In absolute size of net foreign liabilities the U.S. leads the way but, as a share of GDP, its position is much less than that of Spain & Poland who exceed the acceptable level of 60%. Where does your country rank?

Does increasing divergence between GDX Gold Miners & Gold indicate investors are betting that gold is at the end of a cyclical bear market and on the verge of launching into a new uptrend?

Why in the world has JP Morgan accumulated more than 50 million troy ounces of physical silver since early 2012, adding more than 8 million troy ounces during the past couple of weeks alone? Why are they doing this? What do they know that the rest of us do not? Could it possibly be that they are anticipating another great economic crisis? We are definitely due for one! Here's what I think is going on behind the scenes.

I believe those with patience will get the chance to buy gold a lot cheaper than current prices. Gold could be heading toward the $1,000 per troy ounce level - or lower - and that price may come in a fast and furious sell-off.

I'm with Buffett on real assets over paper, but on gold he's flat wrong...I guess Warren found crony capitalism in a fiat world was an easier way to get rich than hard work with honest money.

At its current pace there are 3 developments underway that paint an ominous picture of new gold supply soon becoming unable to keep up with demand which will push gold prices higher. In the meantime, the longer prices stay at current levels, the greater the impact. This setup makes current gold prices a must-buy opportunity.

There are many out there (including myself) that believe that the next major economic downturn is dead ahead. As you will see in this article, a whole bunch of things are happening right now that we would expect to see if a recession was beginning.

The forward price/earnings (PE) ratio is probably the most popular way to measure value in the stock market - when the forward PE is above average, the market is expensive and future returns will be low and, when the PE ratio is below average, the market is cheap and future returns will be high. Putting such popular rules of thumb aside, what does the forward PE really tell us?

The level of complacency in world financial markets is downright astounding - even stupid - and only an eventual thundering crash of the system will bring the madness to an end.

I put almost all of my eggs in one basket - precious metals, energy and agriculture - with the bulk being in precious metals 10 years ago. These investments are diversified only in that they span physical, geography and company size. What I did has stood the test of time and, I expect, will hold me in good stead whatever happens in the years to come. Let me explain why I thought it was a good idea back then and still think it is today.