Economy

Most of the hundreds of financial articles posted every week are just "financial entertainment" - unfounded forecasts, fear mongering or cheerleading. That being said, there are a number of articles that are absolutely MUST READS if you want to become an informed investor and be in position to understand what is evolving in the financial environment and be in a position act accordingly. Here they are.

It has been put forth that the U.S. dollar will soon lose its position as the world's reserve currency, and that when that happens, the world will fall into a deep depression. Is such an event really likely to unfold? Would such an event be really something to fear? How would/should we prepare for such a presumed collapse?

The infographic below shows the difference in living costs around the world using CPI data as a relative indicator of a country's living costs compared to New York (for example, if a country has a CPI of 70, on average, it enjoys 30% cheaper living costs compared to New York).

This infographic shows the difference in Monthly Personal Disposable Income around the world using data from 2014. In this context personal disposable income refers to the income per person after all taxes have been paid.

If you believe that ignorance is bliss, you might not want to read this article. [Why? Because] I am going to dispel the notion that there has been any sort of “economic recovery”, and I am going to show that we are much worse off than we were just prior to the last economic crisis. [Ready to become informed? Then, read on!]

When markets expect that U.S. interest rates will be hiked, it typically strengthens the dollar because people rush to change other currencies into dollars where they can make more money and this higher demand for the USD drives its value up.

With interest rates being pushed lower year after year, interest expense as a % of disposable income has been declining in Canada and, for the moment, these low interest rates keep the whole thing glued together but, were interest rates to ever rise, Canada's economy would blow up. Here's why.

It’s safe to say that the EU, the U.S., and quite a few other jurisdictions are nearing currency crashes, and in all likelihood, the euro will go before the dollar. When the euro and U.S. dollar fall, however, there is a very sound alternative - and it is NOT gold!

It does not makes sense to expect any major shake-up that would affect the pricing of gold and silver in a major way until at least January 2016 at which time the IMF is scheduled to meet to discuss the possible inclusion of the Chinese RMB in the basket of fiat currencies that make up the constituents of the U.S. Dollar Index. Let me explain why that is the case.

Most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck so all this access to subprime debt is going to do is allow them to consume future income and guarantee that any ability for future financial security disappears.