|
Posted: Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
The lessons are being taught by the free market. The question is: Will enough politicians learn what is being taught?
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Sunday, July 3rd, 2016
"The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth." - Warren Buffett
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Thursday, April 28th, 2016
Executives who have run out of fresh ideas to grow earnings (maybe no fault of their own but due to market conditions) to appease short term oriented investors, often resort to this trick to "grow" earnings, which is not growth at all but an accounting gimmick which makes it appear earnings have grown.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016
Just about every middle-class and wealthy family in the US uses household help at some point. Babysitters, maids, gardeners, nannies… American homes are full of them. And if your family uses any of these services, you face a minefield of legal hazards that almost no one wants to admit exists, much less discuss openly
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016
The Answer: It's About Central Planning, Control, And Theft
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Saturday, February 27th, 2016
Criticism continues over the Department of Labor's joint employer standards, which could be traumatizing for small businesses and franchises.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Saturday, January 30th, 2016
As the economic implosion progresses, there will be considerable misdirection and disinformation as to the true nature of what is taking place. As I have outlined in the past, the masses were so ill informed by the mainstream media during the Great Depression that most people had no idea they were actually in the midst of an "official" depression until years after it began.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Saturday, January 30th, 2016
Incandescent Light Bulbs Now More Efficient than LED, North Dakota Oil Worth LESS than Nothing, and more...
Read more of this article. »
"Free Trade Has Destroyed American Manufacturing"
Posted: Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015
This criticism of free trade is wrong. To understand why it is wrong, first consider this chart of the per capita output of American manufacturing. It is not a chart that most Americans have ever seen. Economist Mark Perry has provided it.
Read more of this article. »
Deflation Shifts into Second Gear; Lower Prices and Inactivity will Impact All of Us
Posted: Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015
Several days ago, the Barron's Roundtable forecast that the S&P 500 market would rise to 2,220 next year - up 10%.
Read more of this article. »
Can I Write My Own Estate Plan?
Posted: Thursday, December 3rd, 2015
As we have said before, estate planning is terribly difficult. Estate attorneys are expensive, the experience of working with them often awkward and frustrating, and the final set of documents wordy and confusing.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, October 30th, 2015
Vacuum Elevators - A Better Alternative to Mechanical Lifts for the Disabled, Schools Keep Obsolete Graphing Calculators to Please Corporation, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015
"Could you live without debt?
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, August 28th, 2015
More Americans Staying in Hometown,Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Makes up Law Protecting Homosexuals,and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, August 28th, 2015
Under the original Coinage Act of 1792, drafted by Alexander Hamilton, the penalty for debasing a coin was death.
Read more of this article. »
Government Debt and Your Retirement
Posted: Thursday, July 30th, 2015
The problem hasn't shown up in your monthly statements yet but soon will.
Read more of this article. »
The Woes of Starting a New Business
Posted: Thursday, June 25th, 2015
I suppose if one has the money, all the hoops a new business has to jump through can be handled by a well paid lawyer. The old fashioned way of just finding a need and placing an ad in the phone book, developing a web site, and hanging up a shingle, is, nowadays, nearly impossible. Some businesses may be easier than others, but the business this writer started now requires at least one person devoted to continually unraveling the red tape that detracts from things we need or want to do to manage and grow our business. Is it overwhelming? No.
Read more of this article. »
Mom Said "Money Doesn't Grow On Trees!" But She Never Thought About South America
Posted: Thursday, June 25th, 2015
I grew up in a family of eight children and we never ate out. Nor did most families we knew. After the Great Depression and World War the habits of frugality were imbedded in their psyche and were not soon to be abandoned, hence my mother's warning on the scarcity of currency hanging from trees in the orchard.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Tuesday, May 26th, 2015
When Did a 'Blue-Collar' Job Become a Bad Thing?, Obama Plays Class-Warfare Card - Calls Wealthy "Society's Lottery Winners", and more...
Read more of this article. »
Will the Commander-In-Chief Corral Our Cash?
Posted: Tuesday, May 26th, 2015
In the past several weeks, we have seen a steady parade of governments announcing programs to restrict the use of cash, or limit withdrawals. Greece just announced it would tax cash withdrawals. JP Morgan Chase just quietly announced that in certain "test" markets (Ohio for example) it would not accept cash payments for mortgages and car loans. Louisiana law prohibits using cash for secondhand goods sales.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, April 24th, 2015
The next bubble to burst may very well be the utterly insane debt-based education system - the trillion+ dollar explosion of student loans.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Monday, March 30th, 2015
Federal spending on food aid has skyrocketed in recent decades, and the feds are now feeding more than 100 million Americans. Yet, according to the Agriculture Department (USDA), far more Americans are "food insecure" now than before the mushrooming of subsidized feeding programs. But rather than seeing this as evidence of a government failure, a chorus of activists and pundits insist that it proves that even more people should be encouraged to depend on Uncle Sam for their next meal.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Monday, March 30th, 2015
Homeownership has been a cornerstone of the American Dream for decades and is something many men look forward to as a sort of rite-of-passage into adulthood. But is buying a home the right choice for you? Are there instances where you're actually better off renting?
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Monday, March 30th, 2015
The New York Times has sounded the alarm. Word is getting out to the intellectuals. It is not getting out to the general public. Here is reality:
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Thursday, February 26th, 2015
Because most people only buy a few homes in their lifetime, and it's often the largest investment they make, home buyers have a plethora of important questions for their realtors before buying. We are inherently savvy consumers in this country and are naturally hungry for information when making a large buying decision. Yet, there are certain types of questions that, when answered directly by an agent (instead of connecting you to an additional resource), can actually be a disservice to you. I'll explain what I mean using specific examples.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, January 30th, 2015
Cato Expert Explains Post-Recession Housing Market, Pro-Family Groups Urge Restaurants to Filter Wifi, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, January 30th, 2015
The real poverty of typical families is found neither in their low income nor in costly essential expenses but rather in not understanding their own cash flow.
Read more of this article. »
Automation Gradually Dumbs Us Down
Posted: Saturday, December 27th, 2014
Reading a recent article by Nicholas Carr in the Wall Street Journal brought to my mind what has happened in so many areas of our lives. We have gradually been dumbed down due to the automation of things we build and use in our lives.
Read more of this article. »
Gas Prices: How Much Lower and Longer?
Posted: Saturday, December 27th, 2014
It made headline news when an OnCue Express station in Oklahoma City dropped its price for regular unleaded gasoline to $1.99 gallon on Wednesday.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, November 28th, 2014
Robotic Pizza Delivery, Banking, and Now Over-the-road Trucking, Wal-Mart Matches Amazon Prices,and more...
Read more of this article. »
OPEC Continues to Unravel as Oil Prices Drop
Posted: Tuesday, October 21st, 2014
With oil production from the Bakken formation in North Dakota now exceeding one million barrels a day and the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin oil fields in Texas producing more than three million barrels per day, prices for crude are dropping worldwide and pushing gasoline prices down along with them.
