Friday, October 31, 2008

Any Comment?

I just want to thank the readers that left a comment on my posts or wrote me email messages.

It is a pleasure to know that somebody finds what I write useful.

If you like this blog please send it to your friends.

To all of you: thanks for reading and please come back.



  • This Navellier guy is unbelievable. I bought the Navellier U.S. All Cap mutual fund back about 8 years ago and it has been an utter DISASTER - even before the fiasco we're going through now. I know I'm a fool for holding on to it for so long. Please, everybody stay away from Navellier!!! Run for your lives!!! Do not let him throw any more of our money down the tubes!!!

  • I've been reading his "Little Book" book lately and I'm sure it's got some great advice for the investing novice like myself, but I've been so inundated in my inbox with hard pitches...like the creepy ones where you MUST ACT NOW before YOU LOSE OUT...that you want to take a shower. Blech. I'm going to see if I can separate the wheat from the chaff, but I have a knee-jerk desire to conclude that it's all a big sales pitch.

  • Trending 123 is a scam. They have had huge losses but as with many scammers they only advertise their winners, making you believe how wonderful they are, when in reality if you followed everyone of their recommendations you would like have done very poorly or lost your money.

  • I subscribed to Navalier's Blue Chip Growth for about three years and for about a year I got the Quantum Growth Newsletter. Blue Chip wasn't bad. Quantum sucked. Your posting makes me very grateful that I'm not paying him to help me lose my money.

  • Mr. Hsu lacks the practical judgment on stocks. He does not manage to even beat a simple index fund. Bad advice.

  • I invested in EJ last May at 17+$ on Mr. Hsu's avid advice. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I managed to get out at twelve. Today it's trading below 9. And I paid him well for this timely tip!

  • I got sucked into the $199 Quantum Growth offer last week and proceeded to be instantly screwed when prices on most of the picks plunged. It's nice to see someone exposing the poor performance of Louis' service. Asking for my $199 back (or what's left of it at this point) is absurd--I lost several thousand bucks thanks to this Quantum disaster. Some of it has been made up in today's surge, but far from all.

  • Hello Karl, I have just discovered your Investorcrap blog and have found it very funny and relevant as it reinforces my own experience losing large amounts of money (from both the occasional good gains as well as the original investments) with Robert Hsu and Louis Navellier over the last 2 years. These guys need to be exposed for their failures and for their copy-writers' exaggerations of their successes and for the misleading promises of their e-mailed teasers. Please keep at it! Thanks,

Blue Chip - What to say?

November 6th: UPDATED with APC and JEC
October 31st: UPDATED with FPL, OI and CAM
October 26th: UPDATED with ABB, NOV and RTN
October 24th: PDATED with APD sell

One single post is not enough to illustrate the disaster Mr. Navellier did with his Blue Chip Growth subscribers' money.

So I will post here a summary of the closed position for November and will come over them in more details in the next days.

First of all, Mr. Navellier's words:

I have two great new buys this month: [REMOVED]. I want you to sell 15 stocks: ABB Ltd. (ABB), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Air Products & Chemicals (APD), Apple (AAPL), Cameron International (CAM), Deere & Company (DE), FMC Technologies (FTI), FPL Group (FPL), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), National Oilwell Varco (NOV), Owens-Illinois (OI), Range Resources (RRC), Raytheon International (RTN), Research in Motion (RIMM) and Vimple Communications (VIP).
  • Deere & Company (DE), Range Resources (RRC), Research in Motion (RIMM), and Vimple Communications (VIP) have either already reported earnings or have failed to set a firm report date. Sell these stocks immediately.

  • Apple (AAPL) reports earnings tomorrow—on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Sell the stock into strength on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

  • Air Products & Chemicals (APD) reports on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Sell this stock Thursday, Oct. 23.

  • ABB Ltd. (ABB), National Oilwell Varco (NOV) and Raytheon International (RTN) report earnings on Thursday, Oct. 23. I want you to sell all three stocks Friday, Oct. 24.

  • FPL Group (FPL) reports earnings Monday, Oct. 27. Sell the stock on Tuesday, October 28.

  • Owens-Illinois (OI) reports earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Sell the stock on Thursday, October 30.

  • Cameron International (CAM) reports earnings Thursday, Oct. 30. Sell the stock on Friday, Oct. 31.

  • Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and Jacobs Engineering (JEC) report earnings Tuesday, Nov. 4. Sell both these stocks into strength Wednesday, Nov. 5.

  • FMC Technologies (FTI) reports earnings on Thursday, Nov. 6. Sell this stock Friday, Nov. 7

And now a performance summary, that will be updated in the next days according with the sell dates:
  1. DE: bought on February 2008 at $76.40 and sold on October 21st at around $37.39 (-51%)
  2. RRC: bought on March 2008 at $57.60 and sold on October 21st at around $35.40 (-38%)
  3. RIMM: bought on February 2007 at $41.45 and sold on October 21st at around $50.53 (+22% - it was at $145 in June 2008, that makes a 227% missed profit)
  4. VIP: bought on June 2007 at $19.94 and sold on October 21st at around $12.37 (-37%)
  5. AAPL: bought on December 2004 at $27.45 and sold on October 22nd at no more than $101.25 for a maximum 269%. Consider that AAPL was over $200 in December 2007 and the missed profit ($100) is bigger than the realized gain ($74).
  6. APD: bought on January 2008 at $101.39 and sold on October 23rd at no more than $55.85 (-44.9% in the best case)
  7. ABB: bought on June 2008 at $32.69 and sold on October 24th at no more than its maximum of $11.21 (-65.7% in the very best case)
  8. NOV: bought on September 2007 at $54.33 and sold at no more than $26.00 (-47.8%)
  9. RTN: bought on October 2006 at $47.23 and sold at no more than $45.75 (a modest -3%)
  10. FPL: bought on May 2007 at $62.25 and sold on October 27th at no more than $42.69 (-31%)
  11. OI: bought on March 2008 at $54.77 and sold on October 29th at no more than $20.55 (-62%)
  12. CAM: bought on September 2007 at $35.85 and sold on October 30th at no more than $24.48 (-31%)
  13. APC: bought on June 2008 at $78.15 and sold at no more than $36.77 (-52.9%)
  14. JEC: bought on December 2007 at $78.32 and sold at no more than $41.12(-47%)
  15. FTI: bought on November 2007 at $58.41 and currently $30.65 (down 47%)

Come back soon for updates on next closing positions and details on losses and missed profits...


