It is clearly evident that America's debt picture is truly astronomical and, like the situation with Greece, the debt cannot, and never will, be repaid. Indeed, any way you look at it, the consequences for the United States, let alone the many other haunted economies, are grim, dismal - even disastrous. Words: 1166

for the coming months, deflation is the bigger concern than inflation as China and the EU both experience slowing growth, and the inflation figures remain tame in both the US and Japan - [and that means we are likely to see a DROP in gold prices.] Words: 481

“If one believes that the deployment of Guaranteed Retirement Accounts are reasonably probable”, Blasi maintains that “then the remaining action item in such a scenario would be to coax the public into personally assuming the debt the rest of the world was refusing to accept,” and asks: “If the beliefs of many regarding activities conducted by ‘The President's Working Group on Financial Markets’ (Plunge Protection Team) are sound, could not this same entity be utilized for such theoretical events as those described? Frankly, the possibility that such an initiative might be needed to rescue the Treasury market does add an additional, and considerable, threat to the equity markets.” Words: 1052

There's the greatest irony! Gold bugs panicking over GLD's connection to physical gold instead have flocked to an ETF that in no way, shape or form actually tracks the price of gold. Investors in PHYS are paying serious cash to avoid a better-constructed ETF, simply out of paranoia and fear. Words: 689

Japan is flirting with becoming the Greece of the East. Japan’s legendary household and corporate savings are on a downward trend [and, while current] domestic savers have always been forgiving of the government’s overspending, when [their] savings become inadequate to fund the government’s drain, other investors will be much less sympathetic. Words: 508

To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for decisions and the ability to keep your emotions from corroding that framework. Words: 895

If you think home prices have hit bottom and are now headed back up for good, think again! Round two is about to begin. Words: 552

Will the laws and rules in place to protect individuals in their attempt to set something aside for retirement be safeguarded by the representatives elected to advocate for them in Washington? Will the principles and moral integrity of the political class keep them from appropriating the trillions of dollars held in 401k's and IRA's? I'm not so sure! Words: 1207

Crude oil, natural gas, gasoline — our civilization can't live without them. So it's no surprise that energy exchange traded funds (ETFs) are also big business. Today I'm going to give you a brief overview of the ETFs in this sector. As you'll see, energy is a surprisingly diverse industry. Words: 870

The great dollar devaluation disaster has begun and will continue — with minor short-term pauses and corrections in the decline — for at least the next two to three years and at the very least, the dollar will sink so low and inflation will soar so high that you will eventually need at least TWICE the income you have now just to survive. A lifestyle that costs you $100,000 per year today will be $200,000 or more. Words: 2313