To move up from the current 12,600 level to 20,000 by the summer of 2014, the Dow would need to rise about 16.5% each year or about 58% in a three-year period and in the past 25 years the Dow has risen by this much on at least 13 occasions. During those times, there was only one period of sustained annual gains, when the Dow rose an average of 26% from 1995 through 1999. The key question: what would it take to justify a three-year, steady, robust gain? It all comes down to corporate profits [and the extent to which] multiple investors are willing to assign [dollars] to these profits. [Let me explain.] Words: 761

Central banks have pulled 635 tonnes of gold - the largest withdrawal in more than a decade - from the Bank for International Settlements in the past year and, as such, begs the question: If central banks [supposedly] believe in the value of paper money and their ability to create wealth by printing it then why are they loading up on Gold? The answer is simple: they see the writing on the wall [and that begs an even more important question: Shouldn't you?]...Words: 600

The next crisis will be a Crisis of Faith pertaining to the US Federal Reserve... when the market begins to realize that the Fed CANNOT backstop the entire financial system (it never could but most people hoped regardless) - and...when this happens, THEN the REAL crisis will hit and it will make 2008 look like a picnic. Bernanke has [already] admitted publicly that he’s clueless [as to] what’s going on [and this] is a MAJOR step towards the world realizing that he’s lost control. [As such,] if you’re not taking steps now to prepare for what’s coming, you need to start moving. [The REAL crisis is coming - soon! Let me explain.] Words: 1018

The inability [of Congress] to reduce spending and tax its citizenry represents a competitive disadvantage for the U.S.. It is the mark of a country that cannot keep its fiscal house in order, does not care about repaying its debts and, [as such, it] may well be heading for collapse. Words: 978

Many investors believe the market will rise if the economy is growing and sink if it's shrinking but that is the wrong way to think about it. Instead, the real focus should be on whether the economy is growing at a slow pace or a moderate pace. Indeed, with 2% growth, the stock market could steadily fall. Yet with 3% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, the market could surge. The difference between 2% and 3% may not seem like much, but it is. [Let me explain.] Words: 730

The recent outperformance of precious metals, combined with budget problems in the United States and parts of Europe, has prompted some to speculate that gold or silver will become the next international reserve currency [but in my opinion that is highly unlikely. As such, investors would be highly encouraged to give pause [before] allocating a portion of their portfolios to precious metals. Let me explain further.] Words: 1094

The S&P 500 is considerably overvalued - somewhere in the range of 34% to 61% - depending on which of 4 market valuation indicators are used and whether the valuation is based on the arithmetric or geometric mean of each. While these findings are not useful as short-term signals of market direction...they play a role in framing longer-term expectations of investment returns and suggest a cautious outlook and guarded expectations. [Here are the details.] Words: 676

The United States Mint has taken the demand for more mass production silver bullion coins seriously of late with the expansion of their offering to a planned total of 57 new coins by 2021 with the introduction of their America the Beautiful Bullion Coin Series . Canada's Royal Canadian Mint has followed suit expanding its offering of mass production silver bullion coins to 8 by 2013 with the launch of their Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series Program. Below are the details. Words: 958

A hurricane of debt, deficit, and demographics is heading to the shores of all developed economies. With it will come high inflation rates, high costs for credit, low growth rates, and weakening developed country currency value. Ben Bernanke in a helicopter will not stop the hurricane’s devastating path. More stimulus packages will not stop it. Blaming the Chinese for lending us too much money will not stop it. Pretending that the storm isn’t coming will most assuredly not stop it. It threatens to derail the lukewarm economic recovery and to alter forever the heretofore path of robust growth for the developed world. In a sense, debt, deficit, and demographics will reset the world to a “New Normal”. Words: 3341

Should you consider selling into any period of strength during the typical summer weakness? No, there are a number of reasons to continue holding gold during this time period. [Let me detail them one by one.] Words: 734