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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

Savers will not stand idly by and watch their savings get wiped out by taxes and inflation....[which] is good news for investors who buy and hold commodity assets today – and it’s also a stark reminder to not be fooled by the short-term head fakes that might make it look like the commodity bull is over. Stay the course – the biggest profits are yet to come. [Here's why.] Words: 405

As I see it, worsening financial crises lead initially to lower gold prices which are followed by some form of government intervention to alleviate the crises and that action, in turn, eventually results in renewed appreciation in the price of gold. The basic steps in such a transition are really quite straightforward. (Words: 477; Charts: 2)

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)

At the end of the day the gold price is not a mystery – it's a proxy for dollar weakness. After spending the previous fall and winter testing new nominal highs above $1,800, future investors may come to view...2012 as the opportunity of the decade. Gold has shown its strength and retreated. While most investors will take that as a signal that the market has topped, some will take advantage of the general trepidation to add to their positions at hundreds of dollars off the highs. Words: 700

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.

The U.S. has reached a Debt to GDP ratio of over 100%. Indeed, at no point in history has the U.S. had this much debt during peacetime - and the fact that we're overspending by this amount at the exact time that other countries are showing signs of shunning US Treasuries is a formula for disaster. With that in mind, it is highly likely that the U.S. will enter at the very minimum a debt crisis and quite possibly a currency crisis during the Obama administration's second term. [Such being the case,] now, more than ever, investors need to get access to high quality guidance and insights [and this article does just that] to help you navigate the markets and protect your wealth. Words: 964

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))