Economy

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.

The American dollar will be overthrown...in as short a period as 5 to 10 years says one analyst while another believes it will happen as early as 2015, 2016 latest. Here's why.

This infographic neatly covers many interesting bitcoin facts in a digestible form. It not only shows the versatility of the bitcoin market, but it also captures the difference of opinion on crypto-currencies: many embrace the technology, but some institutions show signs of hostility.

Has U.S. currency as we know it today always been pretty much the same? The answer is no. If you love money as much as I do, you’ll love the infographic below and all the money facts it contains. Take a look. It's very interesting!

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.