New Record Highs - Congratulations to All Subscribers!

The Dow, the S&P500 and the Russell 2000 indexes ended February just half a percent below their all time highs while the NASDAQ is just 2% below its March 2000 internet bubble peak.  (See graphs below)

Today, after two stocks paid their dividend, my "Newsletter Explore portfolio" set another record all-time high!

Congratulations to all longs!

Learn the "Core and Explore" approach to investing
with "Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter"  

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February 2015 Issue for FREE!!!

US Treasury New Issue Auction & 5YR CD Rates

Next Week's Treasury Auction Schedule:

• UST Maturing 05/28/2015 Auction Close Date: 02/23/2015
• UST Maturing 08/27/2015 Auction Close Date: 02/23/2015
• UST Maturing 01/31/2017 Auction Close Date: 02/25/2015
• UST Maturing 02/28/2017 Auction Close Date: 02/24/2015
• UST Maturing 02/29/2020 Auction Close Date: 02/25/2015
• UST Maturing 02/28/2022 Auction Close Date: 02/26/2015

Bill auctions close at 10:00 a.m. ET. Note/bond auctions close at 11 a.m. ET if there is only 1 note/bond auction during the day. If there is more than 1 note/bond auction during a day, some will close at 10 a.m. ET while others will close at 11 a.m. ET.

As of today, 2/20/15, 5-YR CDs with FDIC are paying better rates than 5-YR Treasury Notes:

Current CD Rates

Current US Treasury Rates


Notes:

• Any fixed income security sold prior to maturity may be subject to a substantial gain or loss. 
• Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government for the prompt payment of interest and principal at maturity. 
• Subject to availability and market conditions.

Happy Lunar New Year 2015

I remember growing up near San Francisco's Chinatown it was "Happy Chinese New Year" but now with such a diverse population in California the holiday is celebrated by many other Asians such as Vietnamese and Koreans. Thus, today the proper greeting in English is "Happy Lunar New Year!"

Post by Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter.

I've heard it referred to as Year of the ram, goat and sheep.
Excerpts from Chinese new year: Is it the year of the ram, sheep or goat?

• This confusion is caused by Mandarin Chinese character yang: 羊
• Its apparent meaning is 'horned animal' — an encompassing term that doesn't really help journalists, event planners and new year celebrators decide which member of the Caprinae family they're supposed to be honouring.
• Some experts, including Professor Ho Che-wah at Chinese University, trace this mix-up back to BC, when the 12-year cycle Chinese zodiac was first introduced during the Han dynasty.
• That mystifying yang character, found on bones used for divination, was interpreted as an animal with two horns and a pointy face.

RIG Transocean Bottom Fishing - 80% Dividend Cut

Post by Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter.

The company also said it would ask shareholders to approve an 80% cut in its quarterly dividend to 15 cents from 75 cents a share, citing its “cyclical and capital-intensive industry.” Its annual meeting is set for May 15 in Switzerland, where it is based.

Most Overpaid CEOs - Oracle's Larry Ellison is Second on the List

Post by Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter.

One HUGE reason I don't own Oracle is they over pay Larry Ellison, the founder and CEO. As a shareholder, I believe most of the stocks I own would do better if they lowered the CEO pay, gave restricted stock to CEOs and directors that they could not sell until 5 years AFTER the leave the company... etc... but they don't do this. The CEOs prefer the stocks to be VERY volatile so they load up on stock options when the price is down then unload them for huge gains when the price recovers. They are picking our pockets and shareholders need to find a way to stop it. Until they do, my methods of watching and buying low and taking profits when they cash out will continue to work well.

I posted the full article on my facebook group here.

Citigroup Stock Price Pattern to Watch

Citi chart has potential Inverse Head & Shoulder Pattern

Post by Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter.

More Citi Charts & Price Quote

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Best Savings Account Rates

Highest Yielding Savings Accounts:

Click "See all rates" to see a full list that can pay higher rates with larger amounts.

• Feb 8 Survey of Best Savings Account Rates

• February 8, 2015:  In this month's "Savings Account Rate Survey" we have three banks paying 1.00% APY with another paying 0.99%. GE Capital, Synchrony & Barclays banks now all pay 1.00%.

• Best CD Rates  

• 2.30% at  Discover Bank

• 10 Year CD Rates - APYs For Ten Year Certificates of Deposit 

CD Rates for February 2015

Fast loading Mobile Version of this page.

Highest Yielding Certificate of Deposit or CD Accounts:

Click "See all rates" to see a full list that can pay higher rates with larger amounts.

"Highest CD Rates Survey by Term"
(for a $10,000 Certificate of Deposit)
Survey Date 2/8/15

Term	Highest Rate (APY)	Where? (Click link for Full Rate Sheets)
Vanguard Daily	0.01%	Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund
Vanguard Tax Exempt	0.01%	Vanguard Tax Exempt Money Market Fund
FDIC Daily Savings	1.00%	Best Savings Account Rate Survey
6 Month CD	0.82%	Doral Bank
6 Mo US Treasury	0.07%	US Treasury Rates
US Treasury Series I Bonds For the next 6 months	1.48%	Rate is fixed for 6 months after purchase Current iBond Rates & I- Bonds Explained
1 Year CD	1.30%	Connexus Credit Union
1 Yr US Treasury	0.26%	US Treasury Rates
2 Year CD	1.31%	Melrose Credit Union
3 Year CD	1.56%	Melrose Credit Union
5 Year CD	2.27%	Melrose Credit Union & xx% Synchrony Bank
5 Yr US Treasury	1.48%	US Treasury Rate Quote
7 Year CD	2.20%	Discover Bank & 1.76% @ PenFed CU
10 Year CD	2.30%	Discover Bank
10 Yr US Treasury	1.95%	US Treasury Rates
30 Yr US Treasury	2.51%	US Treasury Rate Quote

Vanguard Money Market & US Treasury Rates shown for Reference  

• Current Best CD Rate Survey
  and
• 10 Year CD Rates - APYs For Ten Year Certificates of Deposit 

Intuit Relents: TurboTax 2015 Deluxe Will Restore 2013 Features at No Charge

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Our apologies. We're fixing things.
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2015 08:04:01 -0800
From: TurboTax
Reply-To: TurboTax
To: kirklindstrom@

Click to Read

My comments:

It is good they listened. I already bought TurboTax Deluxe and was one of the people who complained. They agreed to give me the higher priced version for my 2014 tax return but were going to require us to buy that version next year.

You should see all the terrible reviews on Amazon.com where they now only get 1.5 out of 5 stars for the Deluxe version:

=> TurboTax Deluxe 2014 Fed + State + Fed Efile Tax Software + Refund Bonus Offer - Win

Now you can get the cheaper Deluxe version and after Feb. 7, it will automatically upgrade you to the more expensive versions if you need the forms that used to be in Deluxe. If that doesn't work or you already paid, you can get a $25 refund as explained here.