Quantum Growth Performance - Part 4


And finally, for now, the summary of all Quantum Growth October trades.

Some details on specific trades might follow.

I might also post the same summaries for Global Growth.




Thursday, October 30, 2008

Update on Global Growth Sell List

These last choppy days triggered some sells on Louis Navellier's $5.000/year Global Growth sell list.

You may remember Mr. Navellier defined very precise Sell Above prices for these stocks, often these sell above prices were decreased week after week.

This week Mr. Navellier and his $100/week paying subscribers sold the following stocks:
  1. PBR
  2. CHT
  3. LAZ
  4. ACL
  5. FMX
  6. PDA
  7. EDU
  8. KOF

Come back in the next days to discover the details about these losing trades.

Quantum Growth Performance - Part 3

The third quarter of 2008 did not go much better for Quantum Growth $5.000/year paying subscribers.

After a first quarter with monthly losses ranging between 0% and 4% and a second quarter that was basically neutral, here are the performances from July to September 2008.

Please note: I am only reporting closed positions here.














Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Navellier's scare tactics

In his latest Blue Chip Growth Flash Alert from yesterday Mr. Louis Navellier writes:

And in case you've bought into the scare tactics about the commodities bubble, the 20% gain by CF Industries (CF) today and 17% gain in Monsanto (MON) should prove that agricultural stocks aren't dead!

I think I am dreaming...

CF moved from $172 to 37 to current $54 from June to October.
MON moved from $145 to $68 to current $83 in the same period.

And Mr. Navellier talks about scare tactics about the commodities bubble?

MON at $83 has still a P/E ratio of 23...

Quantum Growth Performance - Part 2

Following the first part of Louis Navellier's $5.000/year Quantum Growth performance summary, triggered by the bull...t he wrote in his recent spam, here is the seconf part of the summary: April to June 2008.

As you can see, finally he made some profits on May 2008: a month to remember...









Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Special Invitation for Joe the Plumber - Quantum Growth Performance

Fellow Investor:

Looking to save your future, look no further:
My Quantum Growth letter will not only bring you the fastest moving stocks in all markets and at all times…
…but also help you begin to rebuild your retirement in the next 30 days—and at a price for every budget: $699!

My Special Offer Will Help You Rebuild Your Future FAST

I’m Louis Navellier, and if you’ve ever wanted to try my Quantum Growth Letter and grab your share of double digit winners, you couldn’t have asked for a better time.
The reason is simple:
In the next 30 days…
  • The bailout bill will begin to take effect
  • The presidential election will be over
  • The credit markets will begin to flow
  • Real estate prices will begin to stabilize
  • Investors will have new confidence and

—MOST IMPORTANT—

  • The $1 trillion that’s sitting on the sidelines will surge back into the market, and with it you’ll see a huge spike in our Quantum stocks—as their outstanding earnings growth continues to deliver the market’s greatest profits!


But you’d better hurry!
You Won’t Get A Second Chance
As I write this, pension fund, mutual fund and hedge fund managers are readjusting their holdings RIGHT NOW to profit on the upside.


They are moving billions back in to the market RIGHT NOW—proving to the world that the global banking system is back on track.
If you don’t act now—TODAY—to overweight your holdings in our newest top-rated Quantums, you’ll not only miss the next 20% to 40% gains we see headed your way…
…but kick yourself for years.
That’s why I’ve just issued 6 buy alerts to my Quantum Growth members. You could have access to those 6 names in less than 5 minutes just by
clicking here.
My $699, 3-month trial offer makes it possible for you to catch the upside right from the beginning—WITHOUT any long-term commitment—and at a special price that won’t be repeated.
Please act now.

Your Decision Today Will Determine Your Future Wealth


For the past 23 years, I’ve helped my readers build wealth in all markets and at all times—even in this market.
Despite the market’s recent ups and downs, our research continues to indicate there’s a new level of global confidence afoot, and this is no time to sit on the sidelines.
After all…
With the leaders of 15 Eurozone countries guaranteeing bank-to-bank loans and the U.S. government set to purchase stocks in US banks, it’s only a matter of days before investors realize the credit freeze is starting to thaw…
…and the rest of the $1 trillion that’s been sitting on the sidelines comes pouring in.
This is not only why the Alpha ratings on our Quantums surged today…but also why they’re now set to double, triple and perhaps even quadruple the Dow’s ultimate rise in the weeks and months ahead.
All thanks to BOLD new confidence that the banking bailout is finally working.
Don’t get left behind.

$699 TODAY ONLY


My Quantum Growth service is for investors who want to own the best stocks, want to collect the biggest profits and are willing to act quickly on my unhedged recommendations.
If you are willing to invest in my recommendations, you will enjoy the benefits that my Quantum Growth system has brought to others and you will never invest any other way.
If you can’t take me up on my $699 offer TODAY, chances are you wouldn’t buy my recommendations anyway, and I would be remiss in accepting you as a new reader.
That’s why you’ll have to make your decision today.
The global credit freeze is thawing. Our Quantums are soaring. So if you’re going to profit from these moves, NOW is the time.
Your quick action today will determine your future wealth.
Sincerely,

Louis NavellierEditor,
Quantum Growth

P.S. If you’ve read this far and haven’t decided not to grab my $699, 3-month trial, please remember this:
A year’s subscription to Quantum Growth regularly costs $5,000 and you have to sign up for a minimum of a full year.
Because the profit potential for a turnaround NOW is so great—my publisher has allowed me to open the door for a limited number of 3-month trials for just $699 with no long-term commitment.
But only for today.
If you want to profit with us, then you must accept my savings offer today without hesitation. The action or inaction you take today will determine your future wealth.I look forward to hearing from you.


