Economic Overviews

The U.S. economy is on life support, graciously provided by Central Planners but no amount of money printing can cleanse the rot of the U.S. economy. In this Markets at a Glance, we investigate the U.S. consumer and show that for a large portion of the population, things are not anywhere close to being better, in fact they are worse than before the recession.

We live in a country where almost everyone is drowning in debt and where most people are either flat broke or very close to flat broke...The following are 21 ways to end the phrase "Americans are so broke".

If you thought the Eurozone crisis was in the past, think again...It’s a near mathematical impossibility that its weakest members can grow their way out of their debt and if deflation takes hold—as it has already in Greece and Cyprus, and is close in Portugal, Spain, and Italy—all bets are off.

Despite a long list of major risks to the global economy, the trend for the stock market is still UP until proven otherwise. At this stage it is absolutely critical to be cautious and watch for signs of a market correction or peak, but it is our view that a recession won't take hold until the following 6 key indicators are triggered.

We look at this market and we see "too much." Too much divergence, too much complacency, too much embedded downside risk…the list goes on and covers many things. Let's make the rounds and see what we find [and what it means for the immediate well-being of the various stock markets.]

When Jaime Caruana speaks, people should listen and the fact that he recently warned that the global financial system is currently "more fragile" in many ways than it was just prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers should set off all sorts of alarm bells. Who is Jaime Caruana? Why should we pay attention to what he has to say? What more does he have to say? Why should we be concerned? Read on!

Drug addiction ravages the health of the body and mind, but it can also be ruinous to the wallet of an addict. In addition, substance abuse wreaks havoc on U.S. businesses, affecting workers’ health and productivity (2 in 3 addicts are employed and 1 in 12 users are full-time workers). This article looks at the financial costs of a typical drug habit, the cost of rehab, the cost to the economy at large and the cost to the average American in allotted taxes - ouch!

With QE now winding down, the economy facing reduced headwinds, and risk aversion beginning to decline, risk taking is beginning to increase and that is an essential ingredient for healthier economic growth.

4 economic conditions need to be in place for interest rates to rise ahead of – and independent of – the Fed’s forward guidance. The economy met only one of those conditions to date but will likely meet all four by the end of the year...What follows is a status report on the four conditions.

If the U.S. economy weakens in the second half as a result of higher energy prices, that could cause interest rates and the dollar to fall — fueling a rally in metals.