We recently added the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN (NYSEARCA: UGLD) to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio not necessarily because we have turned into gold bugs while the ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF (NYSEARCA: GLL) and Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN (NYSEARCA: DGZ) offer investors an easy way to make a bearish bet on gold without having to resort to dabbling directly in futures.
How To Go Super Long on Gold With UGLDThe VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN seeks to provide long exposure to three times (3x) the daily performance of the S&P GSCI Gold Index ER plus a daily accrual equal to the return that could be earned on a notional capital reinvestment at the three month US Treasury rate. More specifically, the ETN uses futures contracts to track the gold portion of the S&P GSCI Index which is tracks a world production-weighted basket of non-financial commodities.
In other words and of you really really really are a gold bug, the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN is the way to go. However, the ETN is also down 53.2% since the start of the year, down 48.5% over the past year and down 62.4% since February 2012.
Nevertheless, we added the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN in the belief that gold is ripe for at least a dead cat bounce – especially if rates rise and/or the dollar falls again.
How to Short Gold the Easy Way GLL & DGZThe ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF seeks daily investment results corresponding to two times the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of gold bullion as measured by the US Dollar fixing price for delivery in London while the Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN is based on a total return version of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index Optimum Yield Gold, which is intended to track the short performance of a single unfunded gold futures contract. This means that either GLL (if you want a leveraged investment with augmented returns or risk) or DGZ (if you don't want the extra risk associated with leverage).
The ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF is up 38.5% since the start of the year, up 23.1% over the past year and up 81% since September 2008 while the Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN is up 19.4% since the start of the year, up 13.4% over the past year and down 43.8% over the past five years. Here are the latest technical charts for both the ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF and the Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN:
Finally, here is a quick look at the performance of the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN verses the ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF and the Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN over the past two years or so:
As you can see, the gold bugs have been losers at least for this year. Nevertheless, there might be space in your portfolio for the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN as well as the ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF and the Deutsche Bank AG DB Gold Short ETN depending on what your time horizon is for the direction of gold.
SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) has an open position in UGLD. To find out what other open positions SCN EO currently has, and to learn why so many traders and investors are relying on this premium subscription service, click here to find out more.
) from its Conviction Buy List.
Associated Press 
Fourth of July for the snobs 
Associated Press 
Alamy The ugly fight in Washington that shut down the government and nearly failed to raise the debt limit took a serious toll on consumer confidence. The Conference Board's monthly Consumer Confidence Index was released Tuesday, and it showed that people's confidence in the U.S. economy dipped sharply in October. In one month, the confidence index fell from 80.2 to 71.2, and the nonprofit that publishes the survey pointed the finger at the budget crisis. "Consumer confidence deteriorated considerably as the federal government shutdown and debt-ceiling crisis took a particularly large toll on consumers' expectations," wrote Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. Franco went on to note that similar dips have been observed last year during the "fiscal cliff" debate and during the last government shutdown in the mid-1990s. The Conference Board isn't alone in its assessment that the shutdown hurt consumer confidence: Last week's Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence survey found that confidence in the economy had reached its lowest ebb since December 2012. Consumer confidence is a closely watched economic indicator, and the troublesome reports come just a month before the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season. And that could spell trouble for the retail industry and the economy as a whole. "With the holiday shopping season around the corner, consumers have been shaken by all the political turmoil in Washington," wrote IHS Global Insights economist Chris Christopher in an email. "Looking ahead, we expect consumer confidence to gain traction in the upcoming months; however, confidence falls faster than it rises." There is a potential silver lining for consumers, though -- as Christopher points out, retailers will be discounting heavily to convince shoppers to shake off their worries and get to the mall.
