BIG INFLATION is THE BIG MONEY trend today and smart investors will use it to generate literal fortunes - and if you're not already taking steps to prepare for this, it's time to get a move on.

Recently I discovered a website which tracks pundits in finance (and politics and sports). Check it out to see how many of the calls and predictions of your favorite prognosticators have turned out to be true. You’ll be surprised and, no doubt, disappointed!

Everyone must be wondering where this "unprecedented global financial crisis", (the World Bank's words), is heading. What follows, for what they are worth, are my cogitations on this crisis. Words: 1641

The Fed, together with other central banks from around the world, have created the perfect crescendo of worldwide credit bubbles and asset bubbles leading to the excesses and decadence which are the normal finale to a secular trend. They have totally destroyed all major world currencies and left the world with debts that cannot and will not be repaid with normal money. As such, there are only two alternative outcomes, debt default or hyperinflation. Both will have disastrous consequences for the world economy.

While I believe that the U.S. is heading towards a Weimar style hyperinflationary depression there are several developments that point to the possibility of another deflationary depression, similar to the 1930’s. Let me explain.

The 7 immutable (i.e. not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature) laws of investing and how they apply to gold/silver and debt-ridden fiat currencies are:

Russian Roulette: Put one bullet in the cylinder of a revolver, spin the cylinder, point the gun at YOUR head, and pull the trigger. Most revolvers have 6 chambers, so your odds of surviving are 5 in 6, IF you quit after pulling the trigger once. Press your luck, spin the cylinder, point the gun, and pull the trigger again. It might be okay. Try for a third time? Now let's play Russian roulette - derivatives style.

Inflationary periods are highly unjust. They undermine the ethics of hard work and thrift. They destroy solidarity, lead to widespread hardship and often to social unrest. Gold, in contrast, has been the best hedge as investors seek to protect themselves against the large purchasing power losses of inflated currencies.

Appearances are all that seem to matter in our society today. Dying in debt will be common place in the coming years. Fully 21% of Americans say they don’t think they will be able to pay off their debts — including their car, credit cards, student loans and mortgages — in their lifetime. Our debt addict society is dying of an overdose.

The Q Ratio, the total price of the market divided by the replacement cost of all its companies, is a popular method of estimating the fair value of the stock market and it illustrates the secular trend toward higher valuations.