The warnings that the fiscal cliff will cause a recession are delivered as if the government can decide whether or not we have a recession. In fact, the government does not have that power, or we would never have recessions. At the most, the government can influence when, not if, we have a recession. We will most likely undergo a recession when we wean ourselves off the unsustainable deficit spending of the last four years. The choice is not recession or no recession. The choice is recession now or recession later. [Let me explain.] Words: 542

Hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry has stated, "There is no rationale for owning gold mining equities. It is as close as you get to insanity. The risk premium goes up when the gold price goes up." Indeed, the notion that adding gold and other commodities to one's portfolio produces a higher expected return with lower risk failure has failed of late and can be illustrated through the following charts. Words: 808

We are undergoing a Paradigm Shift in the price trend of virtually all commodities – perhaps the most important economic event since the Industrial Revolution. [Let me explain why that is the case.] Words: 765

For those looking at an alternative, or complement to their gold holdings, below we outline 4 silver companies (3 producers, 1 streamer) that currently pay a dividend and, as such, provide some yield during low interest rate times, and provide a hedge against inflation should it arise. Words: 1612

Our subscription service provides detailed technical analysis of where the price of gold, silver and precious metal stocks are going short term (in the next week or two), intermediate term (within the next 3-6 months) and long term (the ultimate top) in each stage of their respective bull runs. This service comes with detailed charting based on conventional technical analysis and our proprietary fractal analysis based on the '70s. Below are some of our latest comments and rationale for expected price movements in gold without illustative charts which are only available to subscribers. Words: 1000

This article compares the 2012 year-end price forecasts for the S&P 500 from leading research sources with where the index is today, what various statistically generated price probabilities say about the year-end price [and, as such, how we plan to allocate our assets in the interim.] Words: 1445

Booms — and the boom in Canadian commodities is no exception — are seldom without their unintended costs....[As the Canadian dollar appreciates versus the U.S. dollar, and with the U.S. as] its largest trading partner, falling Canadian exports could well induce a secular decline in the Canadian manufacturing base. Indeed, as the loonie soars, the inevitable question is: "How much higher before its economy gets singed?" Words: 528

Barisheff thinks the gold price could be “easily double” right now because he believes that, “What’s kept the price down is the artificial leased gold going onto the markets.”

It's the shrunken tax base, not lower tax rates, which is responsible for today's revenue shortfall. A healthier economy and faster jobs growth would do much more to close the deficit than any amount of higher tax rates on the rich. Raising tax rates might weaken the economy further, and that would make it much more difficult to generate higher tax revenues. [The truth of the matter is that] nobody's taxes need to be raised, and nobody's spending needs to be cut—the U.S. economy is already on a glide path to the restoration of fiscal sanity. Washington: are you listening? Words: 1190

The Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Commission has released the latest report on Traffic Volume Trends, data through September. Travel on all roads and streets changed by -1.5% (-3.6 billion vehicle miles) for September 2012 as compared with September 2011. The 12-month moving average of miles driven increased a tiny 0.27% from September a year ago and the civilian population-adjusted data (age 16-and-over) has set a new post-financial crisis low of -8.6%. Words: 732