How would you feel if you went to the store to buy something, and someone rushed ahead of you and high purchased it first and then sold it to you at a higher price? Well, in the financial world this happens millions upon millions of times. In fact, this practice has become so popular that it has spawned an entire industry known as "high frequency trading".

...The U.S. is destroying itself through senseless (and expensive) warfare and is no longer dancing around the socialist tar pit—it is now diving in [Obamacare]... It is an empire on the brink of losing its position to the next empire. That much is as clear as day. What we find surprising is that so many Americans cling so desperately to the possibility that a collapse can somehow be avoided and that the U.S. will somehow remain "liveable," or at least that the present standards will continue. [The truth of the matter is, unfortunately, that the U.S. is facing a series of hurdles, followed by a cliff. Let me explain.]

What is taking place around the world these days is analogous to the children's game of Musical Chairs, where everyone is happily going round and round at the beginning of the game but they all know that at some point soon the music will stop and those without a chair to sit in will be out of the game! I see PMs as being the chairs and, when the current financial music stops, those without PMs will be left holding nothing but paper money and history is full of examples of paper money suddenly becoming worthless!

Following the 2007-09 financial crisis, many investors decided they needed insurance on their portfolio to protect against the possibility of another “black swan” event and poured money into a host of new funds that were supposed to help if there was another downturn — long/short funds, tail risk strategies, absolute return funds, option hedging strategies, tactical asset allocation funds and the like - but they missed the idea completely. They were trying to plan ahead for uncertain events that could surprise everyone. Of course this is impossible, because you can’t hedge out the risks of unknown events - they’re unknown after all. So how should an investor protect oneself from another such occurrence? The answer is below.

Many of those who observe the daily news reports are beginning to figure out that they are being fed misinformation and that neither political party truly represents them or, for that matter, is even concerned for their welfare. Those folks are now navigating in the dark and, as the Great Unravelling progresses, they are being caught unawares and unable to even understand what has occurred, let alone take action to save themselves. [This article attempts to enlighten such individuals as to why such events are unfolding and what the eventual - inevitable - consequences will be for them unless they]..educate themselves and prepare an alternative life.

Did you know that financial institutions all over the world are warning that we could see a mega default on a very prominent high-yield investment product in China on January 31st? We are being told that this could lead to a cascading collapse of the shadow banking system in China which could potentially result in sky-high interest rates and a precipitous plunge in credit. It could be a Lehman Brothers moment for Asia and, since much of that "hot money" has flowed into stocks, bonds and real estate in the United States, that would be very bad news for the U.S. as well. [Let me explain.]

Some of the most respected prognosticators in the financial world are warning that what is coming in 2014 and beyond is going to shake America to the core. Many of the quotes that you are about to read are from individuals that actually predicted the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis of 2008 ahead of time so they have a track record of being right. Does that guarantee that they will be right about what is coming in 2014? Of course not. In fact, as you will see below, not all of them agree about exactly what is coming next but, without a doubt, all of their forecasts are quite ominous.

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.

There’s no fear anymore - anywhere - and I’m talking about the type of fear that overwhelms investors – and, in turn, the market. The surest indication of this can be found in the following chart.

When it comes to the Internet, nobody is ever entirely safe. Every major website & company is being targeted - big banks are being hit "every minute of every day" - with sophisticated cyber attacks which have increased 42% in the past year. The amount of money being stolen is absolutely staggering. At some point it going to cause some major league problems. It is just a matter of time.