2007 has probably been one of the greatest years for the commodity market where there has been exuberance across the globe. Gold has been one of the beneficiaries that has witnessed one of the most phenomenal and unprecedented increase in prices. Prices have been up by almost 80% in the last 2 years and approximately 35% during the year 2007.

Gold has generally been a counter-cyclical commodity. This is the reason why a general downturn in the economy is always accompanied by a rise in Gold prices. This time around, the increase was perpetrated by a rise in oil prices, and the weakening dollar. Liquidity also declined later in the year, decreasing investment demand and thereby pushing up prices further. Declining tensions amidst Iran and Syria also fueled the rally.

Other than serving as a perfect hedge against inflation, Gold has been a relatively risk free asset ensuring stable and consistent returns for its investors. Thus, in the wake of instable markets as well, the rise in demand for Gold as an investment tool has been on the rise.

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If you’re a fan of Wall Street Warriors or stay on top of the financial publishing scene, you’ve probably seen and heard Timothy Sykes’ name pretty frequently these days. Timothy’s recently released book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator and Created a Hedge Fund, details the true story of how he turned the $12,415 he received for his Bar Mitzvah into $1.65 million in just three years and all before he turned 26. Timothy sent 22Dollars.com a copy of his book (check out the fourth page to see our review!) and recently provided us with a behind-the-scenes look at the man, the myth and the market. Make sure to check out Timothy’s responses below and grab a copy of his book if you haven’t already!

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It’s nothing new for gas prices to make headlines. It seems like every day for the last few years the media has kept a very close watch on the daily fluctuations of fuel. And Americans across the country have been tracking prices at the pump and feeling the effects. While 22Dollars.com stresses taking control of your finances, the topic of gas prices instantly causes anxiety and controversy due to the fact that it’s one area of our budget over which we feel little control.

The impact of the increasing price of gasoline touches everyone - not only those who depend on a car for their daily transportation. In somewhat of a chain effect, everything from surcharges on airline tickets to higher prices for transported vegetables is impacted and we all feel the effects on our finances. But can this even reach our personal lives during the holiday season?

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Cleantech - the new buzz word which is cut across industries and geographies has always had a mystical presence in the minds of a neophyte.

So what is all the euphoria about cleantech?

As the Cleantech Indices simplify cleantech as “Clean is more than green”.

Clean technology, or “cleantech”, should not be confused with the terms environmental technology or green technology popularized in the 1970’s and 80’s.

Cleantech is new technology and related business models offering competitive returns for investors and customers while providing solutions to global challenges.

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Everyone nowadays is gung-ho about emerging markets. And why not? Emerging markets are currently the world's fastest growing economies. Hence, it is of not much surprise that more and more money has been finding its way into these markets. The largest markets for FII inflows are India and China. India for one has been a recipient of huge inflows owing to the fact that the Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies of the world clocking a 9.3% GDP growth rate in 2006-2007. This growth has been witnessed since 1991, when the Indian Government decided to liberalize the economy.

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As science and technology continue to progress, many of the mysteries that have stumped humans for years are beginning to become unlocked. From smaller and faster computers to safer vehicles to a greater understanding of medicine, changes and new information are all around us. Humans are learning and doing more than ever before!

Typically medical research helps doctors better understand how to prevent and cure diseases, ranging from the common cold to cancer. As a result, you may be wondering why I’m even broaching this topic in this finance-focused forum. Well, believe it or not, recent genetic research may be able to help us better understand how we make our financial decisions.

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Back in July we talked about an opportunity in Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK) and today we are still bullish on the stock. Since our previous post, the stock continues to trade sideways but not with out direction. Some of you may have noticed the resistance around $28.50 - $29.00 but also take the series of higher lows over the past couple weeks. The stocks now forms an ascending triangle as it searches for the necessary volume needed to break the above resistance. Despite the technical setup here and bullish nature of the stock over the last year, we see reason for concern fundamentally.

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As an entrepreneur myself (BlueEye Design Co.), I am always interested in hearing other success stories and business venture ideas that have been made into reality. The team at 22Dollars recently returned from a week long trip to Nassau, Paradise Island in the Bahamas. We wanted to take a moment to talk about our experience and the grand opening of The Cove Atlantis - the newest branch of the Atlantis megaplex resort that caters to the ultra wealthy. After all, what is the point of investing if you can not have fun with the money you make right? So this was our chance to get away from the north country and see the once in a lifetime event.