Bloomberg News 
Alamy For almost as long as Christmas has been a commercialized holiday, there have been complaints about "Christmas Creep" -- the tendency for retailers to launch holiday sales and advertising earlier and earlier every year. This year, it seems to be worse than ever. We're already seeing the first commercials for Christmas shopping, and major retailers like Kmart (SHLD), Toys R Us and Walmart (WMT) are eagerly telling us what toys they expect to be top sellers this season. And Christmas is still three months away. "It does feel like the holidays begin earlier every year," says Alison Kenney Paul, head of the retail practice at Deloitte. As it turns out, there are a few reasons why Christmas Creep has been taken to new heights this year. No Presidential Election. Last year, two men stood in the way of the inexorable spread of Christmas: Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. The presidential election served as a bulwark of sorts, holding the public's attention and making it more expensive for retailers to run television ads in October. This year, retailers have free rein to take over the airwaves in the fall, and you can expect them to take advantage. "Between paid political advertising and media attention, the election crowded out the ability for retailers to get their message out there earlier," says Paul. "We'll see more advertising and promotions earlier this year." A Late Black Friday. Every year, Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, with Black Friday coming the next day (well, in theory). But this year, the first of November falls on a Friday, which means that Thanksgiving (Nov 28) and Black Friday (Nov. 29) are as late as they can possibly be. "It is a shorter season than last year," says Paul. "You do have this phenomenon every few years where there's fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas." Think retailers are really going to wait around until Nov. 29 to roll out their big promotional efforts? Think again. While Black Friday will still be a big deal, its late arrival means that many retailers will place more emphasis on pre-Black Friday deals and promotions. "I think there will be a first wave of promotions before black Friday," says Jeff Feinberg, a retail industry veteran and a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal Private Equity Services. A Ridiculously Early Hanukkah. The late Thanksgiving is also intersecting with an unusually early Hanukkah -- in fact, the first night of the Jewish holiday falls on the evening Thanksgiving, which means Jewish shoppers really cant wait until Black Friday to do their shopping. And by the time Cyber Monday rolls around, the holiday will be more than half over. That's raised the specter of a second Black Friday aimed specifically at Jewish shoppers; we think it's more likely that this will simply be another reason for retailer to roll out promotions earlier in the season. Still, it's important to remember that only about 2 percent of the American population are Jewish, so this is a minor factor in the grand scheme of things. Paul says that while the early Hannukah gives retailers another platform to talk about the holidays, Jews are generally "too small a group to move the needle." Still, you may see a small effect on promotional activity in regions with heavy Jewish populations. (In some major markets in New York, Florida and California, for example, Jews represent a much higher percentage of shoppers -- one that retailers can't afford to ignore.) More Focus on Low-Income Shoppers. Walmart officially kicked off the holiday season back in August, when it announced its holiday layaway program. Meanwhile, Kmart aired what seems to be the first official holiday commercial of the season -- an ad for its layaway program. See a pattern? These discount retailers aren't doing a good enough job of connecting with the low-income shoppers who are supposed to be their bread-and-butter -- which is why they're offering services like free layaway in hopes of winning them back. And layaway, by its nature, needs to start early. So while some may rage at the absurdity of promoting Christmas shopping in September, keep in mind that these ads aren't necessarily aimed at you -- they're for the paycheck-to-paycheck shoppers who will benefit by putting toys on layaway now so they can pay for Christmas later. "Economic Headwinds." This has become a favorite phrase of retail executives who struggle to explain why their sales are weak, though Feinberg says that such concerns are somewhat exaggerated. "We're not in a meltdown; we don't have a flurry of companies shutting down factories," he says. Still, he notes that there's less hiring and stagnated wages, along with general concerns around gas prices and government gridlock. All of these factors have conspired to keep American purse strings relatively tight, and that's going to have skittish retailers eager to get out ahead of the competition -- especially in the wake of relatively light back-to-school sales. So all signs point toward an earlier shopping season. That's a strategy we're already seeing from Toys R Us, which earlier this month started offering big deals for early shoppers. At the time, we suggested that you take retailers up on the offer if the deals are good and you want to avoid the malls in December. But the same factors that are pushing retailers toward an earlier holiday shopping season might also dictate caution to the deal-hunting consumer. "At the first indication that things aren't going well, retailers are not going to wait a week for things to pick up," says Feinberg. "If Black Friday weekend is mediocre, I suspect those first two weeks of December will be huge for the consumer." As retailers start pushing sales and promotions over the next month, by all means listen to what they have to say. But if they're desperate enough to start running Christmas ads in September, they may also be desperate enough to go discount-crazy in December. Stay tuned. 
