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The ratio of total stock market capitalization to GDP, a favored indicator of the “Oracle of Omaha”, has historically proven to be a very useful and reliable harbinger of longer-term future returns in equities in the U.S. - and it suggests annualized total returns of -1.27% on the S&P over the next 10 years. Lower equity returns over a 10-year period have been clearly consistent with higher returns for gold. In fact, every 1% drop in annualized total returns on the S&P 500 implies a 1.5% increase in returns on gold. That would be consistent with returns for gold of around 20.6% on average per year.

Does the money really make life any more enjoyable? As Bill Gates once said, "A hamburger is still a hamburger, millions in your pocket or not." Read on for our roundup of reasons why you should feel perfectly content to live on Main Street.

The market crash of 2008 did not just hurt the S&P, it hurt real estate and gold equities. The sell off was brutal. Was 2008 an isolated incident or does a crash in general equities always spell doom for gold and gold stocks? This article examines 5 previous bear markets starting in 1973 in the S&P and looks at the performance of gold and gold stocks.

Balloon mortgages have some tempting qualities. They come with lower interest rates and, because of this, smaller monthly payments. This can help borrowers get into a pricier home that they might not have been able to afford otherwise but balloon mortgages come with one huge risk: At the end of a set period, borrowers must pay off the remaining balance on these loans in full (the "balloon") and these balances can be quite large. So, how exactly do these mortgages work, and who do they work best for? Let's break it down.

Good decision making is a precursor to excellence. Great investors have this skill and we can see it in the many books about Warren Buffett but it’s not only investors that investors can learn from.

Central bankers are managing paper currencies for the benefit of the people, not the financial and political elite. Consequently consumer prices are stable and there is no reason to own gold as protection from currency devaluations.

The goal is to have the right asset mix when your target-date fund hits its target but this leads to the big question: What do you do when your target-date fund finally does reach this endpoint?

All investors think they are better in their investing than the average investor and such overconfidence can get you into trouble with your finances. It can cause you to take risks you shouldn't, and to ignore information that disagrees with pre-existing biases. It's tough to combat, because most overconfident people are also convinced they are not overconfident!

Given the negative real rates, a falling dollar, and heightened correlation between stock and bonds, gold should be an essential part of every investor’s portfolio today.

I wistfully remember the good old days of blissful naiveté about economics, which is before I found out about the Austrian school of economics, which led me to completely comprehend the unbelievable Keynesian econometric insanity of excessively expanding a fiat currency, especially over an extended time.