Columnists

Addison Wiggin

Addison Wiggin is the executive publisher of Agora Financial, LLC, a fiercely independent economic forecasting and financial research firm. He’s the creator and editorial director of Agora Financial’s daily 5 Min. Forecast and editorial director of The Daily Reckoning. Wiggin is the founder of Agora Entertainment, executive producer and co-writer of I.O.U.S.A., which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, the 2009 Critics Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature, and was also shortlisted for a 2009 Academy Award. He is the author of the companion book of the film I.O.U.S.A.and his second edition of The Demise of the Dollar… and Why it’s Even Better for Your Investments was just fully revised and updated. Wiggin is a three-time New York Times best-selling author whose work has been recognized by The New York Times Magazine, The Economist, Worth, The New York Times, The Washington Post as well as major network news programs. He also co-authored international bestsellers Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt with Bill Bonner.

Dan Amoss

Dan Amoss, CFA, is a student of the Austrian school of economics, a discipline that he uses to identify imbalances in specific sectors of the market. He tracks aggressive accounting and other red flags that the market typically misses. Amoss is a Maryland native, a graduate of Loyola University Maryland, and earned his CFA charter in 2005. In spring 2008, he recommended Lehman Brothers puts, advising readers to hold the position as the stock fell from $45 to $12. Amoss is managing editor of the Strategic Short Report.

Joel Bowman

Joel Bowman is managing editor of the Daily Reckoning and former managing editor of the Rude Awakening. After completing his degree in media communications and journalism in his home country of Australia, Joel moved to Baltimore to join the Agora Financial team. His keen interest in travel and macroeconomics first took him to New York where he regularly reported from Wall Street, and he now writes from and lives all over the world.

Abe Cofnas

Abe Cofnas has been a full-time analyst of global currency trading for over twenty years and ranks among the top Foreign Exchange (Forex) traders working today. He has written three books on the subject. The most recent, Sentiment Indicators was published in 2010. Cofnas is the managing editor of the Strategic Currency Trader, Agora’s primary source for currencies information. He has also been Futures Magazine’s Forex Trader columnist since 2001, having written over 100 pieces.

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox brings two decades of experience in software, public policy, medical economics and biotechnology to the Agora Financial table. He is editor of the Breakthrough Technology Alert and Technology Profits Confidential, as well as a contributor to the Penny Sleuth. Cox, who spent his early childhood on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, studied at Boise State University and has written for USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Reason Magazine. Cox has also been featured in The Baltimore Sun and CNBC Business Magazine.

Jonas Elmerraji

A big-four public accounting alum, Jonas Elmerraji brings his readers extensive expertise in small-cap stocks and broad market moves. Elmerraji’s interest in the market started with an investing course in elementary school – today he holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and specializes in blending fundamental and technical analysis. Elmerraji has contributed to Forbes, TheStreet.com, and Investors Business Daily among others. He is managing editor of the Penny Sleuth, Penny Momentum Trader, and a co-editor of Penny Stock Fortunes.

Eric Fry

Eric J. Fry, has been a specialist in international equities since the early 1980s. He was a professional portfolio manager for more than 10 years, specializing in international investment strategies and short-selling. Eric is a frequent contributor to the Daily Reckoning and the voice of the sometimes abrasive, mostly entertaining and always insightful Rude Awakening. His views and investment insights have appeared in numerous publications including Time, Barron's, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Business Week, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Money. He appears regularly on business news stations including CNBC and Fox.

Gary Gibson

Gary Gibson is the managing editor for Whiskey and Gunpowder. He joins the Whiskey staff as a long-time fan and reader of both Whiskey and Gunpowder and the Daily Reckoning. A graduate of Fordham University, Gary now spends his days reading about and writing on limited government, sound money, personal responsibility and resource investing.

Greg Guenthner

Greg Guenthner heads Agora Financial’s small-cap division and is the founder of one of the only independent OTC research advisories in the industry. A graduate of George Mason University, Guenthner joined Agora in 2005 after several years as a journalist. He is managing editor of Penny Stock Fortunes and Bulletin Board Elite; and contributes to Penny Sleuth.

