New investors are often intimidated because of their lack of knowledge. They see well-dressed men and women in the financial media using jargon they don’t understand, so they believe that investing is a great mystery. They think there are magic formulas to memorize, mystical ratios to learn and complex accounting rules to comprehend and they fear that there’s no way they could master the skills required to be a successful investor. In reality, investors need to understand only two simple concepts to be successful, no matter their skill level. [Here they are!]

All signs point to a recession, which, Rosenberg predicts, is a year away. As such, he suggests de-risking your portfolio. That means raising cash and investing in asset classes that are not correlated to the stock market.

Despite the Federal Reserve now on a rate rising path, here we are with the major stock indexes just short of all-time highs. Why the hell are stocks still going up?

There are certainly times when you can see that the odds are heavily stacked in your favor and we have one of those potential scenarios right now in gold.

Each and every day of the year I review hundreds of financial articles looking for the very few that are succinct, informative, thought-provoking and well written and bring them to my readers in a Market Intelligence Report. Below are today's best:

As an introduction as to what the charts have to say about gold and silver at this point in time let me remind you that the world debt situation worsens. It is, and it always has been, only a matter of time before this IMF house of fiat debt collapses, and collapse it will. Now is the time to get thee gold, and get thee silver, and get out of debt or suffer the intended consequences.

Higher gold prices look both reasonable and inevitable. Fifty years ago gold sold for under $40. Gold selling for over $4,000 does not seem unlikely. Depending on the unfolding “insanity” in our political and financial world, $4,000 might be considered quite low in 5 – 10 years.

Why are so few voices warning the people about what is coming? We stand at the door of a period of distress that will be unlike anything that any of us have ever known before yet, even though the signs are all around us, very few individuals appear to be willing to stand up and sound the alarm...[While I may] get some criticism for this article...I just hope I can inspire [you]... to help warn America (and the world) about what is rapidly approaching. It doesn’t matter if your voice is big or small. What matters is whether or not you are faithful with what you have been given. Let us sound the alarm while we still can, because time is quickly running out.

Soon the problems in the world economy are likely to resume with a vengeance leading rapidly falling asset markets and currencies. Gold and silver will move up very strongly. The lucky few who can afford some physical gold will weather the storm better financially - but no one will escape the suffering that will hit the world in coming years.

Those that read this site regularly know my pessimism regarding the future. People frequently ask: “What do I do to protect myself and my family?” or “What should I invest in?” While this discussion will not provide you with specific answers, it should provide a framework that may be useful.