We're No. 1 on iTunes...

How the media manipulates you... and why you should ignore it...

Editor's note: Today's Digest Premium is an excerpt from the first episode of The James Altucher Show.

 Almost everything you read in the newspaper is either fear or greed. They have to do it.

I (James Altucher) don't blame them, and I'm not going to argue with them because they're always going to do it and they always have done it. But it's getting worse, because media as an industry is going out of business.

It's being replaced by social media – Twitter, Facebook, and so on. Newspapers, television channels, news, all they want to do is scare you so you keep tuning in to whatever the latest BS story they're trying to force on you is.

 I'll give you an example...

One time, I was backstage on CNBC and they say, "Hey, why don't you come and see how this show is actually produced?" So I go backstage and the producer says to me after a while, "You know, all we're really trying to do here is fill up the space between commercials. That's all we care about, is the commercials."

And it's true. So how would they fill up the space between commercials? They would have what they would call the "Octobox." I'm sure you've seen it on some news channel... They have eight people, all dressed in their suits and ties wearing makeup. Everybody is arguing with each other. They actually tell you – they actually whisper to you in a little [earpiece], "Okay, now start arguing with the guy." And they tell you what to argue in some cases. All they want to do is scare you.

 For instance, look at Greece two years ago. This was supposed to be the debt that was going to spread across the Atlantic Ocean and bring down the U.S. economy... Some little beach in the middle of the Mediterranean was supposed to bring down the massive U.S. economy. And every day, the news would just keep hammering this, and the stock market fell 20% or 30% because everybody got so scared. So of course, the media would hype it up even more.

Six months ago, the latest one was Cyprus. I can't even find Cyprus on a map. Is it in Europe? Is it in Africa? Is it in the Middle East? That's how ignorant I am. And you know why I'm ignorant? It's because it doesn't matter. Whatever happens on this little beach resort will not affect the U.S. economy.

– James Altucher

Editor's note: As we mentioned in today's Digest, we just launched James Altucher's podcast, The James Altucher Show. To sign up to receive these podcasts completely free of charge, click here and subscribe on iTunes, and e-mail James at james@stansberryradio.com with the subject line "Podcast Subscriber."

How the media manipulates you... and why you should ignore it...

According to James Altucher, the media manipulates the news to induce fear.

In today's Digest Premium, he explains why you should ignore the hype...

To continue reading, scroll down or click here.

Stansberry & Associates Top 10 Open Recommendations
(Top 10 highest-returning open positions across all S&A portfolios)

As of 01/24/2014

Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any S&A publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio.

Stansberry & Associates Hall of Fame
(Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all S&A portfolios)

How the media manipulates you... and why you should ignore it...

According to James Altucher, the media manipulates the news to induce fear.

In today's Digest Premium, he explains why you should ignore the hype...

To subscribe to Digest Premium and receive a free hardback copy of Jim Rogers' latest book, click here.

We're No. 1 on iTunes... The James Altucher Show... A quick favor... A bright spot from last Friday's rout... Volatility soars... Stocks head lower on fears about emerging markets... Treasury yields head lower... Why Marc Faber owns dollars and Treasurys... Major Bitcoin executive is arrested... Steve Sjuggerud on Bitcoin... 3D Systems gets crushed...

 We're No. 1 on iTunes...

Last week, we launched our newest addition to the Stansberry Radio family... The James Altucher Show. And thanks to you, we currently hold the No. 1 spot for investing podcasts on iTunes. (We even briefly hit the No. 1 spot for all podcasts.) More on this in a bit...

James is an unusual character... He has made and lost his fortune several times. He has started dozens of businesses, doing everything from managing money to venture capitalism.

He's on the board of a company with $1 billion in annual revenue. His thoughts have been regularly featured in dozens of mainstream media outlets. And he's one of the best-connected people we've ever met. His Rolodex includes star athletes, celebrities, bestselling authors, and thought leaders.