10. Children’s Cancer Fund of America
8. National Veterans Service Fund
6. Breast Cancer Relief Foundation
4. American Breast Cancer Foundation
2. Cancer Fund of America
Tony Dejak/APRegular gas is advertised for $1.94 a gallon at a gas station in Cleveland. NEW YORK -- The price of gasoline fell below $2 a gallon last week in two states, Missouri and Oklahoma. That's the first time gas has fallen that low since 2009. The price has declined overall by $1.06 in the past 95 days, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, and by $1.38 a gallon since June. The price decline in oil (at $51 a barrel) and gasoline this week has been a savings bonanza for drivers. According to AAA: The current national average for a gallon of gasoline is $2.28, giving consumers savings of 11 cents a gallon compared with a week earlier, and 49 cents a gallon in the past 30 days compared with the month before. American drivers also saved $1.02 from Jan. 1, 2014, to Thursday. Drivers saved $14 billion last year compared with 2013, according to AAA. Compared with 2012, consumers saved $22 billion. On a per-household basis, Americans saved $115 each from lower gas prices in 2014. "U.S. drivers ended the year on a high-note with gas prices plummeting over the last few months," AAA spokesman Avery Ash says. "Cheaper gas prices have helped to improve the economy by boosting both consumer confidence and disposable income." The high point for gasoline prices last year was April 28, when the national average stood at $3.70 a gallon; the lowest point was Dec. 31, when the average gallon of gas hit $2.26. On a geographic basis, it really paid to drive in the South, with South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas all ranking among the year's lowest average gasoline prices. Hawaii had the highest average ($4.16, compared with $3.34 in South Carolina), with California, Connecticut and New York drivers also seeing higher prices than the rest of the country. AAA expects gas prices to remain relatively low this year, although there are no guarantees. This year promises to provide "much bigger savings to consumers as long as crude oil remains relatively cheap," Ash says. "It would not be surprising for U.S. consumers to save $50 billion to $75 billion on gasoline in 2015 if prices remain low." 
Getty Images There is no force greater than a reasonably free market economy, but it can only exist if: Companies compete for your business. In other words, there is more than one choice. (No monopolies allowed.) Consumers have the ability to compare, ditch and switch. They can, with a little effort, understand the true cost of competing products, make informed decisions, and change suppliers easily. Companies producing products that no one wants to buy can fail. They will go out of business, and the people who invested in the business will lose their investments. When consumers have choice and transparency, and when companies are never too big to fail, amazing things can happen. The market will be brutal to companies without a compelling product or value. And it will disproportionally reward those who create real value for consumers. Unfortunately, the forces of the market usually don't reach consumer financial products. But, when true markets are created, the results can be dramatic. Price Comparison Sites Work Amazingly Well in U.K. In the United Kingdom, price comparison websites have revolutionized financial services, particularly auto insurance. If you want to buy auto insurance, you can visit a website, enter a few pieces of personal information and immediately see real personalized quotes from most major auto insurance companies. These are not estimates based upon public records or reverse-engineered guesses based upon the clever work of a computer scientist. The auto insurance companies share their pricing information with the price comparison websites. Thus, all three conditions of the market are met. Consumers can go to one website and see the cost of the products being offered. It is very easy to compare, ditch and switch online. And no auto insurance company has a handout from the government. If they don't compete for business, they will fail. Most importantly, the price comparison websites show the cheapest products first, not the products that pay the highest commissions. To be the top recommendation, you have to be offering the best price. Auto Insurance Premiums Have Fallen 30 Percent -- Over There And the result? Since 2011, auto insurance premiums have dropped by more than 30 percent. In the last 12 months, auto insurance premiums dropped a staggering 19.3 percent. How can prices keep going down? The pressure of the market is forcing companies to innovate. They are improving their underwriting models. They are investing in better fraud detection and claims handling processes. But they are doing all of this to