Economic Overviews

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.

With the Middle East now lurching towards yet another major war, it’s easy to envision a supply disruption that sends oil back to its previous high or beyond. So the question becomes, what would that do to today’s hyper-leveraged global economy? Bad things, obviously. Here are just 4 things that would likely happen.

I believe that the economy is headed toward a deep recession and that the stock market is extraordinarily overvalued based on unrealistically high expectations for economic output and corporate income...

Before this great financial crisis ever comes to a close, you'll see the Federal Reserve copy Europe and also implement negative deposit rates to try and get commercial banks to lend money into the economy. I have absolutely no doubt about it - and it will have three chief consequences for the markets. Let me explain.

America’s and the world’s appetite for drugs is insatiable. Billions upon billions of dollars have been spent on both the consumption of illicit drugs and fighting the war on drugs. At first glance as an investor, you probably don’t think this affects you (that is, if you don’t use or sell drugs) but a closer look will reveal the enormous economic impact that the war on drugs has on America. Prepare yourself for some very alarming numbers.

When there is lots of economic activity, there is lots of money changing hands. When there is not very much economic activity, the pace at which money circulates through our system slows down. That is why what is happening in the U.S. right now is so troubling. Let me explain.

The U.S. stock market has been closing at one record high after another but, despite the seemingly unending investor optimism more than five years into the current bull market, some worrisome issues are continuing to build under the surface. Like all past bull markets, the latest episode will eventually come to an end and a new bear market will begin and it has the potential to be even worse than the two previous downturns since the start of the new millennium...