This is the latest spam I received from Mr. Louis Navellier. The sentence in red is the most false bull...t I have read in his messages up to now.


Let's see how Mr. Navellier helped his $5.000/years paying customers to build their wealth in this market.


I am going to report the detailed perforance of the Quantum Growth trades starting from here, month by month.


Here are the trades closed in January 2008:


Here are the trades closed in February 2008:


Here are the trades closed in March 2008:



To Be Continued...

Another Quantum Disaster

This is not a good period for Louis Navellier's Quantum Growth subscribers. There have been so many losing trades that I would be very upset if I were one of the $5.000/year ($100/week) paying subscribers.

Mr. Navellier and his marketing department do not know what to write in their spam messages in order to attract fools new subscribers.

Read this sentence from his last Quantum Growth spam:

For the past 23 years, I’ve helped my readers build wealth in all markets and at all times—even in this market.

Well, just read this blog and you will see how much wealth his readers built in this market. But this is such a juicy topic I will dedicate a full post to it.

Let's move on with this week quantum sells. There are 12 sells:
  1. Chart Industries (GTLS)
  2. Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF)
  3. EMCOR Group (EME)
  4. Flowserve (FLS)
  5. FMC Corporation (FMC)
  6. Gerdau (GGB)
  7. Insteel Industries (IIIN)
  8. NII Holdings (NIHD)
  9. Peabody Energy (BTU)
  10. Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT)
  11. Starent Networks (STAR)
  12. Terra Industries (TRA)
Before looking at the performances of these trades, let's have a quick look at last week's Top 5 Stocks.
  1. [REMOVED SINCE STILL IN PORTFOLIO]
  2. Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) was up big today. [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. The stock is an outstanding buy!
  3. Terra Industries (TRA) [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. Terra Industries is an outstanding buy.
  4. FMC Corporation (FMC) [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT] The stock is an outstanding buy!
  5. Gerdau’s (GGB) earnings rose more than 23.6% [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. The stock is a great buy, especially in anticipation of a great third-quarter earnings report.

Let's also have a look at last week's new buys:

  1. Chart Industries (GTLS) [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. GTLS is an outstanding buy.
  2. Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. CLF is an outstanding buy.
  3. EMCOR Group (EME) is one of [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. EMCOR Group is now an outstanding buy.
  4. Flowserve (FLS) makes [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. Flowserve was recently added to the S&P 500 and is an outstanding buy!
  5. FMC Corporation (FMC) specializes in [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. FMC Corporation is an outstanding buy!
  6. Gerdau (GGB) is Brazil’s largest producer of [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT] Gerdau is a great buy.
  7. Insteel Industries (IIIN) manufactures [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT].
    Insteel is a good buy, but I have to warn you that it can be thinly traded. [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT].
  8. NII Holdings (NIHD), [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. The stock is a great buy.
  9. Peabody Energy (BTU) is the worlds’ [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. BTU is an outstanding buy.
  10. Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT) derives [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT]. PBT is a great buy.
  11. Terra Industries (TRA) is one of the [REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT], I believe Terra Industries is an outstanding buy.

All these outstanding buys were so outstanding that they were sold yesterday...

Finally, a final note on how much wealth was built this week.

Performance

  1. 1. Chart Industries (GTLS) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $19.31, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $11.74, Loss -39.2%
  2. Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $36.47, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $22.24, Loss -39.0%
  3. EMCOR Group (EME) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $19.87, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $15.76, Loss -20.7%
  4. Flowserve (FLS) Bbuy date: October 20th, buy price: $66.21, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $43.50, Loss -34.3%
  5. FMC Corporation (FMC) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $38.97, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $30.00, Loss -23.0%
  6. Gerdau (GGB) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $7.10, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $4.66, Loss -34.4%
  7. Insteel Industries (IIIN) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $9.51, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $7.87, Loss -17.2%
  8. NII Holdings (NIHD) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $28.11, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $15.94, Loss -43.3%
  9. Peabody Energy (BTU) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $37.83, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $26.30, Loss -30.5%
  10. Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $22.53, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $19.96, Loss -11.4%
  11. Starent Networks (STAR) Buy date: September 29th, buy price: $12.37, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $9.75, Loss -21.2%
  12. Terra Industries (TRA) Buy date: October 20th, buy price: $22.35, sell date: October 27th, sell price: $16.06, Loss -28.1%

Average loss is 28.5%. Mostly in one week... October 20th to 27th.

More to come...

IPCR: sold

IPCR was on Loose Louis Navellier the sell list since a week ago. Finally, on October 24th, it surpassed its sell above limit of $22.10.

IPCR was added to the $5.000/year Global Growth portfolio on August 4th 2008 when it closed at $31.91, its highest price since July 2007. At that time Mr. Navellier wrote:

Due to fewer natural disasters lately, IPC Holdings has been rallying.

The rally was actually over, as you can see in the chart.

From August, IPCR started to move sideway, but Mr. Navellier tried to push it with the following advices:

  • August 11th: Buy Below $34.00
  • August 18th: Buy Below $33.84
  • August 25th: Buy Below $32.70
  • September 2nd: Buy Below $33.76
  • September 8th: Buy Below $33.79
  • September 15th: Buy Below $32.15
  • September 22nd: Buy Below $31.92
  • September 29th: Buy Below $30.09
  • October 6th: the decline had started and Mr. Navellier, far from settign a stop loss, just lowered the buy below price to $28.10
  • October 13th: Buy Below $24.55 - disaster coming...
  • October 20th: Sell Above $22.10!

As I said, IPCR finally went over $22.10 on Friday October 24th and Mr. Navellier realized a nice 30% loss. Let's say he was so smart to sell at the maximum of that day: $24.31. His loss would have been limited to 24%.

Interesting to note that every single buy below price in these 3 months was higher than the sell above price...

Monday, October 27, 2008

Louis Navellier and AAPL

This is the chart of AAPL from December 2004 to October 2008.

Apple innovated and from 2004 it put on market many new iconic products: the new PowerMac G5 line, the brand new Airport Express and many other.

