Economy

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.

The S&P 500 continues to hit new all time highs, but is your portfolio built on a house of cards? The politics to kick the proverbial can down the road may unleash dynamics that could be hazardous to your wealth. Here's why and how to protect your portfolio.

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.

There is too much debt. Debt works the same way for a country as it works for an individual or a family, which is to say if you borrow too much, then your life basically craters. Everything gets harder to do, and you end up doing things in order to deal with your past mistakes that you would never do normally. You start trying absolutely crazy things, and that’s where the world’s governments are right now. We are doing all these things that are essentially con games and getting away with it so far, because a printing press is a great tool for fooling people. I don’t see how we can get away with it too much longer.

Bitcoin is a decentralized, global, peer-to-peer, digital, online currency but, that said, most are unsure whether or not it is the future of currency and unaware of the potentially massive impacts this crypto-currency holds. The infographic below shows you the ins and outs of everyday Bitcoin use as a way to save money and provide more autonomy in your financial transactions.

Might our Inflation-Deflation Watch be suggesting a breakout in asset price inflation is about to take place? Could it, in fact, be presaging the start of John William’s hyper inflationary depression in which prices rise exponentially even in light of massive unemployment and bankruptcies? This article analyzes the situation.

The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen through support at 80 once again. If this current decline trend continues it will drop below 79.20 for the first time in nearly two years. This could pave the way for a deeper decline below the 76 level and signal a continuation of the downtrend that started in 2002.

For thousands of years, gold has been the international currency, and for good reason. Gold is a substance that is in high demand and there is a finite amount that can be produced. Bitcoin, through cryptography, was created on these very principles. Bitcoin must be mined, is in high demand, and there is only a finite amount that is available – just like gold. Let's take a closer look at the relationship between bitcoin and gold in this extremely informative infographic.