Bob Brinker Makes National Radio Hall of Fame List

Bob Brinker and 15 others made the 2010 National Radio Hall of Fame (NRHOF) nomination list.  

Bob Brinker joins Carl Kasell, Bob Kingsley and Howard Stern (Howard Stern Fan Club) on the 2010 list of nominees in the "National Active" category.

One of my radio favorites, Ron Ownes of KGO was also nominated in the "Local or Regional - Active" category.

Bob Brinker was nominated last year too.  See Bob Brinker Nominated to 2009 National Radio Hall of Fame

The National Radio Hall of Fame online balloting will begin on June 14, 2010 and will end at midnight on August 1st. Votenet, a highly respected online vote tabulating firm, will supervise the balloting.

Voting is free and open to the public; however a simple online registration will be required. Please visit www.radiohof.org to learn more.

The NRHOF Steering Committee will meet on August 4th to ratify the voting results and will then select additional 2010 inductees, including worthy posthumous and non on-air individuals.

The National Radio Hall of Fame inductions will take place during a live national radio broadcast from Chicago on Saturday, November 6th. Westwood One will produce and distribute the two-hour broadcast at 10 p.m. (ET).

• Press Release

TIPS vs GNMA Performance with 2.2% Inflation Rate

TIPS vs GNMA Performance update with 2.2% CPI-U Inflation Rate.  Both securities are backed by the U.S. government.

Bob Brinker continues to recommend Vanguard's GNMA Fund, VFIIX, on his radio show. Over the course of last year, I sold out of my "explore portfolio" position in Vanguard's GNMA fund and replaced it with individual TIPS.  A good, recommended alternative is Vanguard's TIPS fund, VIPSX.

Vanguard Comparison Table
Vanguard Fund (5/24/10)	SYMBOL	Yield	YTD
GNMA	VFIIX	2.97%	2.79%
Total Bond Index	VBMFX	3.01%	4.05%
Prime Money Market Fund	VMMXX	0.05%	0.01%
Inflation Protected Security Fund (TIPS)	VIPSX	0.65%	3.00%
Total Stock Market Index Fund (for comparison)	VTSMX	1.48%	-0.95%

Last Week's CPI Press Release says Year-over-year CPI rose at a 2.2% rate.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All  Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in April, the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the index increased 2.2 percent before seasonal adjustment.

• My 5-yr TIPS with a 1.25% base rate will earn 3.35% at this rate of inflation.
• My 20-yr TIPS with a 1.375% base rate will earn 3.575% at this rate of inflation

In the Retairement Advisor newsletter, we recommended the TIPS fund from Vanguard, VIPSX, over TIPS for all of 2009 and so far this year.

2009 Total Return
VFIIX = 6.9%
VBMFX = 5.9%
VMMXX = 0.53%
VIPSX =  10.8%
VTSMX = 28.7%

• GNMA:  Government National Mortgage Association (”Ginnie Mae”) securities. 
• TIPS:  Treasury Inflation Protected Securities 

More Information:

• Los Altos Town Crier Newspaper Article about my success
• Kirk's Two Investment Letters
• Newsletter Testimonials 

Subscribe NOW and get the May 2010 Issue for FREE! ! 

Since 12/31/98 "Kirk's Newsletter Explore Portfolio" is UP 159% (a double plus another 59%!!) vs. the S&P500 UP a tiny 8.6% vs. NASDAQ UP a tiny 3.5% (All through 12/31/09) 

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In 2009, "Kirk's Newsletter Explore Portfolio" gained 33.5% vs. the DJIA up 18.8%