Economy

Although our supposed leaders are presumably highly intelligent, educated, and knowledgeable, they act largely “brain-dead” as they lead the United States down an unsustainable path that guarantees eventual catastrophic financial destruction. Do you own enough gold and silver that you would feel safe in a such a financial melt-down? If not, why not? Words: 817

Wall Street has been transformed into a gigantic casino where people are betting on just about anything that you can imagine. This works fine as long as there are not any wild swings in the economy and risk is managed with strict discipline but, as we have seen, there have been times when derivatives have caused massive problems in recent years - the government bailout because of derivatives at AIG; the failure of MF Global because of bad derivatives trades; and the 6 billion dollar loss that JPMorgan Chase recently suffered because of derivatives - [but the next] derivatives panic that comes will destroy global financial markets, and the economic fallout from the financial crash that will happen as a result will be absolutely horrific. [Let me explain my contention.] Words: 1485

So much continues to be written on the so-called "fiscal cliff" that someone had to sift through the 100s of such articles and find those worth one's time to read. I have done just that and provide below links to 10 of the best such articles each of which been edited for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure you a fast and easy read. Enjoy!

[While]... I am not currently predicting an acceleration in inflation [I believe]...that the risk of interest rate instability is very real [given that] core inflation is already above a key benchmark that the Fed has staked its credibility on,. It should be of concern to investors that, despite economic growth being so anemic and overall resource utilization being so low (including human resources), there is currently very little margin for error on the inflation front. [In this article the author evaluates the danger that rising interest rates could potentially have on the U.S. economy.] Words: 2050

I'm going to lay out everything you need to know about the fiscal cliff negotiations. After reading this, you can ignore all of the media's coverage of this topic as well as various politicians' announcements pertaining to this subject. (Words: 575; Charts: 3)

A summary, in macro view, of the last month of the markets - changes in economic indicators, commodity and financial trends, market signals and technical analysis.

No matter how you look at it, the U.S. dollar is very weak - very close to its all-time lows. If the value of the dollar says anything about the world's confidence in the U.S. economy, the message is quite pessimistic. The only good thing to be said is that there is a lot of bad news that is priced into the dollar. It might be tough for things to get much worse. (Words: 1054; Charts: 7))

Mexico, with the world's 13th largest GDP, is no longer a "Third World Country", but rather a fast growing, economically secure state. [Mexico is a great place to visit for a week or the winter, take early retirement to, and/or to invest in. This article outlines the new economic reality of the country.] Words: 785

The mortgage interest deduction — considered by many to be the sacred cow of tax breaks — has joined the list of possible items on the chopping block in the growing debate between President Obama and Congress about the so-called “fiscal cliff”. [Below is research on the merits of such a tax break elimination, the extent of the income tax increases on different income groups, the possible effects on the home ownership rate, type of houses purchased and house prices in general and their conclusion as to whether or not the elimination of such a tax break would be a sound decision.] Words: 1023

...Fiscal policy, both in the U.S. and in Europe, has already been a drag on economic growth, and it’s extremely likely to continue to be one as politicians begin addressing concerns about long-term debt burdens. The debate about the fiscal cliff deal might revolve around the preferred paths to reducing the nation's long-term debt, but it also will determine just how much fiscal policy will limit growth over the coming months and years. What’s really at stake, in the near term at least, is the answer to two important and interrelated questions: How dysfunctional is our political leadership and how bad is our economy going to be next year? Words: 610