Apple stocks, which collapsed from $30 to $7 after the new economy bubble of 2001 and moved sideway for some 3 years, started to gain value and Mr. Navellier jumped in at $27.45 between November and December 2004.

In the first 4 months of 2003 AAPL was even under $7. That means that from April 2003 to December 2004 AAPL gained some 300%.

Usually jumping in after a 300% gain in 18-20 months is dangerous, but this time things went well for Mr. Navellier and his subscribers.

AAPL went to $85 at the beginning of 2006 for a 200% gain for Mr. Navellier and followers. Then it didn't move much in 2006 and started climbing again in 2007, surpassing $200 at the end of December 2007.


At this time, Mr. Navellier's gains were around 620% in 3 years. that is a 93% annual gain.

The reason why Mr. Navellier uses buy belows and sell above prices instead of buy and sell stops is unknown to me.

Looking at what happened inJanuary: AAPL dropped from $200 to $120 in a matter of days. With no stop loss protection, investors saw their shares losing 40% of their value.

AAPL went back to $180 in mid 2008 and then down under $100 in these days.

Mr. Navellier told his BlueChip Growth subscribers to sell on October 22nd, after earning announcement. $101.25 was the high price of that day.

Although Mr. Navellier did an annual 36% this trade could have been a disaster for mayny of his followers.

Just look at what Mr. navellier was saying in March 2008 here: The stock is up 354% since I first recommended it.

Look also at the Portfolio Grader Pro score for AAPL:


In fact, in December 2007 Mr. Navellier was writing that AAPL was a Strong Buy at $200 (his buy below price was $208).

Those who followed him at that time made a 50% loss in 10 months.

Mr. Navellier himself made a profit of $75 per share and missed another $100 per share.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Louis Navellier and JAKK

Original Post Date: August 13th 2008
Removed copyright content and reposted


The great advice Mr. Navellier send to his $5.000/year paying Quantum Growth subscribers arrived in their mailbox on April 14th 2008.

JAKKS Pacific (JAKK) is one [REMOVED]. JAKK is a great buy!

JAKK is a great buy! I read similar sentences by Mr. Navellier (like Grab Gigamedia, the Taiwan game developer, but grab it with both hands, because it’s a tiger!)

On April 14th JAKK closed at $29.22.

On April 21st JAKK closed at $28.67 and Louis wrote:

[REMOVED].

Of course JAKK was expected to release its report on Apr. 23rd. Ready Louis?

As you can imagine, the report was not so great...

One week later, on April 28th, Mr. Navellier was probably in a hurry because he did not spend more that two words (sell JAKK) to explain to his $5.000/year paying subscribers what happened to follow him on this great buy.

So Mr. Navellier's paying readers got the order to buy at around $29 and sell below $24. A 2 weeks return of around -18%. Not bad for a great buy...




Friday, October 24, 2008

Sell, Sell, Sell - Louis Navellier and IPCR

Finally Mr. Navellier was able to sell IPCR.

Today IPCR went over its Sell Above price of $22.10 and Mr. Navellier's $5.000/year paying subscribers were able to sell.

IPCR was bought on August 4th 2008 when Mr. Navellier told his subscribers IPC Holdings has been rallying.

Close price on August 4th was $31.91 and buy below was $33.20.

On August 11th the buy below price was raised to $34.00 according to Mr. Navellier's strategy: high prices -> buy, low prices -> sell.

The 18th of August the buy below limit went down to $33.84 and stayed abuve $30 until end of September 2008.

I suppose many of Mr. Navellier's paying readers bought IPCR above $30 between August and September.

IPCR started to decline between September and October 2008. See the chart here but until October 13th IPCR was a buy below $24.55.

On October 20th IPCR entered Navellier's Sell list with a Sell Above price of $22.10:
Bermuda’s IPC Holdings (IPCR) will report its earnings on Friday, October 24 at 8:30 a.m. EDT, about an hour before the market opens. So watch to see if we get a bounce at the end of the week—and if we do, sell into strength!

It did, so buying at $31.91 and selling at $22.10 makes a loss of 30% for $5.000/year spending subscribers...

The strange case of SOHU

Flash alert...

October 6th:
Top Three Stocks
[REMOVED] China's Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU) moves up to the #2 spot and [REMOVED].

October 13th:
Sell above $64.04

October 20th:
Top 3 Stocks
[REMOVED] China’s Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU) leapt a whopping 12% moving it to the #3 spot last week.

More to come...

Robert Hsu and EWS

The genius strikes back!

I want you to sell EWS

This is what Mr. Robert Hsu wrote yesterday to his China Profit Strategy (Profit from the China Miracle) paying subscribers.

Let's see the story. On his March 2007 issue Mr. Hsu was writing:

EWS is up about 50% since mid-June, and I believe Singapore's China-driven growth will drive it higher in the coming months and years. Buy EWS under $13. I look for this ETF to be a solid gainer for us as it moves up towards $20 over the next 12 months. I'm targeting a nice 25% gain -- and that doesn't include the strong 2.6% yield we earn while we hold it.

Price was $11.36 for Mr. Hsu. We have all the ingredients here:
  1. 50% growth in the last months (making me think about a trend that is close to finish)
  2. Highest price in the last 10 years (making me think it is quite a risky buy)
  3. Mr. Hsu's forecast of a move to $20 (making me think it will actually sink like a stone)
Here is the chart:




Needless to say that EWS never went to $20, and not even close to $20.
It went close to $16 in October 2008 when Mr. Hsu was writing: Buy EWH under $20.
Some of his subscribers could have bought EWS at over $15 at that time.


Some weeks ago Mr. Hsu realized that what he called a sharp correction is actually one of the worst bear markets in history and he told his subscribers to hold EWS.

Until yesterday, when he wrote:

I think there will probably be prolonged weakness in Singapore's economy that is unlikely to recover anytime soon. Therefore, I think it is prudent to get out of our investment in Singapore -- iShares MSCI Singapore Index ETF (EWS). We originally bought EWS as a way to profit from the country's China-driven growth, but I think its slowing export business is now negating any of that expansion. So I want you to sell EWS.

