Economy

Dozens (dare I say hundreds?) of "analysts" (should I say alarmists?) are convinced that the U.S. economy (and that of the world for that matter) is going to hell in a hand basket - and soon. How sound are their analyses of the current economic situation? Will they be proven to be very insightful or nothing less than fear mongers looking for attention? Their views are all here. You be the judge.

Economically we are experiencing the birth pangs of the coming Great Depression and, as we get closer to the crisis that is looming on the horizon, they will become even more powerful. The warning signs are all there – we just have to be open to what they are telling us. This article identifies the many parallels between past economic downturns and what is happening right now.

Fasten your seat belts! Below is my forecast of what will unfold in the U.S. in 2015. Forecasts related to geopolitical particulars (covering Russia, China, Japan, USA, Europe & the Islamic State) and financial matters (covering banking & oil) are covered in subsequent posts.

Deflation is often considered a highly unfavorable phenomenon, however there are different types of deflation that have different implications. In other words, the effects of deflation depend to a large extent on the particular context...This article distinguishes between good deflation and bad deflation.

Unlike a number of countries in Europe the U.S. is currently not dealing with general price declines but, that being said, the risks of such an occurrence have increased materially. This article outlines a number of such deflationary risks and how they might impact the U.S. economy.

Will 2015 be a year of financial crashes, economic chaos and the start of the next worldwide depression? Personally, I am entirely convinced that the financial markets are more primed for a financial collapse now than they have been at any other time since the last crisis happened nearly seven years ago and I am certainly not alone.

The Mayans R us. One year, they were cavorting bloodthirstily atop their garish painted pyramids and a generation later the jungle was stealing back over the temple steps and the population was a tenth of its former size. The same thing is going to happen to us, except there will be a hell of a lot more worthless, toxic debris left on the landscape. We enter 2015 with greater tensions than ever before and therefore the likelihood is that the inevitable breakdown will release more destructive energy and be that much harder to recover from.

Hardly anyone thought the Fed would fulfill their plan to stop monetizing the country's debt - and absolutely no one thinks they’ll succeed if they do - but the Fed is acting like it’s serious. The Fed has stopped adding and started subtracting - the money supply is falling - but will this cause the stock market to begin to tank like it did on the last two attempts causing the Fed to relent?

10 of the top analysts from the mainstays of Wall Street made predictions to Barron’s in an annual December survey. Their expectations for 2015? The party will keep on going. Here are the details.

Most economists (primarily Keynesians and monetarists) believe that authorities can control the money supply and interest rates, and most neo-Austrians believe that the Fed is all-powerful when it comes to inflating - that whatever inflation rate it wants, it simply manufactures. Is that true or false? Read on for the answer.