The Age of Austerity has arrived with a vengeance in U.S. cities. City budgets shrank 1.9% in 2011 after 4.4% declines in 2010 and city revenues declined 2.3% this year for the fifth straight year of declines, according to the annual report from the National League of Cities. While tax revenue and state and federal aid decline, costs are increasing including pensions and health care. Cities have responded with layoffs, hiring freezes, pay cuts and service cuts. [A picture is worth a 1000 words so here are 11 charts that show just how bad the situation really is.] Words: 333

Canada, France and Switzerland stood alone among nine markets measured in recording annual price gains, based on second-quarter data, with inflation-adjusted price increases of 5%, 5% and 4%, respectively, compared to declines of 6% in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, 10% in Spain and 14% in Ireland. In fact, Canada's home prices have escalated 44% since 2005 - with a high of 68% in Vancouver - and they are up 7.7% in the past 12 months! Words: 1244

"We overshot on the upside when [gold] went over $1,900.We're now close to bottoming at $1,500, and if that doesn't hold it could bottom to between $1,100-$1,200."

If there is one thing we’ve learned about gold in recent years - and recent days - it is this: gold is not a haven investment... There are many theories about gold's correction. [Let's take a look.] Words: 781

I think the silver margin increase (and the corresponding drop in silver's price) instituted by China spells out in big bold letters - a once every century GLOBAL SHIFT IN THE WORLD'S CENTER OF POWER, TRADE AND INFLUENCE. I hope you're paying attention - this is history in the making. [Let me explain.] Words: 560

When you just consider the downgrade of U.S. debt, the jobs problem, the housing situation, the European bank concerns and their debt crisis, the negative outlook for the global economy, not to mention that the Fed will likely seek new measures to help the economy, we just don’t see gold coming down any time soon, other than having a normal downward correction [as currently is the case. Let us show you why.] Words: 1102

On a theoretical basis, everyone knows to buy when others are fearful, to be contrarian, to avoid panic. On a practical basis, [however,] hardly anyone has the discipline and courage to act. [Below I outline] three ways that the individual investor can profit from the current volatility. Words: 614

The widespread stagnation in wages, rather than the level of unemployment, may offer a better explanation for the failure of economic growth to accelerate two years after the end of the recession. Workers’ ability to negotiate higher earnings won’t return until the job market strengthens, and flagging confidence has raised the risk that consumers may retrench. [Let us explain.] Words: 1018

On a theoretical basis, everyone knows to buy when others are fearful, to be contrarian, to avoid panic. On a practical basis, [however,] hardly anyone has the discipline and courage to act. [Below I outline] three ways that the individual investor can profit from the current volatility. Words: 614 So says Jeff Miller (www.oldprof.typepad.com)  in edited excerpts from an article* which Lorimer Wilson, …

If gold and silver come anywhere close to mimicking the performance of the last great bull market of the 1970s, tremendous upside remains. From their 1971 lows to January 1980 highs, gold rose 2,333%, while silver advanced an incredible 3,646%. Were those gains applied to the 2001 lows for gold and silver we would see a peak price for gold of $6,227 per troy ounce and $160 ozt. for silver. Those prices would represent increases of 250% (from around $1,780 for gold today) and of 300% (from around $40 for silver today), respectively. [If you believe that the aforementioned is at all possible shouldn't you be buying all that you can at today's current prices?] Words: 1283