There will probably be a prolonged weakness? What is happening since 12 months ago? The prolonged weakness is going on since October 2007 and you kept this crap in your portfolio for all this time.

Mr. Hsu sold at $6.81 yesterday for a 40% loss. It would be very interesting to know how Mr. Hsu calculates profits and losses. Let's have a look at his site:

Loss should be calculated as:

(Sell Price / Buy Price) - 1

in this case:

6.81 / 11.36 - 1

that makes

0.5995 - 1 = 0.4005

that is 40.05%.

So why does Mr. Hsu reports -38.6%?

PS. If anyone bought at $15.50 when Mr. Hsu was saying "buy under $20" the loss is 56%.

Louis Navellier and EXM - Again

Original post date: August 15th 2008
Removed copyright content and reposted


Only a few days ago I wrote about Louis Navellier and his Top 3 stocks of end-2007.


I am reporting here the latest news about EXM, Louis and his $5.000/year Quantum Growth service.


In his August 11th issue of Quantum Growth Mr. Navellier wrote his readers to sell EXM. So I went on my archive and looked for the corresponding buy EXM order.


It arrived in Louis' reaers' mailboxes on July 21st.

Excel Maritime Carriers (EXM) [REMOVED]. EXM is a great buy.

Price was $36.51

Buy below was $41.30





July 28th:

Excel Maritime Carriers (EXM) [REMOVED]. The stock consolidated slightly last week but remains a great buy.

Buy below was $38.64

August 4th:

Today, many commodity-related stocks like Excel Maritime (EXM) took a beating [REMOVED]. I expect these stocks will bounce back, [REMOVED].

Buy below was $32.56

August 11th: Sell EXM. Price was $34.69.

A modest 5% loss for Navellier and friends.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Emerging Growth in Great Shape. Really?

In his Emerging Growth Flash Alert for October 22nd Mr. Navellier wrote to his paying subscribers:

Our Emerging Growth Buy List is in great shape.

Here is what he considers great shape:

After the 22% loss in the Emerging Disaster his 22 conservative stocks are down 26%, his 11 moderately aggressive stocks are down 34% and his 4 aggressive stocks are down 24%.

More than great shape I would call this "deep s..t".

Louis Navellier and MDR

Original post date: August 13th 2008
Removed copyright content and reposted


The chip Blue Chip Growth newsletter from Louis Navellier makes no exception compared to Global Growth, Quantum Growth or Emerging Growth.

The input for this short post came from the -13% scored by McDermott International (MDR) yesterday.

I remembered I saw MDR somewhere in one of the [REMOVED] gurus' portfolios, I made a quick search and... Blue Chip Growth came out.

Mr. Navellier (and his subscribers) bought MDR on November 2007 at $54.35.

As usual, Mr. Navellier increased the buy below limit every time MDR went up.

In June 2008 he was saying buy below $70.
In July 2008 he was saying buy below $74.

Somebody may have followed his guideline and bought MDR around $65 in June.

From end of June MDR started to sink and in some 6 weeks it got to yesterday's $36.21 (that is -44%).

In this timeframe Mr. Navellier didn't write a single line about MDR. I would be quite angry if I were one of his paying subscribers. He turned a potential 20% gain into a -33% to -44% loss.

Update: MDR was one of the 8 sells for October. it was sold around September 15th at around $27.61 for a 50% loss if bought at $54, and a 57% loss if bought in June at $65.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Robert Hsu and VISN

Original post date: August 12th 2008
Removed copyright content and reposted



Another May/June 2008 ridiculous advice from Mr. Robert Hsu arrived in his $3.000/year paying subscribers of Asia Pacific Edge on May 14th 2008.

Here it is:

New Buy: VisionChina Media Inc.

[REMOVED]

Strong Financials
(as usual)

[REMOVED]
. I want you to buy VISN under $23. I'm targeting $30 by early August, which would give us a nice 30% short-term gain.

You already know that when you read Mr. Hsu "I'm targeting" something will happen.
On May 14th VISN closed at $19.88. Chart please:


From January to May 2008 VISN tripled from $6 to $18 before Mr. Hsu decided to take his position (and his subscribers'). The trend was over, so here is what Mr. Hsu wrote his $3.000/year paying readers in the following weeks:

May 21st 2008: Buy under $23

May 28th 2008: Buy under $23

June 4th: not a single word

June 11th

[REMOVED]. Because of this, I recommend that you sell your shares of VISN.

Price was $15.91.

Loss was 20%.

This time even Nature (earthquake) was against Mr. Hsu. The Sichuan earthquake dropped his VISN price. That's jinx...


Interesting to notice is that buying at $16 (when Mr. Hsu was selling) and selling 6 weeks after at $24 would have generated a 50% gain. Be Hsu-contrarian!!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Emerging Marketing

Mr. Navellier's Emerging Growth subscribers do not need to receive marketing junk.
Nevertheless Mr. Navellier just sent them an update where he highlighted the fenomenal performance of his portfolio:

Today's move, no matter what the reasons, was great for our Buy List. Our Emerging Growth stocks moved up an average of 6% each led by DryShips Inc. (DRYS) up 16%, W&T Offshore Inc. (WTI) up 16%, Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) up 14% and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) up 12%.



Thanks to these huge gains, here are the positions of these four stocks:
  • DRYS is currently down -72.44%
  • WTI is currently down -59.22%
  • SQM is currently down -26.57%
  • WLL is currently down -53.60%

These 4 fenomenal stocks are down on average 52%.

Some new Global Sells

With his new strategy based on (decreasing) Sell Above Prices, Mr. Navellier added the following stocks to his Sell list: FMX, IPCR, LAZ, PBR, CHT, NSTC.

If the Sell Above prices are met, then the performance of these 6 trades will be:
  • FMX: bought on August 11th at $46.27: -31%
  • IPCR: bought on August 4th at $31.91: -30%
  • LAZ: bought on September 29th at $42.27: -6%
  • PBR: bought on November 12th 2007 at $47.45: -32% (after a 60% missed profit in May 2008)
  • CHT: bought on June 23rd at $19.98: -20%
  • NSTC: bought on October 6th at $9.62: -1%

  • To recap, if all these stocks reach their sell above prices (before reducing them next week) the average loss would be 20%.

