The S&A Digest: Deal of the century

Deal of the century… And a $40 Lamborghini… Political crap and BBQ… 'Helicopter Ben' doing Sjuggerud a favor…

 Homebuilder Hovnanian commenced its "Deal of the Century" sale today in 18 states. The company is offering savings of up to $150,000 on new homes in order to cure its slumping share price. Perks of the deal include Home Depot gift cards and plasma TVs. CEO Ara Hovnanian believes the bottom in housing is "very near," but "it's going to stay along the bottom for a while before a recovery."

Our advice: Lowball them and get them to knock another $150K off the price.

 Phase 1 pick Crucell (CRXL) has developed an antibody against the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu. While the virus mainly afflicts birds, some experts have predicted the disease could cross into the human population, infecting and killing millions. If this were to happen, shares of Crucell would skyrocket... more than they already have. Editor Rob Fannon's pick already has readers up 207%. To find out what Rob is working on now, click here...

 Another one bites the dust… Wharton Asset Management, a $14.5 billion London-based hedge fund, will delist two of its funds from the Irish Stock Exchange – including its flagship Y2K Finance, which halted investor redemptions on Monday. Y2K Finance lost 19.7% as of July 31.

 Oil closed above $80 a barrel yesterday, an all-time high, and Matt Badiali's Oil Report picks are skyrocketing. Oil services giant Schlumberger (SLB) is up 64%. Brazilian oil major Petrobras (PBR) is up 46% in seven months. To see what he's recommending now, click here…

 Anyone want a new Lamborghini? Steve Sjuggerud shows you how to pick one up for $40 here…

 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will release a policy statement next Tuesday… Wall Street is expecting him to cut the federal-funds target rate by at least 25 basis points from its current level at 5.25%. A rate cut would make borrowing cheaper, drive economic growth, and hopefully boost liquidity in the credit market. This rate cut could mean big bucks for certain companies. Steve Sjuggerud is excited about two companies right now that make money every time interest rates go down. True Wealth subscribers can refer to his September 2007 report, How to Make a Fortune Thanks to the U.S. Government. If you'd like to learn more about this opportunity, click here.

 New highs: Alnylam (ALNY), CGG-Veritas (CGV), eBay (EBAY), McDonald's (MCD), Arcelor Mittal (MT), POSCO (PKX), Raytheon (RTN).

 Porter should return on Monday to rebut your rants. I'm sure he's had plenty of time to stir up some juicy controversy during his hiatus. Wait with bated breath, or fuel the fire here… feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

 "Can we stop all this political crap and stick with finance and investing subjects? If I wanted political crap, I would look for it somewhere else. I'm looking for investment information here, not BBQ recipes or political commentary on Ron Paul. I don't give a s about Ron Paul. Stick with finances on this site! Who else agrees with me?" – Anonymous

 "Porter, I'm surprised that a man with your knowledge and intelligence would use statistics to, well, tell damn lies! In an effort to discredit the relationship, you write that the best new data shows that 20% of female lung-cancer victims and 8% of male lung-cancer victims never smoked. Well, let's look at it the way the National Cancer Institute looks at it (Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, smoking is also responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and bladder, and is a cause of kidney, pancreatic, cervical, and stomach cancers, as well as acute myeloid leukemia), that 80% of female lung-cancer victims and 92% of male lung cancer victims smoked. Ouch. 92% vs. 8%? Why don't you put those statistics into your math models when analyzing covered call writing probabilities? If you could find trades with a 92% probability of directional success, wouldn't you start a service with about $1 million subscription price? Hell, if I could, I wouldn't be here! I'd be competing with you!" – Paid-up subscriber Ken

 "I had a father in law who smoked a pack of salems (menthol) every day. He died of lung cancer at 55. I had an aunt who smoked virtually the same, if not more (salems, 1-1/2 to 2 packs daily) since she was 22. She died of heart failure at 99 years, 8 months old. Go figure. Clearly, the genes have allot to say about it. I figure I better play it safe and just smoke crack. Ha, ha."

– Paid-up subscriber John Lemon

 "The 'respected doctor' who stated that smoking does not cause cancer should be enlightened. Not only does smoking cause cancer (of the lung), smoking is the MOST COMMON PREVENTABLE CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE WORLD! The multiple medical problems caused by tobacco are legion, and there is not a single justification for the use of tobacco." – Paid-up subscriber Jack Ford

 "That doctor is right about cancer, you had the privilege of hearing some rare truth on the subject. If smoking causes cancer, then all smokers would have lung cancer. Yet, everyone knows some old geezer who's smoked cigars or Camel straights for 40 years, and outlived his non-smoking friends. It's what he does with his life outside of the smoking habit (fresh air, excersise, clean food, no vaccines) that keeps him from being a cancer statistic. These are the facts that you won't hear from the cancer industry professionals: Everyone has cancer cells in their bodies, but the immune system keeps them in check. A weak immune system will result it a cancerous condition, and it will take hold in the bodies weakest point. Smoking raises the probability that this point will be in the lungs. If the person were not a smoker, the cancer would take hold in the next weakest spot, like the colon, breast, etc, and they would have cancer anyway. The goal is to have no weak spots in the immune system's defenses, and this is very difficult to do in today's American culture. If we banned vaccinations, white sugar, msg, sodium nitrates, and all the other poisons that are thrust upon us everywhere we turn, the cases of cancer of all types would greatly decrease. Being able to discern between real food (the nutritious type) and 'food' (the corporate, chemical-laden substances that Americans consume) is also a skill that will improve your chances of avoiding the big 'C' (as well as other ailments). If there were any justice, places like McDonald's, Kellogg's cereals, Monsanto, and big Pharma would be paying out reparations just like the tobacco companies did. However, everyone is ultimately responsible for what they put in their own mouths. The best investment advice a person can get is not in the financial section of the bookstore, but in the non-establishment, alternative health section."

– Paid-up subscriber Ken

Regards,

Sean Goldsmith

Baltimore, Maryland

September 14, 2007

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