhaps with so much potential volatility in Europe due to concerns about Brexit, Italy, Greece, and worries over China's debt, we should look towards safer index investing ideas and ETFs. Perhaps sticking with the tried and tested ones is safest in the long run; SPY (9.8%YTD), IWM (18% YTD), DIA (12.5%YTD). Any thoughts?

True that silver had been performing better than gold of late, but I have 2 thoughts: I am somewhat concerned about the volatility of penny stocks that you mentioned above. If I was investing in silver I prefer iShares Silver Trust ($SLV), and secondly, with the expectation for more rate hikes in 2017, I foresee that safe haven investments like gold and silver will be worse performers when compared with banking and financial stocks like #Citigroup, #BankOfAmerica, or #Goldman Sachs. As always, best advice is to diversify. $C $BAC $GS

Gold continues its decline dropping down another 1% again today and now trades at around the 1129 level. It seems that there is an inverse relationship between the strength of the dollar and the upwards trend of the US majors, and the price of gold. Gold will continue to be the the commodity of safety but not necessarily the first choice for investors especially when the US stock markets are outperforming. The DIA, SPY, and QQQ are all up around 0.40% today along with a strengthening dollar. USD/JPY is up about 0.75% today teasingly close to the 118 level. All this could reverse once the markets bubble bursts, and when that happens I foresee a resurgence of Gold prices. Do you agree?

Call it seasonal adjustment or a growing lack of interest in sedan models of GM's cars perhaps, but interestingly there were announcements of planned January factory idling by GM just yesterday as demand weakens. It announced it would be idling 5 factories throughout the US. Is this also as a possible outcome of Americans holding on to their cars for longer and buying more used cars? A July 2015 report stated that: the average age of vehicles on the road has climbed to an all-time high of 11 1/2 years—up about one month compared to last year—nearly one out of every four vehicles in the U.S. was built before the year 2000.

I think there is still a lot of uncertainty in the market. and this is what might be putting the stopper on the markets in general. Major unresolved themes include: Brexit in the UK, the Fed interest rate decision uncertainty, and what Trump will do when he takes power in January. For example will he take aim at companies like Apple and if so what effect will this have on the Nasdaq. If the US dollar continues to strengthen as it has, what effect will this have on US companies export prices? Lastly the elephant in the room is that we are very overdue for a market crash. We are in a bubble, and many believe it's just a matter of time in the cyclical economy in which we find ourselves.

So now that Trump has been elected and we have seen the effect this had on stocks its interesting to see how stocks have responded. Perhaps contrary to what you predicted back in March, Bank of America has not been hit hard by the election results. In fact Bank stocks and BAC have been on an incredible run since the elections in November. BAC is up from around $17 on November 8th to $23.09 today which is around 30%. One thing we can expect is a lot more volatility in the markets. And of course this week's major event is the Fed meeting. We should see further dollar strengthening and swelling of banking stocks.

#Bonds are an option as a long term investment but the question is are they more or less secure or risky than stocks or #ETFs. Since yields can change based on government defined interest rates, I would suggest a strong word of caution. I would suggest a bond investment within an ETF would lower the level or risk for longer term investors, any thoughts?

Thanks for that interesting analysis of bond issues. I was wondering what the downside might be to issuing bonds. Is there an inflation concern by raising more money into the economy? Is this a last resort option done in times of depression or post war? Why don't more countries do it? Are there other tools that a government can use to raise money? Are taxes a better option? Looking forward to hearing more on this fascinating topic.

As a company specializing in higher-end restaurant services, I would be concerned that IVFH would not be a good place to invest. In the event of an economic downturn, what's one of the first areas that people cut back on? Answer: restaurants and entertainment.