By the time you read this message I will have already left for my nice weeklong getaway to Cancun, Mexico. A great opportunity for me to relax and reflect on what is really important things in life - spending quality time with those you care most about. One of my favorite sayings comes from a professional investor and friend of mine, David. He quotes:

I discovered (finally!) that, despite the ephemeral fame and fortune success can usher in, making money is not the eschaton I had believed it to be. Life is about more than the amount of money we can amass; it is rather the quality and quantity of our relationships we share.

These words very much ring true to me and I believe this very strongly, but nonetheless I am going to be just north of one of the hottest markets in the world, Brazil. My favorite stock from this market comes in the form of the countries largest bank.

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This week the markets held their gains as we descend into the extended weekend (markets closed Monday). Oil and energy stocks rebounded after sliding a bit in previous weeks. Oil now sits at $60 per barrel. This was not however the sector that I went digging for opportunities in. Who wants to dig for oil, when you can dig for gold and silver?

For a while now the Gold and Silver markets have been hot and after a recent pull back, I think that these two markets could be set for another nice up-tick and I am going to share with you my two favorite stocks of this industry.

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Many restaurant chains are scheduled to report earnings this week and the ones that have reported already have been promising. I particularly think that P.F. Changs (PFCB) and Wendy's (WEN) have set up well here.

P.F. Changs, for those of you have never been or heard of, owns and operates two restaurant concepts in the Asian niche. P.F. Chang's China Bistro features a blend of high-quality, traditional Chinese cuisine and American hospitality in a sophisticated, contemporary bistro setting. Pei Wei Asian Diner offers a modest menu of freshly prepared Asian cuisine in a relaxed, warm environment offering attentive counter service and take-out flexibility. The company currently owns and operates 131 P.F. Chang's and 77 Pei Wei Asian Diner restaurants.

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I wrote an article a while back about Corning Glassworks (GLW). At the time the stock had set up nicely to make a good breakout from $19.50 to $25 and change. The stock has since pulled back nicely. I have not yet decided to jump back into this one but I do have it on my watch list again.

As LCD TV's continue to post strong sales in record numbers, Corning is well positioned to take advantage of this market. As one of the leading providers and developers of the glass used for the screens of these LCD TV's, the growth opportunity here is very strong and the stock is setting up again for a nice up tick.

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I am fuming tonight. Take this message as you will but tonight I witnessed why America is full of hatred and racism. Tonight we were suppose to honor one of the most prominent figures in our nations history but thanks to a few, the focus of the funeral quickly turned into a political spectacle with the far left wing democrats leading the way. What I witnessed today and what everyone else in this country witness today was a mockery of a sitting US President at the funeral celebrating the life of Coretta Scott King. Please discontinue reading this article if you want to continue wearing foot-long blinders to the real state of our nation and preserve your innocent view of the democratic way.

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We all have our own personal investing strategy. One's investing strategy is usually reflection of their comfort level with the market and a reflection on their experience level. Professional investors may feel more comfortable trading different naked put and call options than those first entering the market. On the flip side, many basic investors like to fall back and rely on the "buy and hold" strategy. Experience aside, the question here is should age hold any bearing on investment strategy?

A while back, I got the wonderful opportunity to talk live on the air with the hosts of the E*Trade Radio station about this very issue. After a very detailed and interesting talk about the life cycle of investing, we all agreed that age should play a roll in one's investment strategy inorder to attain higher total returns early in life and conserve your accumulated assets late in life. Before I go any further, I want to also point out that we all also agreed that no matter what the age, making wise investment decisions was far more important. The key idea here is that age-based portfolios adjust the relative risk of the investments to the beneficiary’s time horizon, giving the investor a better idea of how to adjust his positions based on his or her current position in life.

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