It seems that the past few years of falling interest rates have lulled a big part of the global economy into financing with variable-rate debt...[As such,] when interest rates go up (as they did last week), there’s a world-wide reset in interest costs that, best case, amounts to a tax increase on individuals and businesses and, worst-case, threatens to blow up the whole system.

Although not perfect (nothing is), gold has a tendency to go up in the face of external shocks...[and] tends to have a low and sometimes negative correlation to US equities. As such, with stocks up, gold being down is not a terrible outcome for the investor using gold as a diversifier. Let me explain further below.

Are stocks in a bubble? While leverage has returned to the stock market driving up stock prices and aggregate demand in the process, margin debt is still shy of its all-time high as a percentage of GDP, so there is certainly some headroom for further rises. A look at the following 5 charts illustrate that contention quite clearly.

Lately, the dollar has been making a comeback and, as usual, gold is tanking...[That being said,] however, the timing of the dollar’s resurgence is a bit curious. Perhaps not coincidentally, gold began tanking just as the dollar was advancing against the yen. [Why do I say "Perhaps not coincidentally"? Read on.]

The warrant investor needs to be aware that owning the stock outright is the conservative approach. When using the warrant, the basic common stock MUST appreciate to a certain level BEFORE the warrant’s risk/reward basis becomes better than an outright stock purchase...

Surely, the swift and severe plunge in gold represents a buying opportunity, right? I mean, it's not like the Fed finally stopped printing money, right? Wrong! As the old saying goes, "never try to catch a falling knife" and that's especially true in the case of gold. Below are 3 fundamental forces working against gold prices and, combined, they could ultimately push the precious metal down another 25% from here.

Is gold still good? For many investors, the answer is a resounding "No!" but that doesn't answer the question: Is gold still good?

Gold may be set to nearly double from current levels, but it didn’t drop in a straight line and it won’t return to (and surpass) its previous highs in a straight line, either.

In this irreverent clip - satire at its best - Jason Jones from Daily Show teaches regulation-loving Canadian bankers the advantages of harmless American free-market fun or, more accurately, highlights the differences between the American and Canadian banking systems and their respective perceptions on the meaning of the word "greed". Enjoy!

This ten minute interview with Eric Sprott is excellent and worth your time. He makes the best case I have heard or read recently about why the financial fundamentals are so good for precious metals...both physical gold and silver and the good mining stocks. It is really worth listening to.