DonDiego is somewhat fearful of what the New Year may bring economically.
The problems, some of which he thinks are very serious, don't seem to be getting solved, . . . or even addressed, . . . but just kicked down the road.
__Quantitative easing cannot continue long without resulting in inflation, . . . lots of inflation.
__And the FED purchasing toxic real estate assets which persist in declining in value cannot go on; DonDiego doesn't know what happens if the FED goes bankrupt, but he suspects it won't be good.
__And the fact that some States and municipalities are effectively bankrupt too concerns poor old DonDiego. Will the Federal Government bail them out? Can the Federal Government bail them out?
__What happens to world trade when Portugal and Italy are bailed out as Greece and Ireland have already been by the IMF including lots of US dollars, . . . and then Spain fails and it's too big to fail but too big to be bailed out?
__ etc., etc., etc.
Anyway, these problems can lead to hard times worldwide, including the US, especially if world trade grinds to a significant slowdown. If the hard times are bad, . . . . and DonDiego means really, really bad, . . . . the only investments that are gonna help one are a place to live in the country along with lots of food, water, fuel, weapons, ammunition, and silver and gold coins, . . . preferably within a community of like-minded citizens. This would require a significant change in DonDiego's laid-back lifestyle, a change he has not been willing to make, . . . yet.
But so long as things keep muddlin' along DonDiego will stay invested in stocks, . . . and hope he gets out before the next crash.
re: jatki99
DonDiego opines that consumer spending, especially discretionary spending, most especially spending on entertainment won't be the place to be for several years. Therefore, no casino stocks are in his portfolio.
re: RoadTrip
The primary lithium producers will, indeed, be profitable so long as economies remain intact. But their stocks have already been "discovered" and DonDiego suggests they are no longer a buy, e.g.: SQM up from $20 to $60 since the 2008 crash.
On the other hand if economic problems persist and especially if significant inflation returns precious metals may, indeed, continue to do well. DonDiego has held the Tocqueville Gold Fund (TGLDX) in his IRA for several years and continues to do so. DonDiego's largest single investment is in a very, very small Canadian gold mining firm which has quintupled since the 2008 crash; it is too high-risk for DonDiego to name comfortably.
re: other DonDiego holdings
Coal Stocks - James River Coal (JRCC) and CONSOL Energy (CNX), which is also a play on natural gas.
Oil Stocks - Exxon (XOM) seems a relatively safe way to play oil
Agricultural Stocks - DonDiego has held and is considering several; his third largest investment, after the mine indicated above and his home, is Agrium (AGU)
He doesn't own them now, but Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Coca-Cola (KO) pay nice dividends and appear relatively safe unless everything really does unwind soon.
Good Luck !
