The unelected central planners at the Federal Reserve have decided that the time has come to slightly taper the amount of quantitative easing that it has been doing....The monthly purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds will be reduced from $45 billion to $40 billion, and monthly purchases of mortgage-backed securities will be reduced from $35 billion to $30 billion. Below are 8 ways "the taper" is going to adversely affect you and your family.

The gold price will likely decline to $1,150 next spring but should find enough buyer support from physical buyers and jewellery makers to prevent a fall below $1,000.

TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) are telling us that inflation is expected to be low for as far as the eye can see, and the economy is expected to be weak for some time to come. This article provides an understanding of what TIPS are, how they work and what they are currently saying.

The Fed continues to assert that its Quantitative Easing bond purchases will boost economic growth by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers but the evidence shows that QE bond purchases have actually coincided with increases in long-term interest rates.

China, Russia and other nations are exiting their dollar-denominated holdings in favor of gold. This action should put pressure on the dollar and U.S. treasuries, pushing not only central banks, but mainstream investors towards the safety of precious metals and other tangible assets that cannot be defaulted on. There will be a rush out of dollars and into assets with no counter-party risk, it is just a matter of how soon it happens.

China is buying up the world - big time! Take a look. It's all shown here in one map.

For the first time in 2013, Silver and the Gold/Silver ratio are breaking above their falling resistance lines and that's a positive for Silver. The last time the Gold/Silver ratio broke resistance in 2010, Silver rallied well over 100% in a matter of months. Are the patterns suggesting another 100% rally in Silver?

The price of gold, on a quarterly basis, is 86% correlated - yes, 86%! - to total government debt going back to 1975... and a shocking 98% over the past 15 years!. Despite the current rumblings, everyone is aware that the debt ceiling will be raised and will likely surpass $20 trillion by the end of President Obama’s term. That would put the price of gold at about $2,000 per ounce.

In this exclusive interview, Eric Sprott answers questions about the gold and silver market in which he suggests that gold could double in a year and, in the case of silver, could go up even more than that. As for gold and silver equities, he believes gains could be gargantuan, because the equities always double or triple the performance of physical gold. Here's his reasoning.

Silver has come down in price to the point where 6 different support lines have come into play coupled with a silver short situation where silver has rallied in similar situations over the past 8-years. The aforementioned suggests that silver is ideally situated to soar again soon. Take a look at the chart and decide for yourself if this is the day to get (further) invested.