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 The Dow and S&P 500 rose to record highs, yesterday…13,861 and 1,547, respectively. For the Dow, this 2.1% rise was the largest percentage gain since October 2003 and the largest point gain since October 2002. By the close, all 30 of the stocks in the DJIA had posted a gain.
Strong retail reports from Wal-Mart, Target and Cosco and yet another massive buyout deal -- this one for Canadian aluminum producer Alcan at $39 billion -- helped investors gain momentum.
 On this Friday the 13th, We could have just as easily been writing about the U.S. markets falling 1%, citing this news: Fitch and S&P simultaneously downgraded 531 classes of subprime mortgage-backed securities, wiping out over $8 billion in bond “value”…. or lower-than-expected earnings from Home Depot, Sears, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s pushed jittery investors over the edge. Or the fact that Alcoa took their bid for Alcan off the table, means the buyout binge might be losing steam.
But the markets went up, not down, so let’s party on… “The market can remain irrational,” J.M. Keynes once famously said, “longer than you can remain solvent.”
 The worldwide liquidity boom is raising all boats. The Australian, Hong Kong, South Korean, Singapore and Indian stock markets all chalked up lifetime highs yesterday, too.
 Not ironically, U.S. margin debt also hit an all-time high yesterday. American investors had a total of $353 billion in IOUs floating in the market in May, up 11% from April. A coincidence? We think not.
“Investors are quite optimistic right now,” says Chris Mayer. “But this level of debt also shows how vulnerable they are to a decline. Such leverage will only magnify their losses, should the market not continue its rise. If you have any kind of a contrarian streak, you have to look at those numbers and think we're due for a dip.”
A fellow at the blackjack table, taking out a $10,000 advance so he can double down is a “degenerate gambler”; on Wall Street, in today’s parlance, he’s called an “investor.”
 Belying the trend toward a higher stock market, the dollar pushed its way to three-millionths of a cent away from $1.38 against the euro -- a new record low. The loonie and the pound sit at near 30- and 26-year lows, respectively.
 The “dollar index,” for its part, reached a 2½ year low yesterday. At 80, the index is teetering on a support level that has chart-watching forex traders on the edge of their seats:
“If the index falls below 80,” writes Mike "Mish' Shedlock of The Survival Report, “all bullish bets are off, and the cellar door would be wide open.”
 Gold remains mired at the bestial price of $666 an ounce.
 Need a parking space in New York City? Get in line. We found one space going for $225,000 on West 17th Street… but there are seven people on the waiting list.
To put that price in perspective: At $1,500 a square foot, this grungy piece of concrete is worth more -- to some -- than Manhattan’s most expensive condos. And its total price is about $1,000 more than the nation’s median existing home price.
 Investment in geothermal energy increased fourfold over the past two years, says a recently released study conducted by CNNMoney. Enhanced technology and better political conditions have dropped the price of geothermal electricity to as low as 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour, thus branding it a serious competitor with coal… and igniting a surge of investments.
If we’re right on this one, geothermal is on the cusp of a big wave of R&D and outside investment. Outstanding Investments readers already have their stake. And recent legislation in geothermal-rich California put a microcap play on Gunner’s radar, one that he’ll be revealing with the launch of his new service, Bulletin Board Elite this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled, or send an e-mail to X to reserve your spot in our new elite microcap investment service.
 Guerilla attacks in western Mexico, some as late as yesterday, have authorities on both sides of the Mexican border on edge. The target: billions of dollars’ worth of natural gas pipelines. Companies such as Hershey’s, Honda and Kellogg’s were forced to suspend or cut back operations this week when Mexican rebels bombed gas pipelines near Guadalajara.
"We have started a national campaign of harassment against the economic interests of the oligarchy and the anti-people government,” said the People's Revolutionary Army, the group that claimed responsibility for the attacks. “We declare those interests as legitimate military targets." Until the pipelines are repaired, Mexican authorities estimate local companies are losing up to $7million per day.
Is the U.S. moving toward a full-blown border war with Mexico? Seems improbable, of course. But it may not be so >>
 “I echo the sentiment of the reader who found Mexican immigrants to be hard working, conscientious and, in general, easy to work with. I also found that for the most part, family values were very high,” writes a long-time employer of minorities. “I never expected an employee to do a job that I would not do or that I had not done. Enthusiasm was something that the Mexican laborer brought to the job. I cannot, however, say the same about the young black males that I encountered. And I might add that finding one without an attitude was nearly impossible. I don't pretend to know the answer to the high black unemployment, but I suspect it boils down to a lack of role models in their young lives. The extremely high rate of single mothers raising children in the black community should be a screaming red flag.
“To be fair, I have had a lot of white workers who weren't worth much either, but the ratios are so skewed that I really get ticked when I hear the apologists in the media tiptoeing around hard facts.
“Bottom line is that Mexican immigrants fill a vacuum. I don't like the fact that they are illegal, especially since my lineage has been here less than 100 years and they stood in line to get in. I especially do not like the spineless politicians who have ignored the problem for so long that now there doesn't seem to be a solution that anyone likes. If people really want to solve the illegal immigration problem, then implement huge fines on employers. Sensenbrenner tried introducing the bill at the federal level, and it went nowhere. Money and a better quality of life are the reasons people come here. States and municipalities are attempting to now pass those laws, but they get struck down in court as being the province of the federal government.
“At the end of the day, people with skill and determination fill voids left by others. Just like pouring water into a glass of ice, the water goes where there is a void to fill.”
 “It doesn't matter whether you are black, white, red, purple or green,” writes another reader. “I, for one, am sick and tired of just handing out all this training, benefits and so forth. It is not appreciated and almost always abused.
“And whoever says Mexicans are the only illegal aliens that are doing this work is also wrong. The only thing I don't like about aliens (legal or illegal) is for them to come here not only to share in the American dream, but to destroy it, as well. If a person wants work, all they have to do is put forth a little effort to get it and actually do the work, instead of saying, ‘I showed up. What more do you want?’ If illegal aliens are the only ones willing to do this, then more power to them.”
 “The reader who wrote in saying we need to raise taxes either doesn't understand economics, can't do math or both,” opined our last reader. “The problem is not tax revenue. The problem is government spending. No wonder the politicians are still laughing at us. Half this country still thinks the problem is not enough tax revenue. When do you think they will ever wake up?
“Our forefathers never expected handouts from the government -- Social Security, welfare, Medicare, etc. They just encourage government waste and inefficiency.”
Regards,
Addison Wiggin,
The 5 Min. Forecast
P.S. Two more days until Sarnoff’s next options recommendation >>
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Recent guerilla attacks in western Mexico have authorities on both sides of the Mexican border scrambling to protect billions worth natural gas pipelines. Companies such as Hershey’s, Honda, and Kellogg’s are losing up to $7 million a day as local rebels bomb energy sites left and right. Meanwhile, several little known organizations are well positioned to profit from a sudden energy grab... or… worse yet, a full blown U.S. / Mexico Border War. 