For those of you not familiar with the Atlantis resort, it is a legendary and lavish property on Paradise Island, near Nassau in the Bahamas and just a hop from Florida. The property dominates the island’s real estate and is a major contributor to the island’s economy, employing some 6,000 residents. Sol Kerzner (Kerzner International Chairman) built the celebrity magnet that boasts a Royal Tower bridge suite that will run you a cool $25,000 a night. Even if you do have the cash however, you will have to wait till the year 2011 when the next free available week for the suite is open.

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Globally it is becoming increasingly discommodious to raise capital through public fund raising (IPO's). The costs of going public are escalating year on year. Costs relating to meeting SEC requirements and of getting timely and proprietary research coverage is rising. The demand of IPO's has been volatile in 2006, with the backlog of IPO filings rising. High disclosure norms and postulations from public, government, and press is leading to high correlation of company results with markets, companies are impelled to amenably meet or beat quarterly revenue and earnings estimates. Furthermore, increasing scrutiny surrounding public companies and corporate governance is corroborating the cause of companies to stay private.

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Four months after the 416 point bloodbath in the Dow, caused by a huge sell off in the China market, the market correction seems obliterated with the S&P 500 at its highest level since September 2000. Fueled by the stock market boom, and the reduction in capital gains from 35% to 15% in 2001, companies have been declaring handsome dividends, which swelled to a record $418.5 billion last year, up 57% from $266.5 billion 2005. Markets have discounted another rate cut, which does not seem to be imminent now.

Yet, the volatility continues, due to the absence of a significant driver for the bulls in the light of profit diminution, inflation concerns, and announcement of China's economic growth accelerating to 11.1% in the 1st quarter, leading to fears of an overheating economy.

Such dubiety prompts us to inquire, "What would the ideal strategy be going forward?"

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It is our pleasure to introduce all our readers to our newest writer, Chandni Kripalani.

Chandni brings extensive experience in the private equity space. She hails from a background of mutual fund advisory, investment advisory and private equity transaction research. She has worked with asset management companies the likes of DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers and as a wealth manager at Citibank where she provided investment advisory to high net worth clients on mutual funds and life insurance.

We are very happy and excited to have her on board and look forward to learning from her expertise and experience in the field.

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I recently received an email from an individual (who will remain nameless) that wanted to know why it was they felt like they would never get ahead financially. A feeling of being stuck in the rat race of life, struggling to never get ahead in the end. My answer to his question was simple and it paralleled the ideologies expressed by Robert T. Kiyosaki in the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. The answer is one that is not readily taught in our school systems. Before I give you the answer to why you aren’t rich yet, let me first ask you a couple questions and see if you can’t figure it out yourself.

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One of our recent posts discussed a researcher’s view on the differences between economic classes. The researcher stated that the upper, lower and middle classes live their lives based on the past, present and future, respectively. What this researcher was getting at is that there are a number of differences in classes aside from the job titles and bank statements typical of the group’s members.

We typically consider nationality, religious views and geographic location to be the main factors which determine a person’s culture. We consider ourselves to be “Americans” so we celebrate the traditional holidays and eat the customary foods. But what role does economic class play in our culture?

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One of the rights we as Americans take for granted is the right to view virtually any website we want on the Internet. This is not the case in Bahrain. Bahrain a borderless island in the Persian Gulf that is the smallest Arab country.

Recently the software program Google Earth has played a huge role in deciding how the elections in Bahrain played out. For many years the general Shi'ia population knew that the Sunni royal family owned enormous fortunes and lived egregiously beyond even the most far reaching dreams of the common Shi'ia population.

With the introduction of Google Earth to the Internet the public eye grew in Bahrain gained immediate access to the utterly fantastic lives of the Royals’. They Googled the royal compounds and this eye in the sky helped the general public see beyond huge walls to what was once hidden and secretly guarded. Needless to say, they were stunned by what they saw.

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Well, the big day has finally arrived. Whether you’re interested in football or not, it’s likely that you’ve factored tonight�s Super Bowl into your plans in one way or another. Millions of people are forecasted to watch tonight’s game, causing it to be one of the biggest television events of the year. Whenever you get that large of a captive audience together, it’s bound to bring about high stakes business transactions across the board.

Certainly the athletes that will be playing tonight are one group that has a lot riding on tonight’s game. Making it to the Super Bowl is likely a dream for most of them, and actually winning would be a highlight of their careers. Those playing in tonight’s game have the chance to realize one of their greatest goals and ensure the safety of their careers, or potentially make mistakes that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

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�Tis the Season for making New Year�s resolutions! As we approach 2007, it is likely that many people are making lists and checking them twice, preparing for a fresh start in the new year and setting goals for the things they�d like to accomplish.

