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The next time someone says, "The US is the richest country on Earth" correct them and state that "The U.S. is the most bankrupt and indebted country in the history of the world" because that's reality. Let me explain.

Some investors are sure we’re heading for a crash because we’ve had such an uninterrupted rise in stocks but these things can last much longer than most people realize. While a crash is never out of the realm of possibilities, just because stocks are up doesn’t mean they have to immediately crash. Eventually they will be right. It’s the timing that gets you on these type of calls.

Losing a spouse through death or divorce can be emotionally devastating and is often a difficult time in which to make important life decisions yet it’s typically when many financial matters require your immediate attention. Here are six important action steps that can help protect your personal finances.

Many nations and corporations across the world are taking steps to develop alternative energy solutions and the private sector is taking note of this opportunity with investors pouring in their cash. Last year, a staggering $214 billion was invested in renewable energy worldwide and, according to Thomson Reuter’s Lipper unit, alternative energy mutual funds and exchange traded funds returned an impressive average 41.6% over the 12 months through June. If you are interested in investing in alternative energy stocks check out this infographic for more information.

There continues to be an uncanny relationship between a company’s market capitalization and year-to-date returns. The largest 500 stocks in the Russell 3000 are up an average of 8.5% this year, while the smallest 500 are down an average of -6.1%. What is driving this incredibly strong relationship between market cap and return?

Everyone knows that interest rates are going to rise in the future so the real question is not whether they will rise, but when and by how much. [This article analyzes when that will most likely be.]

Dozens of financial, economic and investment articles are posted on munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) every month to keep readers abreast of the latest information. Below are introductory paragraphs and links to a selection of articles on how to be a more successful investor that you may have missed. Choose what interests you, consider applying some of the suggestions presented, and hopefully reap the financial gains that result in doing so.

After two years of dogged wrangling, mainly to block China's ambitions for control, the new BRICS bank was announced as a reality at the sixth BRICS summit held in Brazil with the five BRICS leaders announcing that the new bank has been capitalized with $50 billion, with equal contributions from all five. While all this is a fairly small step, it remains a highly significant one.

When the idea of high oil prices comes to mind, one quickly recalls the hot months of 2008, when crude prices got to nearly $150 a barrel. How did we get back here so quickly and why are prices likely to stay put?

By next year there will be twice as many devices connected to the Internet as there are people in the world, according to some estimates, and by the end of the decade, that number may hit 50 billion. This burgeoning market is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). This infographic provides a description of the developing IoT space and identifies major companies who are shaping this new market sector and worth looking at for exposure to this important trend.