    One Quantum Sell

    11 new buys and a single sell this week for Mr. Navellier's Quantum Growth.

    Of course I cannot tell you about the new buys, except that one of them has just been dumped from the Global Growth portfolio for a 47% loss. Maybe the strategy is to push Quantum Growth subscribers to buy what Global Growth subscribers sell. The ones or the others will gain for sure this way...

    Anyway, the new sell is VLTR, bought on October 6th at $10.37 and sold yesterday at $9.40 for a small 9% loss.



    Robert Hsu and WFR

    Original post date: August 23rd 2008
    Removed copyright content and reposted


    Mr. Hsu added WFR to his $3.000/year Asia Pacific Edge portfolio on March 21st 2007 at $60.99.

    After his usual blah blah Mr. Hsu made his usual (wrong) prediction:
    The stock is in a nice upward trend. It consolidated around $55 for the last week or so, and after strong days yesterday and today, it now looks to be beginning its next leg up. Buy WFR under $65. Given the strength in the market and the growth in this stock, I expect it to move to $80 or higher in the next three to six months.

    WFR did not move to $80 in the following 3 to 6 months, but it did later. In fact, in December 2007 it went above $90.

    Mr. Hsu was so happy that he increased the buy below price to $90 on January 2nd 2008.

    Did any of his subscribers buy at $90?

    That was the first opportunity Mr. Hsu had to cash a 50% gain. And he missed it.

    After January 2008 WFR started to move erratically, but it went over $80 once more in March.

    At that time Mr. Hsu missed his second opportunity to cash in a good 30% profit.

    Finally on April 30th 2008 Mr. Hsu wrote:
    The stock has done fairly well for us, as it went from $60 to over $90 by the end of last year (but you did not sell at that time), and we are now sitting on a 10% gain. However, MEMC's recent disappointing quarterly earnings report and declining profit margins have led me to worry about the company's ability to efficiently execute its business.

    and again

    So I want you to SELL WFR for a 10% profit.

    Now the big question is: how does Mr. Hsu calculate profits: in his website there was written that he bought WFR at $60.99. On April 30th WFR closed at $62.97. For me this is a little more than 3%. In 13 months!

    The second question is: why didn't Mr. Hsu sell when WFR reached his $80 target?

    The third question is: what do those subscribers that bought WFR at $90 think of him?

    Monday, October 20, 2008

    Top 5 Blue Chip stocks for October

    Breaking news

    Here are the 5 stocks that were on Mr. Louis Navellier Top 5 stocks for October 2008, list edited on September 15th 2008.

    I cannot tell you the stocks, but I can tell you the performance.

    As a benchmark, from September 15th to October 17th the S&P500 lost almost 25%

    The October’s Top 5 Stocks performed as follows:
    1. A???: -25%
    2. B??: -12%
    3. M??: -63%
    4. P??: -54%
    5. W??: -13%
    On average a loss of 33% only for the Top5 Stocks.

    Emerging Growth real performance

    Louis Navellier's marketing department is very busy sending out emails and proposing special offers for new subscribers.

    They always refer to Hansen Natural or some of the other few very profitable trades.

    Upon receipt of such a spam a few weeks ago, a reader (Bruno) replied to Mr. Navellier's customer service. He was tempted to sunscribe but he asked how well the Emerging Growth portfolio was doing at the moment.

    Bruno got no answer from the customer service so he sent another message asking the same question again.

    Once more Bruno got no answer, so he emailed us.

    Dear Bruno, here is the current Emerging Growth portfolio. I cannot tell you the stocks in it but I can tell you the performance:

    Conservative stocks
    • Stock 1 -54.74%
    • Stock 2 -28.29%
    • Stock 3 -16.65%
    • Stock 4 51.72%
    • Stock 5 -10.44%
    • Stock 6 -49.63%
    • Stock 7 -7.60%
    • Stock 8 -38.61%
    • Stock 9 -58.39%
    • Stock 10 28.92%
    • Stock 11 -29.39%
    • Stock 12 -34.09%
    • Stock 13 -33.98%
    • Stock 14 -10.78%
    • Stock 15 -14.34%
    • Stock 16 -50.11%
    • Stock 17 11.23%
    • Stock 18 -58.86%
    • Stock 19 3.22%
    • Stock20 -2.95%
    • Stock21 8.21%
    • Stock22 -58.78%

    Average -20%

    Moderately Aggressive Stocks

    • Stock 1 -12.16%
    • Stock 2 -7.58%
    • Stock 3 -42.39%
    • Stock 4 -41.21%
    • Stock 5 -45.98%
    • Stock 6 -24.90%
    • Stock 7 -31.77%
    • Stock 8 -35.84%
    • Stock 9 3.62%
    • Stock10 -19.28%
    • Stock11 -65.06%

    Average -29%

    Aggressive, Powerful, Volatile Stocks

    • Stock 1 -76.37%
    • Stock 2 -36.54%
    • Stock 3 47.27%
    • Stock 4 -1.04%
    Average -16%

    Overall portfolio: -22%

    Weekly spam from Mr. Navellier

    As every week-end here is a brand new spam from Mr. Louis Navellier promoting Emerging Growth.


    In 20 days, we will have elected a new president.
    Whether you like it or not, the odds are very high that it will be a Democratic president together with a Leftist Congress.
    And whether you are ready or not, an extraordinary session of Congress will convene within 27 days—and begin passing a raft of new laws.
    Bill, Baby, Bill!
    Among those laws, a bold and symbolic boost to alternative non-fossil energy.

    A few investors, ready and nimble enough, will be able to catch an alternative energy tiger by the tail.

    If you are one of these investors, read every word of the following.

    Billions Slated for

    New Energy

    Senator Barack Obama will be swept into office with the mandate for

    1. 25% of our electricity to come from renewable resources by 2025.
    2. 50% improvement in energy efficiency
  • Windfall profit taxes on gas companies
  • Zero subsidies on oil and gas exploration
  • We’ve already seen some of the effect that the new legislation could have on investors. Renewable-energy tax credits were tacked on to the October 1 financial-bailout bill. Shares of solar energy companies instantly shot up 10%. (Remember SOLF)

    But, as interesting as solar is, the big winner in November is in energy storage technology. Or, as it used to be known, batteries.