Read more of this article. »
How To Get A Job That Pays You More Than Money
Posted: Friday, September 26th, 2014
There are almost 10 million people that are unemployed in the United States right now. Some are in a position to start their own business. Most others are going to need to find a job. But how? How do they stick out in a crowded field of applicants that is often hundreds deep? Where should they apply for work?
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Thursday, August 28th, 2014
Magnet Maker Fights Consumer Agency over Regulatory Overreach, Minnesota Café Adds "Minimum Wage" Fee to Customers' Bills, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
Subprime Auto Loans - A Bubble Waiting to Burst?, Walmart Creates Low-Cost Health Clinics and more...
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, June 27th, 2014
Hybrids Not as Fuel Efficient as Claimed, How Goofing Off Increases Productivity and more...
Read more of this article. »
On Inflation: See No Evil
Posted: Friday, May 30th, 2014
In this week's release of the minutes from its April 29-30 meeting, Federal Reserve policymakers made clear that they see little chance of inflation moving past their 2% target for years to come. In order to make such a bold statement, Fed economists not only had to ignore the current data, but discount the likelihood that their current stimulus will put further upward pressure on prices that are already rising.
Read more of this article. »
How to Give Away a Billion Dollars
Posted: Friday, May 30th, 2014
In giving away money, I want to get the most bang for my buck. That phrase comes out of the Vietnam War, and it has become part of the colloquial language of Americans ever since.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2014
Food Prices Rising, Rural Populations Declining, Power Company CEO: Grid is Antiquated and more...
Read more of this article. »
What Would You Do With a Billion Dollars to Give Away?
Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2014
This is the first of a two part series. Part two, "How to Give Away a Billion Dollars" will appear in next month's edition of The US Journal - Editor.
Read more of this article. »
The Three Phases of a Bull Market
Posted: Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
Have you ever wondered when to get into an investment and when to get out? Almost every bull market has 3 distinct phases and if you can learn to recognize them it will help your odds tremendously of getting in while the market still has room to go up, and get out before you ride it back down again.
Read more of this article. »
America's Underground Economy
Posted: Thursday, February 27th, 2014
Recently in England, there was an uproar among customers of the HSBC bank when it "imposed a restriction blocking customers from withdrawing large amounts of money from their own accounts, unless they could provide the bank with a 'good reason' for it."
Read more of this article. »
10 Things I Wish I Would Have Known in High School
Posted: Thursday, February 27th, 2014
In our culture today, almost nothing is expected of our youth until after they reach adulthood, that glorious day that we have held up for decades, the day one graduates from college. It's the beautiful day in which all young people are supposed to magically stop wasting all their time, blowing all their money, get their first job, start saving for retirement, start paying their own cell phone bill, car insurance, health insurance, food, rent, and begin paying off that little mountain of student loan debt.
Read more of this article. »
Getting Prepared Financially
Posted: Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
All sound-minded readers agree that getting ready financially for old age, or for a rainy day, is a wise thing to do. This type of preparation, though, I am not talking about. Rather, I am referring to being ready financially for a crisis.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
America Falls Under Top 10 for Economic Freedom, Reports of Death of Incandescent Light Bulb are Premature, and more...
Read more of this article. »
How to Create Jobs
Posted: Friday, January 3rd, 2014
Whenever I see a headline talking about creating jobs, I find it somewhat misleading, or at least I get bothered. This is true whether written by someone promoting government involvement or not. Who would think in terms of creating jobs? The concept does not make sense to me.
Read more of this article. »
Economist Warns US Dollar Will Implode 'In My Lifetime'
Posted: Friday, January 3rd, 2014
Economic collapse could be just around the corner, according to Casey Research Chief Economist Bud Conrad, who predicts the collapse of the dollar during his lifetime.
Read more of this article. »
Home Sales Plunge: "Biggest Drop in 40 Months"
Posted: Wednesday, December 4th, 2013
Last week the Sacramento Bee published a report indicating the foreclosure rates had returned to "normal" levels and that the, "foreclosure crisis that overwhelmed the greater Sacramento area for the past seven years has ended."
Read more of this article. »
Gas is Getting "Cheap" Again
Posted: Friday, November 1st, 2013
In my area (SW Virginia) regular unleaded can now be purchased for less than $3 a gallon. Most people are smiling - the smile of the simple-minded. Or the dazed. Or perhaps, the forgetful. Does no one remember that a mere handful of years ago, gas sold for less than $2 a gallon?
Read more of this article. »
Freedom Is Good for You
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
Science proves overwhelmingly that economic freedom helps women, children, and other living things.
Read more of this article. »
How To Hide Your Gold And Silver
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
Now that you are potentially making the decision to move into true money, the question arises of where to take delivery of and safeguard your precious metals.
Read more of this article. »
AARP Retirement Calculator: Are You Mentally Ready for the Bad News?
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
Most Americans have not saved enough to retire at age 65. They suspect this. It bothers them a little, but not enough to (1) use a calculator to find out if they have saved enough, and (2) save more.
Read more of this article. »
No Margin for Error
Posted: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
"He who goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing." - Ben Franklin
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
Fewer Americans Own Homes, Copper Value Rises; Time to Collect Pennies and Nickels, George Mitchell, the Father of Fracking, Dead at 94 and more...
Read more of this article. »
Economic Lessons from a Comic Book
Posted: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
"Look up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. No. It's a Superman comic book found behind a wall."
Read more of this article. »
Small Business Loans are Bank Bailouts
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
There seems to be only one kind of loan that bankers want to make-SBA loans. SBA stands for Small Business Administration, a federal agency that guarantees certain loans made by banks that operate within its guidelines.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
Owner-Vacated Foreclosures Show Unhealthy Market, Economic Recovery? Not for Most Households, Teens Create Car Sharing Business and more...
Read more of this article. »
The Destruction of Justice: Plea Bargains
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
A plea bargain is defined simply as a "deal" between a criminal defendant and his/her prosecutor. The accused gets a reduced charge or charges and subsequent sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to a lesser crime. Most qualified information shows that plea bargains take place in 90-plus-percent of all criminal cases filed in the U.S. each year and innocent victims of false prosecution feel the brunt of it.
Read more of this article. »
Forget Retirement... and Retirement Savings
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
You've been sold a bill of goods for the last four to six decades. You've been told that nation-states, democracy and socialism is good. You've been told our monetary system prevents instability.
Read more of this article. »
Will Dividend Stocks pay off?
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
Recently, I stumbled across a new term in the marketplace: "TINA" an acronym for: There Is No Alternative. This term was manufactured by Wall Street salesmen to keep the fees flowing. It was a reaction to investors' perception that bonds were no longer the place to be as yields had reached ridiculous lows, almost down to the level of saving accounts.
Read more of this article. »
Thank "Big Oil" for Cheap Gas Prices
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
Plan to drive more this summer? Annoyed by the price of gas? Complaining that oil companies rip you off?
