Economy

Rising education and medical costs, on-going credit card interest payments, well used personal lines of credit and large mortgage debt and home equity loans - most a penchant for living beyond their means - is keeping 75% of American households in some degree of debt. Take a look and then pass it on to your friends, neighbors and co-workers.

The latest economic data suggests that recession is returning to most advanced economies, with financial markets now reaching levels of stress unseen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The risks of an economic and financial crisis even worse than the previous one – now involving not just the private sector, but also near-insolvent sovereigns – are significant. So, what can be done to minimize the fallout of another economic contraction and prevent a deeper depression and financial meltdown? [Below I recommend 8 ways that would do just that.] Words: 1641

An Associated Press release has said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told eurozone finance officials the U.S. is not trying to lecture them on their debt crisis saying that "we still have our challenges in the United States" and that "our politics are terrible... maybe worse than they are in many parts of Europe". The U.S. finance chief said that given the challenges the U.S. faces, "we're not in a particularly strong position to provide advice to all of you." Why isn't this breaking news? Words: 570

Paul Volcker has written an Op-Ed for The New York Times entitled “A Little Inflation Can Be a Dangerous Thing,” in which he argues – and we really won’t dispute it – that allowing inflation above institutionally accepted levels of say, 2 percent, can indeed be a slippery slope, and a very bad thing, but times have changed since Mr. Volcker decided that he would do whatever it took to slay inflation. [These days a little inflation might be a very good thing. Let me explain.] Words: 1636

The debt crisis in the United States is unsustainable, and the debt crisis in Europe is unsustainable. As such, we are facing a global debt meltdown and are heading for an economic collapse. You aren't going to hear that truth from the media or from our politicians, however, because keeping people calm is much more of a priority to them than is telling the truth - and right now we are in the calm before the storm. Nobody knows exactly when the storm is going to strike (i.e. when the collapse is going to happen) - but it is definitely on the way -- and now even Goldman Sachs is admitting [that that is most likely the outcome of the present situation. Here is what they had to say recently in a "secret" document that has just now been made public.] Words: 1147

A good way to think about our country's economy is to think of the U.S. like a boxer. We were knocked flat on our back in 2008 and have since struggled to one knee but have never got back to our feet. [As such,] those conversations that imply we might be on the verge of falling down again are rather pointless...With this much slack in the economy, it’s unlikely that any economic downturn from here will be substantial. Does that mean I think the U.S. economy can’t contract from here? No, but I would be very surprised if we were to experience another blow similar to the 2008 recession where real GDP fell 5%. [Let me explain.] Words: 538

If the implications of the current Greek tragedy were not so serious it would have been seen more as a Greek comedy (of fiscal errors). In fact, however, to deploy another metaphor, Greece's sovereign debt is seen as the proverbial canary in the coal mine - a microcosm of the relentlessly growing sovereign debt that has taken much of Europe by storm and is threatening to spread to the U.S.. Words: 1008

The Fed justified the last round of quantitative easing "to promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate". In effect, the Fed is trying to increase inflation, operating at the macro level but what does an increase in inflation mean at the micro level — specifically to your household? [Let's take a look.] Words: 1555

We can make some inferences about how inflation is impacting our personal expenses depending on our relative exposure to the individual components [and any way you look at it inflation is on the rise - so let's take a look at the particulars.] Words: 769

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Largarde, said Friday the world economy is entering a “dangerous new phase.” Lagarde is referring to a debt bubble, the likes of which the planet has never seen before, and the possibility that it could all unravel at any moment. Uncertainty over the debt crisis in Europe is what caused the Dow to crash more than 300 points at the end of last week. What is Lagarde going to do about the debt problem? Words: 1752