Base

A prominent European think tank contends that the Russian economy may be entering into a death spiral, driven by a combination of factors, including low energy prices, government mismanagement, a collapse in the Russian ruble’s value and Western sanctions.

Commodities as an asset class look like a great bet for 2016, especially with so many dangers lurking in both the stock and bond markets, and an allocation of 20-35% as part of a broader portfolio may be sensible.

Today’s infographic looks at the economic differences between the U.S. and China: total reserves, foreign direct investment, demographics, imports, exports, GDP per capita, energy, education, and much more. [Take a look.]

Each of the following charts on gold and silver contain their own message related to price volume behavior that has a convincing element of reason... See if you agree.

The main reason to buy gold and silver any time is as insurance against extreme negative events. The main reason for buying gold in 2016 remains the risk of an international monetary system collapse. Gold is money in extremis.

Seventeen million new vehicles were sold in 2015, the highest it’s ever been in United States history but, while the media claims that this record has been reached because of drastic improvements to the U.S. economy, they are once again failing to account for the central factor: credit expansion.

This year's World economic Forum proposes adding a new word to the English language motivated by a recognition that the word ‘debt’, as defined by Merriam Webster, implies something that is owed and will be paid back and that his definition is becoming a very Inconvenient Truth for the world’s bankers and politicians. It has been proposed that the word “debt” be replaced with the word “agfok”, an acronym for “A Gift For Our Kids”.

The financial industry & financial news networks have been discussing whether or not the government should be getting involved with more quantitative easing (QE4) in order to slow down or try to prevent the fall in the markets. This idea is unconscionable to us and it absolutely cannot happen. Here's why.

A tightening cycle by the Fed does one thing every time: slow our economy and end up in a stock market crash. History tells us this and if you haven't taken action yet, you may be running out of time. Here's what you can do to protect yourself:

According to RBS, the global financial markets are already showing signs of significant stress and the conditions are similar to those of the months before the Lehman crisis in 2008. Their advice is to ‘Sell everything’ and brace for a ‘cataclysmic year’!