lower premiums so that they can stay alive, not because they plan on making more money. The market is forcing them to compete. And it is brutal. Compare the U.K. market to the U.S. auto insurance market, where insurance premiums are generally increasing. One website, www.leaky.com, tried to bring transparency to the auto insurance market. Not surprisingly, the auto insurance companies were not interested in transparency. In fact, the company received a cease-and-desist order every two months of its existence from insurance companies trying to stop it. Eventually, fighting the litigation became too much, and the startup had to shut down its product. Think about what that means to you: Big insurance companies sued a tiny company into oblivion solely because they don't want you to know how much their products cost. And the auto insurance companies are still fighting hard to ensure that it remains difficult for consumers to compare, ditch and switch. And Now Consider Payday Loans Thanks to true price comparison websites, the U.K. consumer has enjoyed ever-reducing insurance premiums, ever-increasing low-rate balance-transfer durations (you can now borrow at 0 percent for 34 months in the U.K.) and ever-lower personal loan interest rates (with excellent credit, it is easy to get a 5.1 percent interest rate). Regulators there have taken note and would like to unleash the power of the market on one of the worst corners of financial services: Payday loans. As the Guardian reported last week, the competition regulator is going to force payday lenders to share their pricing information with price comparison websites. Payday lenders offer short-term loans to consumers who have no other options. On average, payday lenders charge between $15 to $20 for every $100 that you borrow for 14 days. But the real money is made when borrowers roll over the loan. When the debt comes due in 14 days, the borrower has two choices. They can pay back the $100 borrowed or pay another $15 to $20 to extend the loan for another 14 days. According the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, 80 percent of borrowers roll over their loans. Hidden fees can often add up to far more than amount of the loan. Short-term loans turn into long-term loans, loaded with fees, generating annual percentage rates in excess of 1,000 percent. Payday Lenders Scheme Around the Rules Attempts to regulate payday lending have been a complete failure, on both sides of the Atlantic. Payday lenders are clever and find ways of getting around every rule designed to hem them in. In fact, a number of U.S. payday lenders are incorporated on Indian reservations to avoid regulatory oversight completely. The payday loan model remains: Hide the true cost of borrowing. Don't share pricing up-front, making it difficult to compare. Keep people in debt forever, by making it "cheaper" to extend, rather than pay off the loan. But rather than trying to write new rules, which payday lenders will find their way around, we should consider unleashing the power of the market. Imagine if payday lenders had to share all of their pricing model with price comparison websites. Consumers who need cash could go to a single website and see how much it would actually cost to borrow the money until the loan is completely paid off. Remember the most important part of a price comparison website: the person with the lowest price almost always wins. Financial services are a commodity. So, if payday lender A has a 1,000 percent APR, and lender B has a 990 percent APR, then all of the business would shift to lender B. Lender A would see a dramatic drop in business, and would have to respond. Payday lenders could drop their prices by 90 percent and still make great profits. But they don't drop their prices because they don't have to. Forcing transparency on the payday lending market could drive real change. Consumers Would Benefit on Other Products The ability of the price comparison business model to transform financial services inspired me to leave the U.K. and move back to the U.S., where I created MagnifyMoney.com. I believe that complete price transparency quickly rewards companies with the best product, rather than the biggest marketing budget. For example, we have a balance transfer marketplace where PenFed (a credit union that anyone can join) usually takes the top spot. It is there because it has the best product (you can move your debt from other credit cards to PenFed and pay only 4.99 percent for 48 months, with no fee), not because it has the biggest marketing budget. When banks that are too big to fail aren't forced to compete based upon price, consumers lose. We have a lot to learn from the dominance of easy-to-use price comparison websites in the U.K., and I look forward to the day when banks, payday lenders and insurers are racing to drop prices in an effort to survive.