Long the champion and beneficiary of free trade and the free flow of capital, the United States has enacted legislation that becomes effective on January 1, 2017 that a growing number of commentators and professionals believe could be the start of capital controls in America and have serious unintended consequences. Let me explain...... Words: 1252

The International Monetary Fund said today that it is considering classifying Canada’s dollar, nicknamed the loonie for the image of a loon on the C$1 coin, and Australia’s dollar, as reserve currencies. Words: 285

There are those who keep insisting that there be a return to the gold standard without serious unrest and collapse. What they do not realize is that such propositions are really a call to arms. Government will not return to a gold standard because it would be a loss of power and overturn the very nature of how our republics (not real democracies) actually function....Words: 308

"Trying to do business internationally for Americans is becoming a real nightmare. The once land of the free & home of the brave has been transformed into George Orwell’s 1984 nightmare squared....The damage to international capital flows is off the charts. This single law has wiped out whatever international trade advantages Americans once enjoyed." ~ Martin Armstrong Words: 692

Now that President Obama has been re-elected, Obamacare will become reality and that means that a lot more people in the United States will have health insurance and, if the program works as it is supposed to, it also means that the growth of healthcare spending overall will eventually slow. Both of those are good but, in the near term, Obamacare also means a lot of people will be paying more taxes and higher insurance premiums. (You didn't think Obamacare was free, did you?) Below are some of the new taxes you're going to have to pay to pay for Obamacare. Words: 565

By smoothing out the effect of the business cycle on corporate earnings, investors get a truer picture of how expensively or cheaply stocks are priced. Yale professor Robert Shiller has popularized this concept and packaged it as the Shiller P/E ratio, alternatively known as the cyclically-adjusted P/E (CAPE) ratio, and it has become a widely followed and efficacious stock market valuation measure. Currently the ratio is standing at a 21.4 (approximately 30% higher than its long-term average) causing many value investors to adopt a cautious stance toward US stocks. [Let me explain more fully.] Words: 690

If I had to guess, I would say that a majority of people in the country still view the housing market in a negative light. They note: •the still-large overhang of foreclosed properties, •the still-low rate of new housing starts, and •the still-depressed level of housing prices in many parts of the country but that is looking at the market from a static viewpoint. There have been some very important improvements in the housing market over the past 18 months...that have all the makings of a clear turnaround that is underway and likely to continue. [Let me explain.] Words: 388

We’ve all heard countless times from mainstream economists, policymakers, and their ilk that America is somehow immune from consequences. They always pin their argument on the dollar standard. ‘Our’ central bank issues the reserve currency of the globe and that alone immunizes us from any repercussions. The 25% unemployment of Spain and Greece? The 50% unemployment among the young people in Spain? Forget about it! Never going to happen here because our paper is better than everyone else’s. Right? Sounds good, but only if you take them at their word and ignore the realities that lie just under the surface. [Let's take a closer look those realities.] Words: 2220

Until policymakers see the light, it's very slow and steady as she goes, with a chance of higher inflation on the horizon. This is not necessarily bad for the stock market, however, since I continue to believe that both stocks and bonds are priced to the expectation that growth will be very weak or even negative in the years to come. Words: 696

The conventional stock market investing advice is rooted in myth - rooted in a false understanding of what the historical stock-return data says about investing for the long-term....Set forth below are five reasons why I believe that the conventional stock market investing advice must soon change. Words: 2067