Kate Incontrera

Kate "Short Fuse" Incontrera is the Managing Editor of The Daily Reckoning. Ms. Incontrera was also an associate producer and writer on the critically-acclaimed documentary film, I.O.U.S.A. Before joining Agora Financial in 2004, Ms. Incontrera studied writing at The University of Cambridge and at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Matt Insley

Matt Insley is our in-house specialist in commodities and natural resources.  He holds a degree from the University of Maryland with a double major in Business and Environmental Economics.  Although always familiar with the financial markets, his main area of expertise stems from his background in the Agricultural and Natural Resources (AGNR) department.  Over the past years he’s stayed well ahead of the curve with forward thinking ideas in both resource stocks and hard commodities. Insley is the managing editor of the Daily Resource Hunter and his commentary has been featured by MarketWatch.

Byron King

A Harvard-trained geologist and former aide to the United States Chief of Naval Operations, Byron King is our resident oil and energy expert, and we are proud to have him on board as the editor of Outstanding Investments and Energy & Scarcity Investor. This "old rock hound" uses his expertise and connections in global resource industries to bring you the very best opportunities in energy, mining and precious metals. Byron has made frequent appearances in mainstream media such as The Washington Post, MSN Money, Marketwatch.com, Fox Business News, CNBC's Squawk Box, Larry Kudlow, Glenn Beck and PBS Newshour. He also had a feature article written in the Financial Times, and has appeared on both CNN and Marketplace radio broadcasts. Byron has also been quoted in various international publications such as The Guardian and De Volkskrant, and has been a guest on Canada's CBC television broadcast.

Chris Mayer

Chris Mayer is managing editor of the Capital and Crisis and Mayer’s Special Situations newsletters. He also is a contributor to the Daily Reckoning. Graduating magna cum laude with a degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Maryland, he began his business career as a corporate banker. Mayer left the banking industry after ten years and signed on with Agora Financial. His book, Invest Like a Dealmaker, Secrets of a Former Banking Insider, documents his ability to analyze macro issues and micro investment opportunities to produce an exceptional long-term track record of winning ideas. Mayer’s commentary has been featured by MarketWatch, Russia Today TV, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Huffington Post.

Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson began his investing career during the tech boom at age 14 – with purchases of Starbucks and AOL. Early inspiration came from an old Tweedy Brown whitepaper: “What Works in the Market.” He graduated with a degree in Political Science from Pittsburgh University, Nelson focuses on income investing, including dividends, covered calls, and fixed-income. Additionally, he covers MLPs, ADRs, utilities, consumer staples and tobacco. Nelson is the managing editor of Lifetime Income Report.

Michael Pento

Michael Pento spent the early years of his career on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Two decades later, he has become one of the most controversial analysts critiquing federal monetary policies and other macroeconomic issues. He is a highly sought-after specialist in the Austrian School of economics.

Pento is a financial columnist for Forbes and a blogger for the Huffington Post.  His market analysis and commentary can be found regularly in the Wall Street Journal, as well as on Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, FOX Business News, Bloomberg, and other national media outlets. Prior to joining Agora Financial, he was a member of an investment advisory firm where he developed ETF and UIT products. Pento graduated from Rowan University in 1991.

Steve Sarnoff

Steve Sarnoff has been the editor of Options Hotline since 1999, taking over the role of his father: legendary author, researcher and options expert Paul Sarnoff. He pioneered the use of the Japanese candlestick charting technique - an ancient and accurate style of technical analysis that was virtually unknown to Western traders until just a few decades ago. He currently runs Sarnoff Samurai Strategies, Inc., based in San Diego.

Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson began his investing career during the tech boom at age 14 – with purchases of Starbucks and AOL. Early inspiration came from an old Tweedy Brown whitepaper: “What Works in the Market.” He graduated with a degree in Political Science from Pittsburgh University, Nelson focuses on income investing, including dividends, covered calls, and fixed-income. Additionally, he covers MLPs, ADRs, utilities, consumer staples and tobacco. Nelson is the managing editor of Lifetime Income Report.

Jim Amrhein

Jim Amrhein is a cocksure, venomous disbeliever in the ability of governments to do much of anything right especially compared with the vast, yet grotesquely shackled power of the American entrepreneur. Degreed in political science, Jim is a widely published columnist on political issues, both under his own byline and as a ghostwriter for one of America’s most outspoken critics of the corrupt farce our elected officials have made of the pure, evolving, and self-correcting system they’ve been entrusted to maintain. Special Report: From Hulbert's No 1-Ranked Advisory Letter Over 5 Years, GOLD $2000 REPORT: Five entirely new ways to play the gold trend and a hidden way to snap up gold- for less than one penny per ounce!