We tried to convince James to work for us for nearly a year. We knew his unique perspective on life and business – coupled with his humility and candor – would be the perfect addition to the financial insight we already share with you.

He acted as the guest host for a handful of Stansberry Radio episodes. We featured his insight across our newsletters. We promoted his new book, Choose Yourself (which Porter said was "one of the most important books" he read last year).

 On Friday, we launched The James Altucher Show to great success. For his first episode, he discussed the mainstream media and why you should always "ignore the crisis." He also interviewed bestselling author and entrepreneur Tucker Max.

You may not recognize the name, but Max is a wildly entertaining, brilliant businessman. He reinvented the book-publishing model. And to date, he has sold nearly 3 million books.

 James already has several excellent guests lined up for his show (including Freakonomics co-author Stephen Dubner and New York Observer editor Ken Kurson, who formerly headed Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign).

If you'd like to learn about life and business from some of the smartest people in the game – and get their "no BS" perspective on things, you have to sign up for James' show. It's completely free to listen. You can access this episode from iTunes by clicking here.

And right now, James is offering his listeners a gift, free of charge. After you subscribe to The James Altucher Show podcast on iTunes, shoot him an e-mail at james@stansberryradio.com with the subject line "Podcast Subscriber." James will personally send you a free gift.

Again... to claim your free gift, click here, subscribe on iTunes, and e-mail James with the subject line "Podcast Subscriber."

 But we do have a small favor to ask...

As I mentioned earlier, we briefly hit the No. 1 spot across all podcasts on iTunes. Since then, we've fallen a bit in the rankings... But we're still holding strong in the Top 10.

As a publishing company, we're newcomers to the world of radio. But the content we're delivering is world-class. We're discussing topics nobody else is willing to touch. We're featuring business leaders who can deliver valuable, real-life lessons to our listeners. And as with everything else we do, we're committed to making The James Altucher Show the best radio show out there.

So please be sure to sign up for James' show. Leave us a review on iTunes. And feel free to tell your friends. (You have our permission to forward today's Digest to anyone who might be interested.)

 You may wonder what the benefit is for you.

Well, the higher our ranking in the podcast universe, the higher caliber of guest we can recruit for the show. Simply put, important and famous people only want to talk with people who have large audiences.

Since reaching No. 1, we've been in talks with some of the biggest names in business and entertainment. These are folks who would have ignored our e-mails in the past. But now that they know how large our audience is, they're interested in speaking with us and sharing their insights and knowledge with you. We don't want to share any specific names because we're still in discussions with these folks... But we guarantee you know who these people are.

With your help, we can make The James Altucher Show the best podcast on the web. We'll discuss the most controversial topics. We'll feature the smartest and most successful guests. We'll deliver the best business insight in the world. And we'll do it at no cost to you. We just need your help in spreading the word.

As always, we appreciate your support. And we'll keep you updated on our progress in these pages. Again, to sign up for The James Altucher Show, click here.

 On Friday, Porter published Part II of the 2013 Report Card – his annual ranking of every advisory we publish. He gave three publications an A+ this year. To read how our advisories stacked up, you can revisit the two-part series here and here.

 Last Friday was a rough one for the markets...

The S&P 500 dropped just more than 2%. The Dow fell nearly 2%. Meanwhile, the market's fear gauge – the Volatility Index (the "VIX") – soared 30% to nearly 18. We've long thought the VIX, which hovered around 14 for the past year, showed far too much complacency.

 The drop was due to fear in emerging markets.

Turkey is in the midst of a political crisis. Its currency (the lira) hit a record low against the U.S. dollar today. (It then rebounded after the Turkish central bank said it would hold an emergency meeting.) We wrote about the Turkish crisis in the January 7 Digest.

Ukraine is also experiencing a political crisis... The country is erupting with violent anti-government protests. Protestors are pushing for Ukraine to sign a free-trade agreement with the European Union and to release political prisoners.

There are the ongoing political follies in Argentina... a plummeting peso and hyperinflation.

