Happy New Year to you and yours!

There is a certain poignancy to the fact that the transition from 1999 into 2000 reportedly was one of the least eventful in years. Even given my own, very domesticated standards, this past New Year's Eve ranks among the most quiet -- ever!

The only explosive interlude we had was during Dick Clark's countdown. My three-year old, who had just woken up from a pre-2000 snooze, mistook the TV legend's "10, 9, 8" for a clue to launch a coughing fit that resulted in him throwing up all over his father...

Poor little guy. He was showered, dressed in fresh jammies, and off to bed in no time. But as I spent the first minutes of the New Year cleaning up the mess, I couldn't help but ponder how those poor souls must have felt who were so fervently expecting the End of the World as We Knew It.

What does it feel like to sit on a year's stockpile of dried beans, "trade diapers," and AK-47 ammo, expecting the lights to go off, the TV to shut down, and the world to go mute... and watch Dick Clark yelling "Happy New Year!" as fireworks go up above the brightly illuminated New York skyline? How do you go about patching up things with friends and family who you informed gruffly in a form letter not to come knocking when Y2K hit?

But despite the fact that Chicken Little and the Little Red Hen ended up in a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal, let's not forget: It was the Doomsayers' prophesizing that kicked the world into gear. The threat was real. Just that the response to the threat differed: The Luddites closed up shop and headed for the hills. Those who had something at stake went about fixing the problem. And the rest of us sat tight figuring that those who had something at stake would make sure their goodies were safe and sound.

In sporting terms -- Greed and lethargy: 1. Prudence: ZERO.

I was reminded of this the other day as I was moving a stack of books and papers off my bookshelves... among them several authors predicting the Bear Market of 1999 based on various debt scenarios.

If that was the Bear Market, bring on the Depression!

There is a lesson hidden in all of this. Maybe the essence is indeed that dogmas based on excessive cause-and-effect strings are no way to base one's investments on.

At Taipan, we tend to be more pragmatic. We love to make hay when the sun is shining... take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

This approach may strike academics and old school analysts as crude... impolite even. But I hope you agree with me that it is difficult to argue if the 1999 success rate of this approach rang in at a "vulgar" average 83% gain on Taipan's 1999 recommendations!

We hope you made the best of Y2K and its cousin catastrophes. And we invite you to keep us company in yet another year that's loaded with opportunity and profit!

Good hunting in 2000!

J. Christoph Amberger
Publisher, Taipan

P.S. You thought the AOL-Time Warner merger was big? Think again! In this issue, we welcome subscribers to Tax-Wise Money. After several months of negotiating, we are now able to extend Taipan's cutting-edge investment advice as a benefit to the readers of Tax-Wise Money... while at the same time providing Taipan's members with Charles Wolpoff's keen insights and advice as to what you can do to keep as much of your hard-earned money out of the hands of greedy bureaucrats. (Long-term Taipan members will recall that "U.S. Tax & Privacy" used to be a column in Taipan: Now, there's an entire section!)