Bill Bonner

Since founding Agora Inc. in 1979, Bill Bonner has found success and garnered camaraderie in numerous communities and industries. A man of many talents, his entrepreneurial savvy, unique writings, philanthropic undertakings, and preservationist activities have all been recognized and awarded by some of America's most respected authorities. Along with Addison Wiggin, his friend and colleague, Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. Both works have been critically acclaimed and internationally. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning. Bill's latest  book Dice Have No Memory: Big Bets and Bad Economics from Paris to the Pampas was released in April 2011. 

Rick Barnard

Rick Barnard is the associate editor of The Richebächer Letter, Master FX Options Trader and Options Hotline. He has been a member of the Agora Financial team since 1998, researching and editing for almost all of its services. He also worked directly with Dr. Kurt Richebächer and interviewed him for The Daily Reckoning several times. After Dr. Richebächer’s death, Rick helped Addison Wiggin and Rob Parenteau create the Richebächer Society, dedicated to keeping the Good Doctor’s legacy alive. In addition, he works closely with our top options analysts, eager to help readers harness their proven moneymaking power.

Chuck Butler

Chuck Butler is President of EverBank® World Markets and the author of the popular Daily Pfennig newsletter, which is reposted at The Daily Reckoning. With a career in investment services and currencies extending over 35 years, Mr. Butler oversees all aspects of customer service and the trading desk for EverBank World Markets. A respected analyst of the currency market, Mr. Butler has frequently made appearances or been quoted by the national media. These include the Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, MarketWatch, USAToday, CNNfn, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Butler was previously the Chief International Bond Trader and Director of Risk Management for Mark Twain Bank, and has held significant positions in the investment industry since 1973.

Samantha Buker

Samantha Buker was born in Baltimore at the start of the "Reagan Revolution." She thinks Adam Smith is wrong because he believed that the individual man is a moral one.  She thinks Karl Marx is wrong because he believed Man as a collective was moral. She's always wanted to write a novel on the Great Depression...and now has the chance to write one about her own time. Miss Buker is associate editor of Capital & Crisis, Mayer's Special Situations, and Strategic Short Report.  She  is also a contributor to Whiskey and Gunpowder.

Jessica Comitto

Jessica Comitto is the associate editor for Agora Financial's penny stock publications, and the newest contributor to the Penny Sleuth. Jessica is a veteran student of the markets, and has experience bridging the gap between retail investors and complex investment strategies. She holds a degree in history from the University of Maryland.

Dan Denning

Dan Denning is the author of 2005's best-selling The Bull Hunter. A specialist in small-cap stocks, Dan draws on his network of global contacts from his base in Melbourne, Australia, and is a frequent contributor to The Daily Reckoning Australia.

Kurt Richebächer

Dr. Kurt Richebächer followed world currency and credit markets for nearly 60 years. A trusted voice of sanity in the midst of financial chaos, many analysts and commentators depended on his keen insights and research; and so he founded The Richebächer Letter. Beginning in 1998, he made a series of economic predictions that came true with startling accuracy. He predicted the collapse of Brazil’s currency, the real, in the late 1990s. He warned that the stock market was overheating in January 2000 - just before the major indexes fell sharply from their highs. And he foresaw the U.S. dollar’s sharp fall against the euro. On Aug. 24, 2007, he passed away at the age of 88.

The Mogambo Guru

Richard Daughty (Mogambo Guru) is general partner and COO for Smith Consultant Group, serving the financial and medical communities, and the writer/publisher of the Mogambo Guru economic newsletter, an avocational exercise to better heap disrespect on those who desperately deserve it. The Mogambo Guru is quoted frequently in Barron's, The Daily Reckoning and other fine publications.

Rocky Vega

Rocky Vega is publisher of The Daily Reckoning. Previously, he was founding publisher of UrbanTurf and RFID Update, which he operated from Brazil, Chile, and Puerto Rico, and associate publisher of FierceFinance. He specialized in direct marketing at MBI, facilitated MIT Sloan School of Management programs, and has been featured on CBS. Vega graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he was on the board of Let’s Go Publications and directed business programs involving McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and Harvard Business School faculty. He is a graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics.