The articles posted on this site are so serious in content it always is enjoyable when an opportunity presents itself to comment on a serious subject but still manage to put a smile on your face. This is one such occasion. Enjoy!

In today’s overleveraged world, greater deficits and government spending, financed by an expansion of public debt and the monetary base (“the printing press”), are not the answer to our economic woes. In fact, these policies have been proven to have a negative impact on growth. [Therefore] as long as we continue down this path, the “solution” will continue to be the problem. There is no miracle cure to our current woes and recent proposals by central planners risk worsening the economic outlook for decades to come. [Let us explain.] Words: 1510

Gold bulls often argue that the yellow metal will only go up as long as central banks continue to employ easy monetary policy however this thesis has been around so long that it might not even work anymore. That's the gist of what Deutsche Bank suggests in their most recent outlook for precious metals prices. In a note to clients, they write:

Marathon Oil has a great animation on the basics of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." It explains how horizontal drilling works and explains the roles of water and sand. Take a look.

If you are interested in comparing the stats and ratings of companies operating in each of the commodity sectors you will find this analysis of great benefit in determining which company or companies to invest in. Words: 575

"The U.S., with $15 trillion in debt, and roughly $1.5 trillion in tax revenues, is an enormous disaster waiting to happen. At 10% interest rates the U.S. would use 100% of its tax revenues to finance the debt....This is why money printing is guaranteed...and this time, like it has before, it will lead to a financial crash [which] will be of a worldwide magnitude.”

BMO chief investment strategist Brian Belski went on Bloomberg TV yesterday and made a huge call: he told viewers that "we're on the verge of the next great bull market" in stocks ( see video here) outlining his bullish thesis based on 16 economic and market indicators he factored into his call which can be seen here.

This post shows JPMorgan's estimated probabilities on four different fiscal cliff outcomes, conditional on who wins the presidential election in November.

Back in May of 2012 Nouriel Roubini (aka Dr. Doom) predicted that slowing growth in the United States, growing debt troubles in Europe, a slowdown in China, and intensifying political gridlock with Iran would come together to create a “Perfect Storm” for the world economy. Below we outline three ETFs that could thrive as global economic growth expectations deteriorate, keeping in mind that virtually no asset class will be safe if the “Perfect Storm” actually strikes. Words: 606

The perfect storm is the real fiscal cliff that we’re going to go over. The real fiscal cliff is when we can’t borrow any more money because our creditors wake up to the fact that we’re no good for the debt and interest rates start to rise.