    Charged!
    A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

    A few weeks ago, Warren Buffett quietly put $230 million into a Chinese battery company.

    In November, we’ll see an IPO for a rechargeable battery company called A123 Systems.

    What we’re seeing here, my friend, is a $20 billion business flexing its muscles to leap up to $100 billion.

    Think about this. In solar, stocks are valued at 6 times sales. In rechargeables, stocks are currently valued at 0.25 times sales!

    This is an incredible opportunity. And Navellier Research has identified a fast five-bagger in this sector.

    You have 20 days to build your position.

    Buy the Leader

    The best of breed in rechargeables has already pretty much cornered the market for the power packs used in forklifts and backup systems used in the telecommunications and utility industries. Another big area is auxiliary power for submarines.

    With the collapse in commodity prices, material costs—especially lead—are declining, and margins are expanding from 20% to 25%. Sales for the most recent quarter are up 41% on the year, net income doubled and guidance was raised.

    All of which was ignored, of course, because of that ghastly crunching noise coming from Wall Street.

    As a classic growth stock, our rechargeable simply got trampled in the Crash of ’09. It plunged from $37 (an all-time high) to $11 (a three-year low) in a matter of weeks.

    On November 5

    On Wednesday, November 5, we will all wake up to a new president, and it’s already clear, a new government dedicated to a new energy paradigm.

    Also that morning, our rechargeable company will report earnings. Analysts expect a 45% improvement over last year’s 35 cents.

    In the current wild environment, I understand why analysts are cautious. But I recall last November’s blowout report, which sent the stock up 55% in 7 weeks—and I believe this year’s environment will be even more receptive to “new energy” initiatives.

    Here at Emerging Growth, we have been quietly buying this stock over the last several days, and I want you to do the same.

    You have 20 days to establish your position in this five-bagger opportunity.

    Learn more today.

    I’m telling you about this opportunity, not because it should hand you a 20%, 50% or even 100% profit. Here at Emerging Growth, we hunt for bigger gains. We find small growth stocks capable of rising 500%, even 1,000%, or more.

    These are companies you name your boat, your grandchildren, your hospital wing after.

    The Emerging Growth Buy List is up 42,000%, and the reason is: We focus on small companies that solve big problems.

    Our job (not yours, don’t worry: I’ve got nearly 50 analysts running monster computers to do this for you), is to find companies that solve an urgent problem.

    It also helps if the company is small enough to fly under Wall Street’s radar, like our rechargeable.

    New Energy, a New Era
    —and 20 Days to Act

    We stand on the brink of a new era. The old market, the old financial system, the old government, the old priorities are all being swept away. All in a matter of weeks, 20 years’ worth of one paradigm is being junked and replaced by another.

    Our job as investors is to ensure we adapt and profit.

    That’s why I want you to join us here at Emerging Growth. We find innovators. Hansen Natural, identified early by our system, was up 9,400%. In 5 years, 10,000 shares of Hansen, bought for $40,000, became $3,800,000.

    And that was no fluke. Dell, Google, True Religion, Intercontinental Exchange, Guess? Inc., Autodesk, America Movil, Precision Castparts weren’t flukes, either.

    But they were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. And there’s only one place you could have found them: Emerging Growth.

    Join us today, and you’ll never miss out on these opportunities again.

    And you’ll be ready in 20 days to profit from a new era.

    I’ll Take the RiskYou Take the Profit

    A year of Emerging Growth regularly costs $995 but I don’t want you to pay anything like that much. Today only, I am allowing just a few investors to try Emerging Growth for the next 90 days for just $195.

    That’s right: Try Emerging Growth for just $195. See for yourself how you can make November the best 30 days of your investment career! And December. And January.

    Then and only then, when you’ve seen for yourself what Emerging Growth can do for you, decide. If I underperform your expectations…or fail to keep your portfolio safe…or for any reason whatsoever within your first 60 days, get your original subscription fee back IN FULL, with no ifs, ands or buts.

    So you see, the risk is all mine. I don’t want you to subscribe to Emerging Growth as a leap of faith. Let me take the risk.

    This is a never-before offered, once-in-a-lifetime offer.

    You don’t have much time to prepare for a new era. Renewable energy will be first out of the blocks on November 5.

    So don’t put this off!
    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Louis Navellier,
    EditorEmerging Growth

    “#1 for 20 years, 1985–2005”

    P.S. LAST CHANCE. Grab this best-offer-ever TODAY. We stand on the brink of a new era—and “new energy” is the first winner. Go here now.



    From what Mr. Navellier writes here, the Leader should be ENS (Enersys), that he bought at the beginning of July 2008 at around $33.

    Here is ENS chart:


    down 58% - nothing else to add...

    Louis Navellier and PCU

    Original post date: August 23rd 2008
    Removed copyright content and reposted


    Another good trade closed by Mr. Navellier on his Blue Chip Growth newsletter: PCU.

    On his September 2008 issue (last change on PDF file: Aug 19th) Mr. Navellier wrote:

    Southern Copper(PCU)
    [REMOVED]If you bought this stock two years ago when I first recommended it, you'll be cashing out with a hefty profit of more than 70%. [REMOVED]

    Right! If (and only if) you bought it when he first recommended it...
    Close price on August 19th was $23.51.
    Let's have a look at the chart:

    Questions:
    1. Why didn't he tell his subscribers to sell in early December 2007? I would have been over $40 instead of $25 and 8 months earlier.
    2. Why didn't he tell his subscribers to sell in early May 2008 at around $35?
    3. What about those who bought PCU when Mr. Navellier recommended it, but not first recommended it?

