We’ve just wrapped up the worst performing decade in U.S. stock market perforance history, so what is ahead of us?  Don Davidson and I discuss this plus my thoughts on the real estate market, gold, inflation and your financial safety during retirement.

In this edition of the link roundup members of the the Manarin Investment Counsel team touch on the areas of health, media, the stock market, IRAs and the environment. 

If Economists Could Write the News on Trade Protection  Mark Perry takes a Washington Post article on trade protection and crosses out words and replaces them with sentences to show how an economist would present the article.  Very amusing.

How To Live To Be 100  Fascinating lecture on the world’s longest-lived societies and the common diet and lifestyle habits keeping them active past age 100.

Rethink that Roth  A number of investors are interested in converting their tradional IRAs to Roth accounts but it might not make sense for you.  This is a good overview of some of the issues you should be aware of. 

Weather Channel Founder Debunks the Global Warming Myth  John Coleman makes a case against the global warming alarmist theories. 

Chart of the Day  An interesting comparison of the current stock market rally to major rallies of the past.

What you are about to read is an assortment of links to articles that the Manarin team found over the past few weeks – some are economical, some are political, some are random, but all of the links are interesting … or so we think!

Dive In: Housing is Cheap  A sound analysis of the current housing market.

Don’t Cry For Me, America  Not long ago Argentina was one of the world’s richest countries but government fiscal irresponsibility did not take long to cripple the nation. 

Stocks Are Still Cheap  Optimistic outlook for the stock market in 2010.  Some good news to start off the New Year!

The Changing Artic  A global climate change article originally published in November 1922 that sounds no different than much of the rhetoric we hear today.

Free work vs internships  A unique take on the value of business internships.  Recent college graduates should also check out the free e-book linked in the article.

The World Upside Down: Pravda Hurls Jeremiads at America … For Going Leftist  Interesting outlook on America from a Russian newspaper.

Everything’s Amazing but Nobody’s Happy  A very funny video we’ve shared before but it’s worth viewing again.

For budget-conscious shoppers, the free ShopSavvymobile device application is worth your attention.  Your phone’s camera is transformed into a barcode scanner that allows you to find the best prices both online and in your local area.

For example, let’s say you are at a store and find that perfect gift for someone.  You can pay full retail price at the store or with the ShopSavvy app you can scan the barcode to find out if another retailer has the same item at a better price.

Where the real power comes into play for consumers is for high price items.  Suppose you are now in the market for that big, high definition TV you’ve had your eye on.  The salesperson at the store you visit says their price is the best “deal” around  But is it really?

Watch the below video for a brief demonstration:

We came across this advertisement targeted to annuity salespeople in the December issue of InsuranceNewsNet Magazine and had to share. 

Our favorite paragraph:

You don’t need a securities license, or even any experience to use this program!  The Trucker from Ohio had ZERO knowledge of this amazing new concept, and in only a few weeks was up to speed, making money, with every prospect having ASKED HIM to meet and buy the annuities!

Read the full issue online here.

Aron and I had a good chat with Joe Ruff recently at the World-Herald on what has taken place during the last 18 months in the market and economy. 

Click here to read the full article.

More and more of the things we buy have gradually gone down in price over time.  A great example of this is lasik surgery.  Thanks to market competition and enhanced technology, the cost for this procedure is now significantly less than it once was. 

Does it make sense to apply this same model to all areas of health care?

The below video from Reason TV argues that it does:

Over on the Creighton University College of Business video blog, Manarin investment advisor Tim Bastian weighs in on minimum wage and argues how it harms those who it is designed to help.

Watch the video here:  CreightonBiz.tv