If you thought the global financial crisis of 2008 was difficult, wait till the sequel comes to your doorstep...An unprecedented financial storm of unknown scope and dimension is upon us...there is a civilization-scale catastrophe taking place and there will be little or no recovery from it for as far as the eye can see into the future. Words: 1450

SocGen has published a fantastic, must read, big picture report which compares the world in the 1980/1985-2000/2005 time period and juxtaposes it to what the author, Veronique Riches-Flores, predicts will happen over... the period from 2005/2010 to 2025/2030. She sees dramatic changes but, unfortunately, they will not be pretty. Let's take a look at what the report has to say about the future. Words: 3025

Many people missed the market’s enormous appreciation during the latest equity bull market because they were late to the game or chose to sit on the sidelines. If you’re one of those people on the sidelines who has been debating whether to get your feet wet in today’s market—now could be your chance. Citigroup says there’s roughly a 90% chance markets could move higher over the next six months—and a 97% chance over the next year—according to historical data. On average, the market bounces 8.9% the following six months and 17.3% the following year. Words: 1292

To move up from the current 12,600 level to 20,000 by the summer of 2014, the Dow would need to rise about 16.5% each year or about 58% in a three-year period and in the past 25 years the Dow has risen by this much on at least 13 occasions. During those times, there was only one period of sustained annual gains, when the Dow rose an average of 26% from 1995 through 1999. The key question: what would it take to justify a three-year, steady, robust gain? It all comes down to corporate profits [and the extent to which] multiple investors are willing to assign [dollars] to these profits. [Let me explain.] Words: 761

Central banks have pulled 635 tonnes of gold - the largest withdrawal in more than a decade - from the Bank for International Settlements in the past year and, as such, begs the question: If central banks [supposedly] believe in the value of paper money and their ability to create wealth by printing it then why are they loading up on Gold? The answer is simple: they see the writing on the wall [and that begs an even more important question: Shouldn't you?]...Words: 600

The next crisis will be a Crisis of Faith pertaining to the US Federal Reserve... when the market begins to realize that the Fed CANNOT backstop the entire financial system (it never could but most people hoped regardless) - and...when this happens, THEN the REAL crisis will hit and it will make 2008 look like a picnic. Bernanke has [already] admitted publicly that he’s clueless [as to] what’s going on [and this] is a MAJOR step towards the world realizing that he’s lost control. [As such,] if you’re not taking steps now to prepare for what’s coming, you need to start moving. [The REAL crisis is coming - soon! Let me explain.] Words: 1018

The inability [of Congress] to reduce spending and tax its citizenry represents a competitive disadvantage for the U.S.. It is the mark of a country that cannot keep its fiscal house in order, does not care about repaying its debts and, [as such, it] may well be heading for collapse. Words: 978

Many investors believe the market will rise if the economy is growing and sink if it's shrinking but that is the wrong way to think about it. Instead, the real focus should be on whether the economy is growing at a slow pace or a moderate pace. Indeed, with 2% growth, the stock market could steadily fall. Yet with 3% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, the market could surge. The difference between 2% and 3% may not seem like much, but it is. [Let me explain.] Words: 730

The recent outperformance of precious metals, combined with budget problems in the United States and parts of Europe, has prompted some to speculate that gold or silver will become the next international reserve currency [but in my opinion that is highly unlikely. As such, investors would be highly encouraged to give pause [before] allocating a portion of their portfolios to precious metals. Let me explain further.] Words: 1094

The S&P 500 is considerably overvalued - somewhere in the range of 34% to 61% - depending on which of 4 market valuation indicators are used and whether the valuation is based on the arithmetric or geometric mean of each. While these findings are not useful as short-term signals of market direction...they play a role in framing longer-term expectations of investment returns and suggest a cautious outlook and guarded expectations. [Here are the details.] Words: 676