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The European economic situation is explained very simply in the illustration below. Take a look.

"In our view, monetary policy has been boxed in by previous actions, election year politics (and even more broadly by the dynamics of the contemporary state of democracy), and the slowdown in global forex accumulation. The result, we expect, will be a continuation of financial repression under the most optimistic of scenarios. At the very least, returns on liquid capital could remain negative for many years to come. Under such circumstances, demand for the protection offered by gold should remain strong. Should the presumed economic recovery falter, we anticipate that the calls for renewed QE will be deafening." John Hathaway

On the surface, Spain's debt woes have many things in common with those of Greece - bad age demographics and a toxic bank system - but you'll note that, as we tackle each of these, Spain is in fact in far worse fiscal shape than Greece. [Let's take a look.] Words: 700

We’re making history here. Gold stocks have never been this undervalued before. We’ve had a 12 year bull market in gold, but we’ve also had a 15 year bear market in the mining shares...It’s very rare in market history to see an outlier like this. This is an extraordinary event. Years from now we are going to look back and shake our heads in disbelief at how undervalued gold stocks were in 2012.

The deficits aren't going to stop anytime soon. The debt mountain will keep growing...Obviously, the debt can't keep growing faster than the economy forever, but the people in charge do seem determined to find out just how far they can push things....The only way for the politicians to buy time will be through price inflation, to reduce the real burden of the debt, and whether they admit it or not, inflation is what they will be praying for....[and] the Federal Reserve will hear their prayer. When will the economy reach the wall toward which it is headed? Not soon, I believe, but in the meantime there will be plenty of excitement. [Let me explain what I expect to unfold.] Words: 1833

The International Monetary Fund has just released its 2012 World Economic Outlook, sub-titled 'Growth Resuming, Dangers Remain'. I have read it in full and present a brief synopsis of it below which will save you more than 1 hour of your time doing so. I have also commented on some of their statements to provide greater clarity and understanding of what the report conveys. Words: 674

Investors are being told that the worsening sovereign debt crisis in Europe will leave the U.S. economy unscathed....[because,] since we don’t make many things to export to Europe, our GDP won’t suffer a significant decline at all.... What [has been] conveniently overlooked, [however'] is the fact that 40% of S&P 500 earnings are derived from foreign economies and the seventeen countries that make up the Eurozone have collapsed into recession. [Let me explain what effect that will have on the performance of the S&P 500 this summer.] Words: 325

Investors should look for protection from this global storm by owning physical gold or even gold mining stocks for that matter because they are so undervalued vis-a-vis bullion. I have no appetite for bonds or cash because every central bank is debasing their own currency and cash yields nothing.

Economist Gary Shilling, excellent forecaster of past recessions and chief pooh-pooher of today’s market enthusiasm, thinks consumers are in worse shape than they’re letting on ...[and,] while his general pessimism puts him very much at odds with the market for the first few months of the year, it looks like he’s gaining some followers. [Take a look at his] point-by-point explanations of his opinions, [supported by charts , and see if you, too, come to the same conclusions.] Words: 740

Auto sales, consumer confidence, manufacturing, retail sales, exports - you name it - over the last six months, nearly every facet of the U.S. economy has shown improvement and the real estate market is no exception. [Here are 11 irrefutable signs that such is the case.] Words: 800