And the markets are worried about a slowdown in China, the world's largest consumer of commodities.

 That explains why investors are seeking refuge in "the world's safest asset," U.S. Treasurys.

Yields on the 10-year Treasury hit 3.03% on December 31 – its highest yield since mid-2011. They're down to 2.77% today. (Remember... when investors buy and push up the price, yields go down.)

Bond experts like PIMCO's Bill Gross and Doubleline Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach think yields are headed even lower. Gundlach believes yields will fall to 2.5%.

 Even Marc Faber, editor of the Gloom Boom & Doom Report, is parking his cash in U.S. dollars and Treasurys, according to an interview he did with news outlet Bloomberg. He believes the economic recovery in the U.S. will stumble and push bond yields lower.

Faber is a permabear... He always looks at the world in terms of bubbles and their subsequent bursts. For years, he has warned about mounting debt in the U.S. and other countries.

He's a legendary contrarian... and has made a fortune through investing. Still, he is parking his money in dollars. Other investment professionals were quick to point out his hypocrisy. Faber responded...

 And if you don't want to hold dollars or gold, there's always Bitcoin, the emerging digital currency.

We wrote about Bitcoin at length last week. In short, we're very skeptical of Bitcoin as a legitimate alternative to the U.S. dollar.

Today, the virtual currency is down more than 9% on a bit of scandalous news...

Charlie Shrem, CEO of Bitcoin exchange BitInstant, was arrested today and charged with money laundering. Shrem was accused of selling more than $1 million of Bitcoin to users of the recently closed online black market, Silk Road.

 BitInstant, which is backed by the Winklevoss twins (who made a fortune suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their idea), is currently offline.

 In today's DailyWealth, our own Steve Sjuggerud explained why he's not touching Bitcoin. You can read his thoughts here.

 One benefit of a falling market: Absurdly overvalued stocks get slaughtered...

In the January 13 Digest, we told you about one stock that fits the bill... 3-D printing company 3D Systems (DDD).

At the time, the company was valued close to $10 billion. It was trading for more than 21 times sales and 74 times forward earnings. (Keep in mind, the price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 is around 16 today.)

 We also outlined why our friend, hedge-fund manager Whitney Tilson, was short DDD... He had just returned from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas...

 Since we wrote about DDD two weeks ago, shares have fallen nearly 20%, from around $92 a share to less than $77.

 New 52-week highs (as of 1/24/14): Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), Virginia Mines (VGQ.TO), and Vringo (VRNG).

 We have more positive feedback from our annual Report Card, and some well wishes for our hunting trip. Send your thoughts to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

 "I give you an A+. Everything that is important, I have learned from your publications. I was a subscriber to the options letter you described for a short time. I always wondered how it was still in business. It sort of surprises me that it is so profitable. It sort of doesn't surprise me though. I have also learned from your writing that what people want is to be pumped full of fluff (and horse hooey). Anything to not have to do the work that is required for anything worthwhile in life. Imagine the money you could make with your knowledge, if you didn't have the integrity that you do. You could easily give people what they want and take their money. You would likely take a lot less grief with the feedback as well. :) Thank you for publishing what you do. And thank you for making it affordable for all." – Paid-up subscriber SM

 "Please accept my best wishes for a successful hunt and great fun with good friends on your current trip. As the large feral pigs are quite destructive creatures, I hope you shoot many and enjoy a fabulous BBQ afterwards. And thank you for doing so much to further my education in securities analysis and investment techniques. I can't honestly say I trade a lot of the specific recommendations from your writers any longer but I carefully read every bit of information you provide as the approaches used to analyze the picks are exceptionally valuable in helping me to improve my own skills. You have helped teach this man to fish and I eat quite well every day." – Paid-up subscriber Ken McGaha

Goldsmith comment: Thanks, Ken. We had a ball... Cabin Bluff is one of Porter and my favorite places on Earth. We'll have an update on our trip later this week.

Regards,