    Here is what Mr. Navellier was writing recently:

    December 2007 issue
    Peru’s Southern Copper Corp. (PCU) is nearing 200% gains for us since June 2006.
    Buy below $115
    ($38.3 split adjusted)

    May 2008 issue
    Buy below $135 ($45 split adjusted)

    June 2008 issue
    Buy below $132 ($44 split adjusted)

    June 20 hotline
    [REMOVED]. PCU has given us 155.48% gains in two [REMOVED] Southern Copper is still listed as a buy below $119 ($39.3 split adjusted).

    July 2008 issue
    Buy below $119 ($39.6 split adjusted)

    August 2008 issue
    Buy below $38

    Well, I presume that some subscribers bought PCU close to $40 at some time in the last year.
    For them we have a loss of more than 40%.

    For sure the 70% gain for Mr. Navellier is good (much better than what he did with GRMN for instance) but Mr. Navellier himself highlighed unrealized gains of 150% or 200%, two to three times the realized gain. That means a missed profit bigger than the realized gain.

    Sunday, October 19, 2008

    Bombs over Iran! 4 trades for big profits

    Original post date: August 22nd 2008
    Removed copyright content and reposted


    In the last days you probably received the same email from Bryan Perry. Bryan is another [REMOVED] expert and editor of ChangeWave Tactical Trader, a $1.500/year newsletter.

    In his message Mr. Perry wrote:

    Fellow Investor,

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on record as calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map.” That's not a breaking news...

    He claims the Holocaust never happened. He denies Israel’s right to exist. And he consistently calls for that country’s destruction. That's not a breaking news either...

    The guy’s an idiot. But he’s a dangerous idiot — one who may be just months away from controlling nuclear bombs as his personal playthings. Agree.

    [... cut ...]

    Let me show you how to profit

    Most stocks and mutual funds will take a hit — that’s a given. But they will bounce back.

    This isn’t Armageddon; it’s just another example — in a long, centuries-old list — of achieving peace through force. Iran will eventually concede, or they risk being wiped off the face of the earth.

    No, this isn’t Armageddon — for investors, it’s merely a short-term trading opportunity to bank gains of 200% or more.

    I have constructed a basket of four options trades that will rocket in the event of an attack. (And if Ahmadinejad suddenly comes to his senses, these trades will still likely return more-modest profits.)

    These trades play off global instability — and there’s plenty of that. But an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will immediately send them soaring.

    I will issue these trades — with full buy instructions — at noon (Eastern) on Thursday to my ChangeWave Tactical Trader subscribers. You can be right at the head of the line by joining us now.

    It sounds so juicy that I decided to check how well Mr. Perry is going with his current investments.
    I got in touch with a friend and he sent me Mr. Perry's current portfolio. Wanna see it?

    Calls
    SymbolDescriptionReturn %Sell Stop
    Symbol1U.S. Oil Fund Jan 100 Calls 4.08%None
    Symbol2SPDR Gold Trust Jan 90 Calls 0.00%None
    Symbol3Lockheed Martin Jan 125 Calls 11.11%None
    Symbol4Wal-Mart Oct 60 Calls-7.33%None
    Symbol5McDonald's Oct 62.50 Calls-9.43%None
    Symbol6Nasdaq 100 Oct 47 Calls-17.89%None
    Symbol7Illumina Sept 95 Calls1.89%None
    Symbol8ACN Nov 40 Calls -36.11%None
    Symbol9Market Vectors Coal ETF Oct 45 Calls-39.71%None
    Symbol10Boeing Nov 75 Calls-86.89%None
    Symbol11FLIR Systems Oct 35 Calls -49.32%None
    Symbol12Honeywell Dec 55 Calls -72.83%None
    Puts
    SymbolDescriptionReturn %Sell Stop
    Symbol13Northwest Airlines Dec 10 Puts6.25%None


    Average portfolio performance is -22.78%. Bryan Perry will be with us again soon...

    Saturday, October 18, 2008

    Marketing Time for Louis Navellier

    Mr. Louis Navellier wrote his Friday issue of Emerging Growth and Blue Chip Growth to his subscribers.

    One is the carbon copy of the other, with only a few changes. Look here:

    Our Emerging Growth Buy List has enjoyed a similar trend, led by winners W&T Offshore (WTI), up 8% on the week, and Flowserve (FLS), up 10.4% on the week.If you had any doubt that our oil service and energy stocks were worth holding on to, I hope the big jumps this week put your fears to rest!

    Our Blue Chip Growth Buy List enjoyed a different trend, led by winners like Range Resources (RRC), up 15.7% on the week, and Devon Energy (DVN), up 12.4% on the week. If you had any doubt that our oil service and energy stocks were worth holding on to, I hope the big jumps this week put your fears to rest!

    Mr. Navellier's subscribers know (and you should know too before subscribing) that, although the recent gains, these are the real performance of the above 4 stocks:


    • WTI is currently down 65.06%

    • FLS is currently down 29.39%

    • RRC is currently down 42.36%

    • DVN is currently down 35.83%
    These 4 amazing stocks are down on average 43% and they are not the worst of their respective portfolios...

    Louis Navellier and the Top3 Stocks for June 30th 2008

    Original post date: August 20th 2008
    Removed copyright content and reposted


    Louis Navellier is definitely the leader in providing us interesting advices to discuss.

    This time I am going to quickly remind you the performance in the last couple of months (up to August 19th) of his $5.000/year Global Growth Top 3 Stocks for June 30th 2008.

    Top 3 Stocks

    • Canada's Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) [REMOVED]

    • Russia's Mechel (MTL) [REMOVED]

    • Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID) [REMOVED]
    Charts please...


    GTE (I wrote about it here) moved from $7.97 to $4.34 for a 45% loss.

    MTL (I wrote about it here) moved from $49.54 to $26.53 for a 46% loss.
    But Mr. Navellier told his $5.000/year paying subscribers to sell MTL on July 28th at $19.50 (-60%) and on August 4th at $18.30 (-63%).


    SID moved from $44.41 to $31.70 for a 28% loss.

    The average performance of the Top 3 Stocks is -44% in less than 2 months.

    UPDATE on October 15th

    • GTE is trading at around $2.20 (-70% since June 30th)
    • MTL is trading at around $9.20 (-80% since June 30th)
    • SID is trading at around $13 (-70% since June 30th)