Investing is often described as the process of laying out money now in the expectation of receiving more money in the future. Investment possibilities are both many and varied. There are three major categories 1) currency-based investments, 2) gold bullion and 3) investment in productive assets, and it's important to understand the characteristics of each. [Let me explain the differences and why I choose the latter.] Words: 1780

I think there is a 70% probability that it will do so within the next five years and the probability that China will suffer either a hard landing OR a long period of Japanese-style stagnation...is over 95%.

Our economy is falling apart all around us, and now another great financial crisis has begun. When will the “nothing is happening” crowd finally wake up? Hopefully it will be before they are sitting out on the street begging for spare change to feed their family.

Outright financial collapse, chaos and most probably war is not only in sight, it is imminent and unavoidable now. What we are looking at now is "the FINAL FLUSH" of the Western financial system. Here's why.

About a month ago, I warned of an emerging “liquidity squeeze“, and now analysts all over the financial industry are talking about it. Could it be possible that the next great financial crisis is right around the corner?

Global financial crises tend to happen in seven-year periods, and there is mounting evidence that the market is approaching another lead by the emerging markets. The above comments, and those below, have been edited by Lorimer Wilson, editor of munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (see sample here – register here) for the …

Puerto Rico is just the tip of the iceberg of the coming debt crisis in the western hemisphere as Greece is just the tip of the iceberg of the coming debt crisis in Europe.

Investment “rules” that were relevant for a century are obsolete. They were based on a world where economies grew, people’s standard of living increased and outcomes tomorrow better than today. Arguably each of these conditions will not hold in the future but if they don't, neither do the rules of thumb that guided investing last century. These guiding principles developed and worked in a world that that no longer exists but applying them in the future will result in devastating financial outcomes. [Let me explain.] Words: 1261

We understand the appeal of passive investing. It offers lower fees and simplicity and many investors are skeptical about the ability of active managers to consistently beat a benchmark...yet there’s also a lot of evidence supporting the benefits of an active approach. Today, we see many risks that are hard to avoid by hugging a benchmark—and opportunities that simply cannot be captured by going passive. While not every point is relevant to every investor, in every market, we can think of ten good reasons to stay active in equities today.

The attempt to solve what was essentially a global debt crisis with mountains of more debt means we will have another global financial crisis – the question is when rather than if - and this will have an impact on our economic recovery and on asset prices and hence the importance of diversification in terms of geography and where and how they are owned.