How to Get a Potential 600% Return on a US Government Backed Investment

There is a potential return of well over 600% on an investment with an extremely low minimum to participate. In addition, the investment is guaranteed by the United States Government. First, let me tell you that I am not referring to US EE Saving Bonds, although those used to have a lot of benefits before 2008. (The current yield on them is 0.1%.)

Before I tell you what this investment is, I want to give you a little background. You may have already seen it on the news recently but the former economic adviser to President Obama and ex-Treasury secretary Larry Summers has called for the elimination of the $100 bill and potentially take them all out of circulation, similar to what happened to the $500 and $1000 bill. He also hinted that the $50 bill should be looked at in the same way.

Reasons given were to reduce the drug trade and money laundering. Some pundits believe that the government wants all money to go electronic, so that they can track all transactions easier.

So what does all this have to do with investing you might ask? Well, recently, I sold an old car for $1500 and the woman who bought it went into her bank to get cash to pay for it and came out with a wad of money, folded over, about three inches thick. It was all twenties.

The first words out of my mouth were "They didn't have any hundreds?" No $100 bills!

Remembering the news about the hundred dollar bills, I tried an experiment. I went to three major banks to withdraw or cash a check for one or two hundred dollars, and asked for my money in hundreds. Two out of the three banks didn't have hundreds.

Now come on! No hundred dollar bills? These were not podunk banks. These were major banks with many branches in major cities across the United States.

So I thought maybe the elimination of the benjis has already started. (In case you haven't heard the term benji, it refers to Benjamin Franklin who appears on the hundred dollar bills.)

So I decided to do some research on high denomination currency. Prior to 1970, the $500 and $1000 bills used to be in regular circulation. (If you watched any of the old Perry Mason TV shows, you might have seen a couple of them in use.)

However, the US Government took them out of circulation, and they ended up becoming collectors items. If you check out some of the prices of uncirculated $1000 bills on eBay (EBAY), you would see prices of $7,799, $7,500, $5,250, $6,000, etc. These are returns over face value of 425% to 680%. Anyway, you get the picture.

Could the $100 bill become a collector's item? Certainly, if they are withdrawn from circulation. You would want to get uncirculated currency in mint condition.

If you ask you bank for a bundle of new $100 bills (a bundle is one hundred banknotes), your bank will file a CTR (currency transaction report) with the government, since the bundle will equal $10,000. In that case, you might be viewed as a suspicious character.

Could the $100 bills increase in value as much as the $1000 bills? That is a big uncertainty because there are far more hundreds in circulation than there were thousand dollar bills. But you never know. They could end up like the $100 trillion dollar Zimbabwe bills.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that the hundred dollar bill will never lose value (not counting the loss due to inflation).  If it never gains value as a collectible, you can always spend it.

So if you have a little spare change, why not put away a hundred dollar bill for each of your children and/or grandchildren, or even yourself. You never know what it could be worth in the future.

How to Get the Amazon Discount by Using the Amazon Smartphone App

Amazon (AMZN) wants to make sure that you make a purchase wherever you are, whenever you are thinking about it. So it has come out with a special offer. You can get a $5 credit for using the Amazon.com App.

Assuming you haven't downloaded the app yet, you can get a five dollar credit using the promotion code FRED6784N (if you are on your cell phone right now, you can click the link below and it will bring you to the right location to sign up and download the app). Once you download the app, you just need to verify your phone number with Amazon to get the $5 credit.

Use this referral link to get a $5 coupon at Amazon for signing into the Amazon App the first time: https://amazon.com/mpr?referralcode=FRED6784N&ref_=mpr_tr_ss

Do 'Bad' Stocks Do Better than 'Good' Stocks?

Investors who aren't concerned about what businesses their investments are in might want to consider investing in 'bad' stocks, often referred to as 'vice stocks' or 'sin stocks', and now are referred to as the supposedly politically correct term, 'barrier stocks.' They are now called that because the industries have a barrier to entry. The industries include tobacco, alcohol, gambling, defense, adult entertainment, and other businesses that have negative connotations by many investors.

As a matter of fact, there is a mutual fund that used to be called the Vice Fund, but is now called the USA Mutuals Barrier Investor

Fund. (VICEX). Over the last year, the fund has significantly outperformed the S&P 500, rising 3.26% versus a drop of 2.36% for the S&P. Even over five years and ten years, the fund has outperformed the stock market in general. Year-to-date, the fund is up 3.69% versus a loss in the S&P.

If you are wondering what sort of stocks are in the Barrier Fund portfolio, here are the top eight holding:

Philip Morris International Inc (PM)
Reynolds American Inc (RAI)
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)
Altria Group, Inc. (MO)
MGM Resorts International (MGM)
Raytheon Company (RTN)
Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
General Dynamics Corp (GD)

Each of these stocks represent anywhere from 3% to 6% of the portfolio.

Rydex Leisure (RYLIX) is a fund that owns several stocks that are considered 'bad' or not so good, such as Philip Morris, Altria, and Reynolds American. It also owns McDonald's (MCD) as some investors consider fast food to be not-so-good.

Another fund that has occasionally been put in the vice fund category includes Fidelity Select Consumer Staples (FDFAX), which owns British American Tobacco, Reynolds American, and Altria. It also owns Pepsico (PEP) and Coca Cola (KO), which many consider not-so-good due to the sale of sugary drinks.

If you are not concerned about how your investment funds are used, buying the 'bad' stocks might be a 'good' strategy.

Disclosure: Author owns MCD, PEP, & KO. 

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of April

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends,' also commonly referred to as 'Dividend Capture.' This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, and the yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia	BNS	1-Apr	6.0%
Brixmor Property Group Inc.	BRX	1-Apr	4.0%
City Office REIT Inc.	CIO	1-Apr	5.7%
Mack-Cali Realty Corp.	CLI	1-Apr	2.7%
Empire Resources Inc	ERS	1-Apr	3.0%
Kimco Realty Corp  REIT	KIM	1-Apr	3.6%
ClubCorp Holdings Inc	MYCC	1-Apr	3.9%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. Most of the lists are free. 
Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia Makes a Great Gift!

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com