Base

Compared with Ireland, where the individual tax rate is a whopping 48%, the U.S. national average of 36.9% is not so bad. How does your country compare?

There is no need to beat around the bush: junior mining stocks have bottomed. The bear market is over...The evidence is compelling and is growing by the day.

The Canadian housing market is headed for a significant bust, in my view. It's going to be a repeat of the 2008 mortgage bubble deflation. Only it's happening to the north. People will lose a lot of money but those who understand and are properly positioned may gain fortunes.

We are starting to see some subtle changes in market behavior but the trend currently remains down for both gold and silver. For those who want to grow their capital, the best time to make a market commitment is with the trend and given how no one knows how the market will correct, it is best to wait and see first what the market reveals. Below are some daily and weekly charts on gold & silver charts to show you how things are developing.

All the hype surrounding Bitcoin is a dead giveaway that you should be suspicious. Forget all the economic arguments against the currency, though. The biggest risk is a technological one. Add in the neck-snapping volatility, and you’re telling me this is the future of money? Keep dreaming! It’s little more than a wild speculation. One with a fatal flaw, at that, so please, whatever you do, refrain from converting your life savings – or any meaningful amount of money – into Bitcoins. At least until you read this article.

Did you know that financial institutions all over the world are warning that we could see a mega default on a very prominent high-yield investment product in China on January 31st? We are being told that this could lead to a cascading collapse of the shadow banking system in China which could potentially result in sky-high interest rates and a precipitous plunge in credit. It could be a Lehman Brothers moment for Asia and, since much of that "hot money" has flowed into stocks, bonds and real estate in the United States, that would be very bad news for the U.S. as well. [Let me explain.]

Do not mess with Mother Nature! The natural law of supply and demand will always rise up from under the distorted efforts to contain it. The good news is that each passing week brings silver closer to its inevitable resolve: a powerful rally that will surpass all others.

With international reserves in virtual free-fall, the black market peso rate plunging, and no sign for months that President Kirchner has any appreciation at all of the gravity of the situation, the country is in the advanced stages of another financial panic/meltdown. This will end badly, another chapter in the long history of Argentine financial crises extending back almost 100 years.

Bitcoin bashers and angry gold bugs have missed the bus and are missing the point. While Bitcoin may be attracting some of the investment dollars that would otherwise be flowing into gold, the two are actually quite complimentary and can co-exist nicely. This article explains why that is the case.

Very poor sentiment towards gold and oversold conditions is reminiscent of the conditions seen in late 2008 and January 2009 [as seen in the chart below] when gold prices had fallen by more than 25% in 9 months. Subsequently, gold rose from a low on January 15, 2009 at $802.60/oz to a high less than 12 months later at $1,215/oz for a gain of over 50%. A similar move today would see gold above $1,800/oz by year end.