If you didn't hear about the free fall in the markets on Thursday with the Dow plunging below 10,000 as a result of the instability in the Euro caused by the Greece's debt burden, then you must already have a Self-Empowered Bank in place, and didn't need to worry.  

     But, for most people, the events of the past four days have been pretty scary and a reminder that your investments tied to the market are affected not just by what happens here, but, also by what happens in the world wide financial market.

     Thankfully, the EU, the Federal Reserve, the Japanese Bank, the IMF and other banking regulators took strong steps to bring stability back to the markets - at least temporarily.  Why do I say temporarily?  Well, I think Mr. Phillippe Gijsels, the head of research at BNP Paribas in Brussels explains it nicely in the New York Times article.

     ... the central bank action was in some ways the most crucial, because the European Central Bank would be in effect financing government budget deficits by monetizing their debt.

     The trick now would be to ensure that Greece and other countries in similar straits are held to their promises to straighten out their finances.

     The debt is still in the system. Eventually all these problems will rise again.

     Just when you thought is was safe to go back in the waters ...!  Here it comes again, and as Mr. Gijsels points out, it will continue to haunt all of us financially, if these debt-riddled countries don't clean up their mess.

     The other concern is just how much debt can the various regulators like the Fed, the EU, the IMF and others, buy up without causing huge inflation? 

     We're already concerned about the value of the dollar.  The euro is already over-valued against the dollar, and let's face it, the British pound has been up in the rafters for quite some time.  It looks like the printing presses are going full speed ahead to help keep everything stable, but it's only a matter of time before that creates its own set of problems.

     Why, you ask?  Keeping the world financial markets stable requires that every country DO what it says it will do to clean up its debt.  If the four biggies in Europe - Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal don't, as Mr. Gijsels says, "Eventually all these problems will rise again."

     The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.55 percent from 3.43 percent late Friday.  That's a good sign, but who wants to tie up their money for 10 years to get that kind of a return?  And don't forget that yield fluctuates with the world markets.

     We're going to host a special webinar next Wednesday, called Rescue Me, to talk about how you can protect yourself against the volatility of the world financial markets.  By moving your money into a Self-Empowered Bank, you have greater control, flexibility and access to your money plus your return is fixed, usually between 5% to 7% annually. 

    Here are the details on the webinar:

Rescue Me: Cutting Your Exposure to the World Financial Markets Crises

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

12 noon to 1:00 pm CDT

     Sign up via this link: Rescue Me.  You will receive an email with a link to the webinar beginning Monday, May 17 and can sign up all the way until starting time.  We look forward to having you with us.