Typically it seems that the most common resolutions include pledges to work out more often, watch what we eat, get involved in volunteer work, take up a new hobby and spend more time with our families. Also high on many peoples� lists are financial goals for the coming year. After the extra spending of the holiday season, many of us may be looking for ways to make better decisions regarding our money.

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It is time to take a brief moment to pause from our blogging explorations to wish all of our readers a very Happy Holidays. Remember that is not how much money you make, but rather what you do with it that really matters. Money can not buy you TRUE happiness and now is the time of year to reflect on what is really important in life. I leave you with this quote from Mr. Charles Dickens.

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and to all a goodnight.

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As 2006 comes to a close, we here at 22Dollars.com want to take this opportunity to thank all our readers for making the site what it is today. We have received countless emails from readers scattered near and far expressing their kind words with respect to the site. We hope you enjoy the site and continue to read and find different ways to save and make money in 2007.

As a token of our appreciation, we wanted to give something back to our readers. What we settled on this year for the 22Dollars Holiday Bonus gift was one of the most inspiring and influential books I have ever read on the differences in the way each social-economic class approaches business, money and life. The book is titled Rich Dad, Poor Dad written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. A book about what the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not. A BRAND NEW copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad will be given away to one lucky reader of 22Dollars to be drawn at random this coming Friday (Dec. 22nd).

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INVESTools Inc. (OTCBB:INVS), my tool of choice for stock research and analysis, recently announced the relaunch of its Investor Toolbox Web site. As a long-time user of Investools, it was nice to see that they finally decided to redesign the Investor Toolbox from top to bottom. The new toolbox is supposed to be much more powerful, convenient and customizable. The transition will take approximately 45 days for all users to experience the new area.

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Has anyone else noticed the large number of negative campaign advertisements this year? With candidates for office increasingly using television as a medium for communicating their ideas, it seems as though every commercial break is filled with messages relating to the elections. More than ever it seems that these ads work to question the character of opponents and reach voters by instilling a sense of fear about what could happen should certain people be put into power. It seems as though we’re constantly being sent the message “don’t vote for this person because…” or “you’ll regret it if you vote for this person…”

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Welcome friends to the new 22. I just wanted to thank you for your patience while we have been very busy upgrading the entire site (as you can clearly see). As you will notice at the top, there are now tabs to provide easy navigation to the three new areas of the site. The new areas of the site include the credo, Club22 and the contact page.

CREDO: Our mission statement. Created because of the enormous feedback I received asking and I quote "What is 22Dollars and how do I join". I wanted it to be more than just a simple "about us" page - I wanted to capture why this site was created and why it is a great resource for our visitors to use daily now. It also serves as a reminder to our commitment to always be improving on the site and providing our readers with the best possible experience.

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Over the past couple days the team at 22Dollars.com has been very busy working and we apologize for the lack of recent posts. What have we been working on you ask? Well not financial analysis, but rather a total site-wide face-lift. Here are just some of the changes you can look forward to:

1.) Total site optimization with respect to coding, images, scripts and all other files to improve download times by over 400%!

2.) Transfer of the site over to the secure and extra speedy hosting of Media Temple's new (gs) Grid-Server platform.

3.) New tabbed browsing for navigation.

4.) Cleaner fonts for easier reading onscreen (I was a usability/human-computer interaction major in college so this kind of stuff is important to me!)

5.) The addition of 3 new pages: Contact, Credo and Club22...

6.) A new design that reflects the color you might think of when talking about making money... care to take a guess?

All in all, we are extremely excited and pleased with the how the transition is going thus far. We hope to launch the new site within the next month depending on several factors still up in the air. We hope that everyone will enjoy the new site and we look forward to hearing your feedback on it pending the official launch. Take care.

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Congratulations to all the bulls out there as the market barreled forward to another record high. For the second day in a row the DOW (index of 30 blue chip stocks) closed in the green and for the second day in a row the DOW set a new a record high that has stood since January 14, 2004. The DOW soared 123 points to 11,851 while the NASDAQ ended up 47. The two big catalysts for the current market momentum is the ever-shrinking cost of oil (and thus greater potential for big business to post satisfactory earnings numbers) and optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months/years. This all in spite of many feeling that the economy is cooling down.

On the flip side, today's investors are smarter. Let me re-phrase that, today's investors are more cautious than they were nearly 7 years ago. Gone are the days where you could blindly throw your money into any .com or high-tech company and watch your money double and triple in a matter of weeks. The change in investor attitude is the reason why it has taken the Dow so long to come back and I fe