Read more of this article. »
Help For the Elderly Financially
Posted: Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
The title to this is somewhat misleading, I must admit. But the following words are exactly what this writer has in mind. Many of those getting older (whether fifty or sixty or even older) realize things are getting harder financially. The day of retiring at fifty-five (who, may I ask, came up with this idea?) is fading. The problem is the reasons for this.
Read more of this article. »
Live Free or Move
Posted: Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
Forty-three million Americans moved from one state to another between 1995 and 2010 -- about one-seventh of Americans. It's good that we can move! Moving provides one of the few limits on the megalomania of state bureaucrats.
Read more of this article. »
Teach Customers to Buy From You
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Every business owner hates to lose a potential customer. This is particularly difficult for a business owner who sells a high quality and high value product. I've heard many owners complain that the potential customers just aren't comparing items of the same quality and sales are lost based upon price alone.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines 0403
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
After Gold Crash, Experts Point to Central Bank Manipulation, FHA in Line for Taxpayer Bailout, Will the Housing Bubble Happen Again? and more...
Read more of this article. »
Why are humans programmed to consistently make this mistake?
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Why is it so difficult for most people to see big changes coming? I'll play the role of an amateur psychologist and take a few guesses: Big changes occur slowly and largely imperceptibly so they are less threatening. These changes are often accompanied by "noise" which obscures the key changes that are occurring.
Read more of this article. »
Jobs Report Full of False Hope
Posted: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
As is typical, Wall Street and the media are celebrating a jobs report that is not nearly as positive as the headlines suggest. The continuing decline in the labor force participation rate was at least as important a factor as the new jobs created in bringing down the official unemployment rate to 7.7%.
Read more of this article. »
Irrational Exuberance
Posted: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
It takes courage to be a bearish advisor in these days of constantly rising manipulated markets. The S&P has risen 13.5% since June 2012. When a client calls and complains, "We were at a party and everybody was talking about much money they were making and we had to sit there with our traps shut".
Read more of this article. »
Only 24.6% of Jobs in the US Are Good Jobs
Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Do you want to know why it seems like good jobs are very rare in the United States today? It is because good jobs are very rare in the United States today. According to a paper that was just released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, only 24.6 percent of all American jobs qualified as "good jobs" in 2010.
Read more of this article. »
Getting Older, Staying Wise
Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Aging is tough enough without committing a blunder that could destroy decades of work spent preparing for retirement. This is not legal advice (which I can't provide). The following are just common mistakes I've read about or run into.
Read more of this article. »
When You Need an Advocate
Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
One of the fastest growing age groups today are seniors 85 and over. They are in the last stages of life. Baby boomers, those who are now 55 to 67 years of age, are a large group of people who are entering retirement.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Thursday, January 31st, 2013
Wholefoods CEO Calls Obamacare "Fascism", 'Devastating' Death Tax Hopefully Near Its End, Illinois Bill Mandating Registration of Precious Metal Purchases, Will the US Become the World's Top Oil Producer?, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Economic Outlook for 2013
Posted: Thursday, January 31st, 2013
ZIRP, zombies, and the japanization of the American economy
Read more of this article. »
The Trillion Dollar Trick
Posted: Saturday, January 19th, 2013
People have a long and intimate history with coins. Some of us collected them as kids, and we all touch and see them every day. Unlike currency bills, we know intuitively that a coin's value is supposed to come from its metal content. That's why quarters are bigger than dimes. As a result, most people have viscerally rejected the platinum coin idea. To assign an arbitrary, sky high, valuation to a small piece of metal strikes most people as a deceitful, desperate act. They are right.
Read more of this article. »
You Have Options
Posted: Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Options are powerful tools that most investors haven't explored One of the problems writers face is finding the middle of the road and penning something of interest to the biggest common denominator in the readership. One item of interest might be stock options. These can be very useful and I'd guess most readers have never tried them.
Read more of this article. »
Home Prices Will Fall Through Next June, Minimum
Posted: Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Over half of American homes will drop in price between now and next June. That is the conclusion of an article on CNN. This has to do with the fiscal cliff, we are told. The fiscal cliff will produce a recession.
Read more of this article. »
Elderly - Get Out of Stocks and Mutual Funds
Posted: Friday, December 21st, 2012
Conventional wisdom would say the markets took losses during that time, and she was one of the victims. True, but was this necessary? Not at all. Here is the burr in my saddle. This was not only not necessary, but more than likely (I will know in the end) it was due to incompetence in various regards.
Read more of this article. »
Our Government-Created Financial Crisis
Posted: Wednesday, December 12th, 2012
Suppose you saw a building on fire. Would you seek counsel from the arsonist who set it ablaze for advice on how to put it out? [T]hat's precisely what we've done: turned to the people who created our fiscal crisis to fix it.
Read more of this article. »
U-Haul Index Shows Californians Leaving for Texas
Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
One of the best indicators of a state's economic health, according to John Merline, writing in Investor's Business Daily, is the "U-Haul Index" (first publicized by economist Mark Perry) to see what people are paying to move into, or out of, the state.
Read more of this article. »
If You Are Over 50 and Get Fired, Do This Fast
Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
There is a bias against older workers in the job market. This has come as a shock to older workerts who got laid off in 2008-9. They still have trouble finding work.
Read more of this article. »
Congratulations Electorate!
Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
The Administration Is Focused Like a Laser - On Your Retirement Funds Legendary bank robber Willie Sutton was supposedly asked, "Why do you rob banks?" He was falsely credited with this pithy response: "Because that's where the money is." He was falsely credited with this pithy response: "Because that's where the money is."
Read more of this article. »
Federal Reserve's Strategy Will Fail
Posted: Friday, November 2nd, 2012
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve's policy has been to keep interest rates at about zero percent, and to run a program called "quantitative easing" (or QE), which is designed to pump money into the system by buying U.S. Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and other assets.
Read more of this article. »
Rental Real Estate
Posted: Friday, November 2nd, 2012
Desperately Searching For Yield Recently, I discussed the merits of rental real estate with a couple I know. They had visions of a relatively decent retirement and expected to earn reasonable yields on their cash. But yields cratered; an excess supply of money drives rates down as borrowers can select from the lowest rates in decades and savers are penalized.
Read more of this article. »
Bond Agoraphobia
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded" is a paraprosdokian quote attributed to Yogi Berra. It's a good quote to keep in mind with respect to the treasury markets, which are getting increasingly crowded.
Read more of this article. »
Funny Money Fueling the Stock Market
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Godfather Politics The government makes it very easy to bring on prosperity. Print more money. If that's always the solution, then why not do it sooner, bigger, and faster? The Federal Reserve has decided to pump more funny money into the economy. On cue, the stock market rallied:
Read more of this article. »
Is It Wise to Have a Minimum Wage?
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Instead of seeking employment during high school and/or college years, the youngster now expects the parents to foot the bill. These students have been raised with a sense of entitlement or "you owe me" mentality. If they do work, the "minimum wage" handle has no appeal-it's beneath their dignity. They want to make "big bucks" right up front.
Read more of this article. »
Software Patents: A Time for Change?
Posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
The software world is in the middle of a patent arms race. Everybody is suing everybody else for patent infringement. And companies are spending billions of dollars buying up patent portfolios.
Read more of this article. »
But Liars Use Statistics
Posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
Don't trust White House marketing on network TV; the truth is an unwelcome guest Filtering the reports we absorb daily from the mainstream media is a necessity and so is "following the money" to make sense of it all. Some questions to ask might be: who owns the network and what is their political allegiance? Economic news is believed by most observers to be the number one factor which will determine the victor in November.
Read more of this article. »
Gas Prices Moving to All-Time High
Posted: Friday, August 17th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
10 Ways Honesty Makes You More Money
Posted: Friday, July 27th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
The Next Bubble - If you reach into the hive, you
Posted: Friday, July 27th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
20 Years of Phony Growth
Posted: Thursday, June 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Will I Be Able to Retire?
Posted: Thursday, May 31st, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Butting Heads with your Broker
Posted: Thursday, May 31st, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Balance the Budget by 2039? Wanna Bet?
Posted: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
7 Effective Privacy Techniques for Reducing Risk of Identity Theft
Posted: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Gasoline Prices and Dollar Prices
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Bernanke Rails at Gold Standard
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Why Are There More Millionaires in America?
Posted: Thursday, March 15th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Unemployment's Answer: Get a Trade
Posted: Monday, March 5th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
When Will Silver Reach a New High?
Posted: Monday, March 5th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Optimists Are Swarming Back
Posted: Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Magazine Covers & News Reports Point to a Topping Process
Read more of this article. »
Silver & Gold: Buy or Sell?
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
"Is It Safe?" Don't Assume It Is
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Just yesterday, I read accounts of resistance to cash withdrawal requests by certain banks. It's happening in Europe right now, especially Greece. Don't wait for the rating agencies such as Standard & Poors, etc. to tell you that acompany is in trouble; they will only inform you the patient is sick after the burial.
Read more of this article. »
Math Vindicates S&P Debt Downgrade
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Beware the Coming Bailouts of Europe
Posted: Monday, January 2nd, 2012
"A multi-trillion dollar European aid package cannot be undertaken by Europe alone, and will require IMF and Federal Reserve involvement. The Federal Reserve already has pumped trillions of dollars into the US economy with nothing to show for it. Just considering Fed involvement in Europe is ludicrous. The US economy is in horrible shape precisely because of too much government debt and too much money creation and the European economy is destined to flounder for the same reasons. We have an unsustainable amount of debt here at home; it is hardly fair to US taxpayers to take on Europe's debt as well. That will only ensure an accelerated erosion of the dollar and a lower standard of living for all Americans."
Read more of this article. »
Is the Economy Slowly Gaining Momentum?
Posted: Monday, January 2nd, 2012
"Putting it all together, then, the first quarter of 2012 will tell a lot about the direction of the economy, especially in light of credit card bills coming due in January and the inevitable layoffs of temporary and part-time workers following the holidays. Uncertainty in Washington over spending and in the Eurozone added to the Federal Reserve's increased likelihood of increasing the money supply putting further upward pressure on prices, and the outlook for the economy remains daunting. "
Read more of this article. »
Tips to Stay Safe Online this Holiday Shopping Season
Posted: Saturday, December 17th, 2011
According to the National Retail Foundation, it is anticipated that $456 billion will be spent this holiday season. As Christmas approaches, more of us will look to the Internet for the latest online deals. Please keep these tips in mind when using a retail Internet site to ensure your holidays are hassle-free...
Read more of this article. »
Thousands of US Job Openings, so Few Applicants
Posted: Friday, November 25th, 2011
"With the unemployment rate at 9.1% as of September 2011, it seems it is not because of job availability. ManpowerGroup conducted a survey and found that 52% of U.S. employers have problems filling up important positions within their organizations. That's 14% up from 2010 numbers."
Read more of this article. »
A Massive Battle between Inflation and Deflation!
Posted: Friday, November 11th, 2011
"A massive battle between inflation and deflation is enveloping the globe. And for now at least, deflation is winning. On the side of inflation are those who want to perpetuate the status quo - more government spending, more money printing, more debt, bigger bailouts. And on the side of deflation is government austerity, cutbacks and a sinking global economy."
Read more of this article. »
Report Says Death of Euro Will Lead to Doomsday
Posted: Thursday, October 20th, 2011
"Regardless of the likely consequences of abandoning the euro, Farage contends that nations will still be better off, both economically and politically. He declared, "We don't want that flag, we don't want the anthem, we don't want this political class. We want the whole thing consigned to the dustbin of history."
Read more of this article. »
Good Ol' Cash - When uncertainty abounds, cash is a beautiful thing
Posted: Saturday, October 1st, 2011
Cash is the unloved asset, an asset orphan that nobody loves. Many people do not even consider cash an asset class. Cash is ridiculed like the bespectacled class nerd with the mechanical pencils in his plastic pocket protector. It's an investment pariah. It is consistently and universally the smallest allocation in any brokerage recommendation. Show me an allocation to cash of greater than 20% and I'll buy you dinner. Mutual fund cash levels were recently at 3.4%, the lowest ever. In the investment community, it's practically a felony to have clients with large cash allocations. After all, they have a lot of stuff to sell you.
Read more of this article. »
Is that Golden Nest Egg Cracking?
Posted: Friday, September 23rd, 2011
"As this huge market bear kicks into second gear (the July-August sell-off is just a warm up) investors will have to be more selective. While gold, silver, and other commodities may have worked to shield a portfolio against sharp declines in equities in the past, these assets do not guarantee similar results in the future."
Read more of this article. »
How to Lower Your Rent (Without Moving)
Posted: Thursday, August 25th, 2011
"For household costs like groceries and utilities, if you're frugal, you'll keep looking for ways to cut back. For rent, however, most people assume that the only way to lower the cost is to move to a cheaper place. Don't fall into that trap. Believe it or not, you can save money on rent where you're currently living."
Read more of this article. »
Everything's Made in China? Not Quite.
Posted: Monday, August 22nd, 2011
"Athough globalization is widely recognized these days, the U.S. economy actually remains relatively closed. The vast majority of goods and services sold in the United States is produced here. In 2010, imports were about 16% of U.S. GDP. Imports from China amounted to 2.5% of GDP."
Read more of this article. »
Understanding Gold and Silver
Posted: Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
"Dollar price index goes up, the price of gold AND silver goes down, dollar price index goes down, the price of gold AND silver goes up. I get it, it's been that way for years, the question now is, why has gold been going up and silver down?"
Read more of this article. »
Email Marketing ... It Really Works!
Posted: Friday, August 5th, 2011
"Almost 80% of consumers have signed up to receive email at least from one company, according to Forrester Research, and two out of three people surveyed said they read email every day of the week. (E-commerce Times)"
Read more of this article. »
Shoppers Change Buying Habits in Response to Shrinking Package Sizes
Posted: Thursday, August 4th, 2011
"Nearly 9 in 10 survey respondents (87.7 percent) believe prices in food stores are escalating and almost three-quarters (74 percent) say the size of some packaged goods is smaller. Consequently, savvy consumers are purchasing more private-label and store brand products."
Read more of this article. »
Valuation Voodoo
Posted: Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
"So how can this number become distorted to confuse or mislead investors? This occurs many different ways. "Annualizing" a particularly profitable calendar quarter of earnings is one way earnings can be exaggerated to make it appear as if the sky is the limit as if to say: 'Earnings are fabulous and they're only going to get better.'"
Read more of this article. »
The True Message of the Bond Market
Posted: Saturday, July 23rd, 2011
"Isn't it remarkable how complacent bond market investors are about the chances of a default on U.S. debt. In fact, there are many reasons why the yield on the Ten year note should be trading at yields much higher than what we see today, over and above the specter of Congress failing to raise the debt ceiling."
Read more of this article. »
News in Short - Business 0212
Posted: Friday, July 22nd, 2011
News in Short - Business 0212
Read more of this article. »
Money Market Mischief: Look under the hood and find out what you really own
Posted: Thursday, July 21st, 2011
"The warning goes like this: Any investment can lose money (except money market funds because all they are is cash, right?). Well, maybe. My son, Brian, took a job with a company in Phoenix. Like most companies, his employer offered a 401K plan and there were approximately 20 options from which to choose, a pretty typical range offered by an employer sponsored 401K. He asked me to take a look and find the safest option for him. I had a pretty good idea what to expect so I wasn't surprised by what I found."
Read more of this article. »
The Elliot Wave
Posted: Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
"If you are an unrepentant market bull, skip to the next article"
Read more of this article. »
The Extinction of Retirement
Posted: Saturday, July 9th, 2011
"Over the last decade incomes and job growth have stagnated, causing savings rates to drop. According to Jim Quinn author of the Burning Platform, 60% of retirees have less than $50,000 in savings. Such sums won't last very long, especially when consumer prices are up 3.2%, import prices are up 12.5% and commodity prices are up 35% year over year."
Read more of this article. »
How I Know another Gold Correction Is Coming
Posted: Monday, July 4th, 2011
"The gold price has been rising steadily for almost a year now, with nary a correction. It fell only 4% last month, and the biggest decline since last July was January's 6.2% drop. These barely register as "corrections" when one considers that we've had 18 of them greater than 5% since the bull market began in 2001."
Read more of this article. »
Governor Otter Selling Idaho to the Chinese?
Posted: Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
"In a letter proudly publicized on a state-sponsored website, Idaho Governor Butch Otter (left, a Republican) describes a program designed to "grow Idaho's Gross Domestic Product" by creating "quality jobs for all Idahoans by fostering systemic growth, recruiting new companies to Idaho, and selling Idaho's trade and investment opportunities to the world." The following is from Governor Otter's announcement of the plan known as Project 60."
Read more of this article. »
Municipal Bonds - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?
Posted: Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
"Recently we've seen some bad press that has given the municipal bond market some jitters: Jefferson County, Alabama; Vallejo, California; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In late 2010, Meredith Whitney, a security analyst, called for 50-100 high profile bond defaults in the near future. This report shook up the muni bond market (see chart) and a significant number of investors bailed out due to fear of losses. Bond prices dropped then, but prices have mostly recovered."
Read more of this article. »
Has President Obama's Spending Killed the Recovery?
Posted: Saturday, June 11th, 2011
"The jobs numbers echoed the lackluster economic performance in recent months. Most recoveries from recessions in the post-World II era included several years of robust four-percent growth or better, and President Obama's budget proposal includes assumptions of much faster economic growth than the nation is experiencing."
Read more of this article. »
Don't Buy a House in 2011 Before You Read These 20 Wacky Statistics
Posted: Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
"So will home prices continue to go down? Possibly. But they won't go down forever. At some point the inflation that is already affecting many other segments of the economy will affect home prices as well. That doesn't mean that it will be middle class American families that will be buying up all the homes."
Read more of this article. »
Cheapest Homes in 40 Years? Not Even Close
Posted: Thursday, May 19th, 2011
I have been wanting to discuss a horrifically misleading article found in Businessweek for a week now: Americans Shun Cheapest Homes in 40 Years as Ownership Fades. It is an object lesson in how an industry spokesgroup, engaging in biased analysis, used poor econometric models to create misleading data. That led to others making bad assumptions based on that data, which in turn leads to an unsupported conclusions. To wit, that home prices are now cheap (they are not) and home ownership is being shunned (it is not).
Read more of this article. »
States' Pension Woes Worsening
Posted: Saturday, May 14th, 2011
"Perhaps Pew's most important conclusion is that pension and healthcare obligations are simply running away from the states' abilities to pay them."
Read more of this article. »
Four Silver Investments to Avoid
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
Is it Really the Economy, Stupid?
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Economism incorporates the belief that men and women are primarily economic beings, focused mainly on 'production, exchange, and consumption. Indeed, economism tries to explain virtually all human motivation and action by economics.'"
Read more of this article. »
Francis Koster: Finding Local Investments That Pay Off for You & Your Community
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
"Francis highlights a number of the case studies he's collected at his website, The Optimistic Futurist, where motivated individuals have improved their local schools, roads, food, water supply, etc. while earning double-digit returns. These models can be adopted in nearly any community, which is the purpose behind Francis' work."
Read more of this article. »
The Investment Hall of Mirrors
Posted: Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
"The White House press secretary sounded quite exuberant about the recent reduction to 8.8% from 8.9%. But the real unemployment rate is much higher, somewhere between the December U-6 classification of 16.7% from the Bureau of Labor Standards and the 22.1% reported by Shadowstats.com, which calculates the percentage the way it was done 30 years ago. Under reporters' radar are the constant revisions to previously reported unemployment claims."
Read more of this article. »
There's No such Thing as Homemade Ice Cream
Posted: Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
"What is real homemade ice cream? Oh, I've made it before. It has always struck me that you can't really make real homemade ice cream with an electric machine. Electricity is so artificial, and if you are going to plug in a machine, in what sense are you actually making the stuff? Pouring ingredients into an electric bucket and waiting isn't really "making" anything. You might as well let someone else do that and buy it from them. You might as well make a trip to the freezer section of the grocery store."
Read more of this article. »
Think Like a Thief
Posted: Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
"There are more horror stories than I think most of us are aware of. The message is the same: the gold and silver bullion you possess is valuable, and will be increasingly so, so tell only one other person. And to determine if your home storage is really secure, think like a thief: how likely would someone intent on robbing you find or get to your valuables?"
Read more of this article. »
Cash is Trash?
Posted: Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
"To be sure, unlike many investors, I consider cash to actually be an asset class. To put this loathsome asset, i.e., cash, into perspective, Seth Klarman, an outstanding value investor, dissected the faulty rationale that "cash is trash" during an interview in Grant's Interest Rate Observer. To wit:"
Read more of this article. »
Obama's Green-Jobs Fantasies
Posted: Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
"Ironically, Obama boasts his initiative 'will help close the clean-energy gap between America and other nations.' But Green says, '(C)ountries are cutting these programs because they realize they aren't sustainable and they are obscenely expensive.'"
Read more of this article. »
Housing Double-dip is Here: Case-Shiller
Posted: Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
What? I See Inflation, Not Deflatioin!
Posted: Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Shelter Shares Driving Investors
Posted: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How to Build Your Business Without Advertising
Posted: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Entrepreneurs Under Attack
Posted: Monday, September 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
On More Stimulus Spending
Posted: Monday, September 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Seven Reasons Not to Send Your Kids to College
Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How to Cut Funeral Costs Now
Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
September Halloween
Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Bear Repellent - Steps You Can Take to Prevent Market Losses
Posted: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Top 20 Home Based Businesses
Posted: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Stagnant Private Sector
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The New Push for a Global Currency
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Scary Fundamentals Abound
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Why Not Another World War?
Posted: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
New Wall Street Regulations Will Hurt Economy
Posted: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How Many People Have Left the Workforce?
Posted: Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The Chart that Tells You Where the US Economy is Heading
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
A Safety Solution in Certain Annuities
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Entrepreneurship Helps Make America Great
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Government's Business Isn't Business
Posted: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money - Our Productive Economy - Part 2 -
Posted: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money - Our Productive Economy
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
I Think I'll Stop Gardening
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Commodities Index
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money
Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Gold Most Likely to Double
Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Chart of the Week: Gold's Breakout
Posted: Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money - The Mint Act of 1792
Posted: Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How To Fix the Jobs Problem
Posted: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Let's Take the
Posted: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Is it the Government's Job to Provide Jobs?
Posted: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money
Posted: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The Miracle of the Market
Posted: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
True Economic Stimulus: How to Truly Increase Wisconsin Jobs
Posted: Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
|
|
Posted: Sunday, July 31st, 2016
A majority of the voters of Venezuela are thieves. They have tried to vote themselves prosperity through the welfare state.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, May 24th, 2016
1,428 year old company survived time, war, persecution, and nuclear bombs
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Thursday, April 28th, 2016
Big companies are pushing back against proposed rules involving medical plans and transgender people.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016
Family - The Core of America's Economy, Oregon Farms May Fail with Minimum Wage Hike, and U.S. Credit Card Debt Skyrockets
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Saturday, February 27th, 2016
Agreement to Cut Oil Production Fades along with Crude Prices, New Regulations Will Harm Small Franchises, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Saturday, February 27th, 2016
You don't have to take a beating.
Read more of this article. »
New Job Market: Character, Not Experience Matters
Posted: Saturday, January 30th, 2016
With graduation just a few months away, college seniors are searching for jobs. They should know that college graduates of today may have a dozen jobs in their lifetime, which often includes multiple major career changes. Shocking, yes.
Read more of this article. »
Investments Are out of Fuel
Posted: Saturday, January 30th, 2016
Bear markets are great at sneaking up on people. The signs are everywhere, investors aren't paying attention, or aren't worried. Through last week, six months of worldwide losses in equities has totaled $16.8 trillion. U.S. markets have been slow to follow the trend, but after the current sucker rally runs its course, markets should "catch down" with sinking trends elsewhere. The August and January corrections are final warnings that something isn't right.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015
Protection for a Bird at Expense of Natural Resources, Major Study Shows U.S. Middle Class No Longer a Majority, and more..
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Thursday, December 3rd, 2015
More Signs the Economy Is Slowing, World Oil Glut Swells to 3 Billion Barrels, Driving Prices Down Further, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Why Sometimes You Need to Fire Your Customers
Posted: Thursday, December 3rd, 2015
If you've ever worked in retail-and even if you haven't-you've probably heard the phrase, "the customer is always right." But just because you've heard it doesn't make it true.
Read more of this article. »
5 Simple Ways to Grow an Emergency Fund
Posted: Friday, October 30th, 2015
My husband and I decided that we wanted to do something special with our family for summer and started saving money right after Christmas was over. We scrimped and saved and were able to come up with the money for a small vacation, plus a little extra that we put away in our emergency fund. When our vacation day finally arrived, we packed our bags and got on the road. At the last minute, my husband ran into Wal-Mart to grab some last minute items.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015
Business Headlines, Immigrant Welfare Use Exaggeratedm, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, August 28th, 2015
Stressful Days and Critical Decisions Lie Ahead for Investors
Read more of this article. »
Why U.S. Companies Can't Find Skilled Workers
Posted: Friday, August 28th, 2015
U.S. companies are reporting that they are increasingly struggling to find workers with the proper skills for the labor market, suggesting a serious problem with the American education system.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Thursday, July 30th, 2015
French President: Create a United States of Europe,Texas Launches Gold-backed Bank, Challenging Federal Reserve, and more...
Read more of this article. »
You Can't Get Good Help
Posted: Thursday, June 25th, 2015
We have heard this so often lately that it is like a broken record. Successful businessmen one after another lament this problem. They cannot find men and women who work hard, are dependable, and want to learn on the basis of that hard work. Many years ago, a very successful man who worked for IBM (and still does), said that a person did not need to know a lot to do well at IBM. All they needed to do was to work hard.
Read more of this article. »
0605 Business Headlines
Posted: Thursday, June 25th, 2015
Trans Pacific Partnership Is about Control, Not Free Trade, Study: Corporate Interests Don't Trump Citizen Opposition, and more...
Read more of this article. »
"Aren't Some People Not Able to Work?"
Posted: Tuesday, May 26th, 2015
This was the question posed to me by a young person who needs to go to work. My answer was without hesitation. No, there are no people not able to work. By working, we were talking about working to earn money in order to take care of yourself. After my answer, I did give the exceptions to this.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, April 24th, 2015
Burger Machine Could Change Fast Food,New Mexico Adopts Law to End Civil Forfeiture, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, April 24th, 2015
Heavy snow on collapsing roofs were images we saw in the North East this past winter. It is an apt metaphor for what's occurring in the U.S. economy. Too many things are just not making sense to me anymore. I don't think collapse is too far away. We have so many fundamental indicators deteriorating, and the markets are totally ignoring everything (so far).
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Monday, March 30th, 2015
Without much ado, allow me to plunge right into a vacuum today regarding making a living that is so large it is almost scary. I have come to the conclusion that in general most Americans view making a living as something that is only possible if someone gives them a job.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Monday, March 30th, 2015
A month ago the International Energy Agency (IEA) began hedging its bet that declining oil prices would cut production: "U.S. supply [of crude oil] so far shows precious little sign of slowing down. Quite to the contrary, it continues to defy expectations."
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Thursday, February 26th, 2015
We need to revive that wonderful word "beguile." It means "to apply guile, to deceive by trickery, to seduce, betray, or gyp," as in, "Ma Yellen has beguiled the gullible American public into believing she can save them, when really she don't know 'sic 'em' from 'come here'." It's a right useful word, seeing how most the American Establishment in government and finance and of course the Fed, spend most of their time beguiling us mushrooms.
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Thursday, February 26th, 2015
David Stockman: Hold Cash and Gold, College Dropout Creates Online Academy Attended by 26 Million Students, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Posted: Friday, January 30th, 2015
If you were waiting for a "black swan event" to come along and devastate the global economy, you don't have to wait any longer. As I write this, the price of U.S. oil is sitting at $45.76 a barrel. It has fallen by more than 60 dollars a barrel since June.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Saturday, December 27th, 2014
Coming Egg Shortage Will Tax Family Budgets,Top Economist: Retirement Is History,Conservative Groups Plead with States to Resist EPA, and more...
Read more of this article. »
What Is Oil Telling Us? And how will it affect our personal economy and investments?
Posted: Saturday, December 27th, 2014
To most observers, the extremely elevated Dow Jones Industrial average and the S&P 500 leads them to the conclusion that times have never been better. So, which one is telling the truth: the stocks and bond markets or the fundamentals? Stock markets have sneezed occasionally, but they have marched forward and up for almost six years now. If one bothers to look a little deeper though, you'll find not all is well.
Read more of this article. »
An Economic Collapse is Coming
Posted: Friday, November 28th, 2014
The idea that the United States is on the brink of a horrifying economic crash is absolutely inconceivable to most Americans. After all, the economy has been relatively stable for quite a few years and the stock market continues to surge to new heights. On Friday, the Dow and the S&P 500 both closed at brand new all-time record highs.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Tuesday, October 21st, 2014
Canadian Workaround to Make Keystone Pipeline Irrelevant, National Debt to be $27 Trillion in 10 Years, Says the CBO and more...
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, September 26th, 2014
Poll: Businesses Is Over-Regulated, Study Shows Americans Working Longer Work Week, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Buy and Fold?
Posted: Thursday, August 28th, 2014
The current bull market rally has now run 5.4 years without a 20% drop which commonly defines a bear market. An average bull market runs 3.4 years. Towards the end of July, stocks started to hiccup, but it really hasn't led to much excitement yet.
Read more of this article. »
The Amazing Crash in Clothing Prices
Posted: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
I was out shopping for a new winter coat, hopping from store to store looking for a good deal. To my astonishment, it was almost impossible not to find a good deal. Coats of a quality that once cost hundreds of dollars were everywhere, with prices ranging from $65-150. I'm sure I could have found some at three and four times as much, but I would have had to make a special trip to a specialty shop like Burberry and pay a high price for status shopping.
Read more of this article. »
The Cost of Marriage and Divorce
Posted: Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
Those who get hitched are more likely to get rich. Among its many advantages, marriage is a potent antipoverty strategy.
Read more of this article. »
If You Don't Have a Job, Make One Up
Posted: Friday, June 27th, 2014
With unemployment rates skyrocketing, going out and finding a new job can be nigh on to impossible these days. This is only going to get trickier as the government continues to force businesses to increase the minimum wage. Workloads that used to provide employment to two people are now forced onto one. The work performed gets shoddier as the one employed person struggles to keep up, and the number of people who are employed gets lower.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, May 30th, 2014
Many Obamacare Recipients Will Have to Payback Subsidies Court Upholds Fine for Farmer Selling His Own Raisins
Read more of this article. »
Banking on Safety
Posted: Friday, May 30th, 2014
When you deposit money in a bank, that cash becomes the property of the bank. They have much discretion as to how it will be lent out or invested. You are the bank's bank; you are loaning it money which the bank will lend to other people.
Read more of this article. »
Stop Loading Our Children with Debt
Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2014
What if your grandfather had gone on a wild spending binge, long before you were born, and put himself millions of dollars in debt to people who knew he could never pay? Would it be your obligation to work double-shifts all your life to pay that debt back? And if you died before paying it off, would it become your baby's obligation?
Read more of this article. »
The Three Phases of a Bull Market
Posted: Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
Have you ever wondered when to get into an investment and when to get out? Almost every bull market has 3 distinct phases and if you can learn to recognize them it will help your odds tremendously of getting in while the market still has room to go up, and get out before you ride it back down again.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
Mysterious Deaths of Bankers Ignored by Media,Survey: Small Business Will Lay Off Workers if Minimum Wage Hiked, 3-D Printed Hand Could Revolutionize Prosthetics, and more...
Read more of this article. »
Leaving Your Inheritance in Good Hands
Posted: Thursday, February 27th, 2014
In our day and age it is common, upon death, to leave to our heirs more than the family home. I was going to say the family farm, but there are not many of those left. When I was a child, the family home or farm generally was the essence of the inheritance.
Read more of this article. »
Obama Spins Subsidies Both Ways
Posted: Thursday, February 27th, 2014
In our current age of spin and counter-spin, there is no contortion too great for a politician to attempt. On occasion, however, the threads of one story become entangled with another in a manner that should deeply embarrass, if the media were sharp enough to catch it.
Read more of this article. »
Mexico's Soriana Stores - A True Success Story
Posted: Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
The Mexican economy has a good many success stories, and it's good to point them out and see what we can learn from them.
Read more of this article. »
Market Warnings Abound Despite Rally
Posted: Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
The inventory of investment hazards has seldom been greater. For three years I've been warning optimistic readers by writing about overvaluations in the stock and bond markets. The markets continue to make me look ill-informed or at the very least - a bad market timer.
Read more of this article. »
Small Banks Disappear. So Do Loans to Small Businesses
Posted: Friday, January 3rd, 2014
The number of banks is down to just under 6,900. There were 7,000 a year ago. Banking regulation adds to costs. This wipes out small banks. It subsidizes big banks.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, January 3rd, 2014
Wal-mart: Every Day Higher Prices?, Fracking Defended: Colorado Debate Continues and more...
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Friday, November 1st, 2013
U.S. Oil Output to Double Every Three Years, Unless "They" Get Their Way, Current Lower Gas Prices Leave Questions About Future and more...
Read more of this article. »
Seduction of the Status Quo
Posted: Friday, November 1st, 2013
Life has a way of whacking you in the head when you're looking in the other direction. Same thing is true for the markets. Decades ago, my Dad witnessed a painter carrying an open bucket of white paint. He turned around to glance at a pretty girl and collided with a parking meter with predictable results.
Read more of this article. »
Is the Real Estate Market Set To Explode?
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
The media is once against trumpeting real estate and claiming that rising real estate prices are a sign of recovery. Are the commentators correct, or is the so-called increase in real estate prices simply hype designed to make a terrible economy look better?
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
Using Natural Gas Could Reduce Emissions, Investor Jim Rogers Warns of Coming Collapse and more...
Read more of this article. »
The Dollar Collapse: Not Whether, But When
Posted: Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
I make no apology for repeating my warning that, thanks to the dismal Obama administration, Uncle Sam is bankrupt. Serious financial commentators are now predicting riots in the streets and even, perhaps, outright economic collapse.
Read more of this article. »
Most People Hate to Work
Posted: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
"We need jobs, jobs, jobs," is the constant political whine of the hour! The unemployment rates, along with new jobs created, are tracked daily. Unemployment is reaching record proportions, which exacerbates the already poor economy. Yes, folks are out of work, but it might be well to consider the reason why.
Read more of this article. »
Nation's Money System Precarious
Posted: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
Here's a question- if you're in the Land of the Free, do you think those green pieces of paper in your wallet are dollars?
Read more of this article. »
Another Sinking Lifeboat
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
In previous articles I've written about the danger of holding bonds in a period of ultra low interest rates. I have spoken with some people who are convinced they have avoided market problems by purchasing annuities. If you have a pension, a life insurance policy, an annuity, investments, or simply a bank account, you do own bonds or will be significantly affected by bond market performance. The risk in bonds is starting to get people's attention based on their performance from May to June (chart). Those are very large losses for such a short time period.
Read more of this article. »
Housing Market Fall Inevitable
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
Mortgage Rates: The Best Is Behind Us The first graph shows the historic reality of 30-year mortgage rates in America. The second shows what has happened over the last year.
Read more of this article. »
Does History Suggest Gold Will Skyrocket Again?
Posted: Friday, July 26th, 2013
The old adage "history repeats itself" has been applied to all facets of the investing world, but it's especially apparent in the commodity world. With most assets displaying cyclical returns and seasonality, the history of many commodities is bound to repeat itself the following year. When it comes to gold, Peter Schiff believes that the phrase points the path to a major run up in gold that few investors will be counting on.
Read more of this article. »
Gold Bullion: 4 Fundamental Facts
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
Some things to remember amid the volatility of the gold price.. WHEN VOLATILITY prevails in the gold market, I love seeing so many different opinions because it promotes critical thinking and healthy markets.
Read more of this article. »
Five Helpful Tips for Easy Social Media Marketing
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
Whether you love it or hate it, social media has a big impact on today's population. With hundreds of millions of Americans using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and others, it's hard to deny that the media delivers an audience. If you have a presence on social media or if you are considering adding it to your marketing mix, here are five helpful tips to consider.
Read more of this article. »
Austerity Myth
Posted: Friday, June 21st, 2013
Europe's struggles prove that "austerity" fails! So say the Big Spenders.
Read more of this article. »
Dangerous Political Decisions
Posted: Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
If you are driving along and suddenly see a big red rubber ball come bouncing out into the street, you might want to put your foot on the brake pedal, because a small child may well come running out into the street after it.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
Best States to Do Business Have Common Traits, Real Estate Market Set to Explode, Farmers Hoard Crops as Confidence in Currency Wanes... and more
Read more of this article. »
13 Assumptions That Undermine Your Children's Future
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
There are 13 assumptions that pave the road of good educational intentions. Most Christian parents who send their children to college have adopted eleven of the 13.
Read more of this article. »
Gold in the Crosshairs
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
In the opening years of the last decade, most mainstream investors sat on the sidelines while "tin hat" goldbugs rode the bull market from below $300 to just over $1,000 per ounce. But following the 2008 financial crisis, when gold held up better than stocks during the decline and made new record highs long before the Dow Jones fully recovered, Wall Street finally sat up and took notice.
Read more of this article. »
Price Versus Cost
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Suppose you buy a gallon of gas for $3. How much did it cost you? You say, "Williams, that's a silly question. It cost $3." That's where you're mistaken, because there's a difference between price and cost.
Read more of this article. »
Personal Austerity: 12 Ways to Radically Cut Your Expenses
Posted: Thursday, April 25th, 2013
How often do you hear people talk about how they would live their dreams if they only had a bit more money? People always dream about moving to a remote area or about staying home with the kids or about relocating to the bug out location, but often feel that these things are financially unreachable. Do you do this yourself?
Read more of this article. »
Financially Prepped: The Importance of an Emergency Fund
Posted: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
SHTF events come in many different flavors. While most of us think of things like natural disasters, economic collapse and pandemics, many occurrences are much more mundane. They are those small personal disasters that can hit any of us, at any time.
Read more of this article. »
Reality Check: The Dow Jones Industrial Average vs. Bananas
Posted: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the key benchmarks of the US stock market, has soundly surpassed its all-time high. And most of the investing world is toasting their collective success and celebrating the recovery.
Read more of this article. »
Should You Save or Pay off Your Debts First?
Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Putting off starting a savings program until you pay off your debts is one of the worst financial moves that you can make. Waiting until your debts are paid off to start saving is a good way to ensure that you'll never start saving and will always be in debt.
Read more of this article. »
4 Sensational Facts about Gold Investing That You Might Not Know
Posted: Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Our ever-popular Periodic Table of Commodity Returns has been updated through 2012. Investor Alert readers love this chart as it shows a decade of results across 14 different commodities, providing strikingly rich information in a very familiar format.
Read more of this article. »
The Top Ten Reasons to Own Silver
Posted: Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
Would you convert your labor into depreciating fiat paper or into an appreciating tangible asset with intrinsic value?
Read more of this article. »
Elderly - Get Out of Stocks and Mutual Funds
Posted: Thursday, January 31st, 2013
It is not possible to be strong enough regarding what I am about to write. It comes not from being a professional financier. Rather, it comes from a son sorting out his eighty-seven-year-old mother's estate. Not only am I sorting it out, I am working on finding out why it took such heavy losses over the last several years.
Read more of this article. »
An Armageddon of Taxation
Posted: Thursday, January 31st, 2013
Consider unconventional moves to keep government away from your money.
Read more of this article. »
Business Headlines
Posted: Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Patent on Human DNA Creates Numerous Problems - Are You Expecting Social Security to Take Care of You? - Secret Service Bans Sale of Liberty Dollars on eBay - Michigan Adopts Right-to-work Laws - Forecaster Claims 100% Chance of Recession in New Year - Is Wind Worth It? - and more...
Read more of this article. »
Life Without a Microwave
Posted: Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Last week, my family's microwave broke down after 15 years of faithful service. That incident might sound trivial to you. I'm sure it is trivial to you. But it made me aware of how valuable a microwave has been to us. And our week without a microwave taught me a lot about the value of microwaves-and can teach us more generally about the value of economic freedom.
Read more of this article. »
Inflation Is a Tax on the Poor
Posted: Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
With all the talk about taxing the rich, we hear very little talk about taxing the poor. Yet the marginal tax rate on someone living in poverty can sometimes be higher than the marginal tax rate on millionaires.
Read more of this article. »
Thinking Outside the College Box
Posted: Monday, December 17th, 2012
A number of recent articles explore the growing trend among college-age people to question whether college is worth the costs
Read more of this article. »
Debt Ceiling Drama
Posted: Thursday, December 6th, 2012
By telling U.S. taxpayers, and the world in general, that the U.S. government has no intention of ever balancing its budget or limiting its accumulation of unsustainable debt, then perhaps we can begin to have an honest discussion about our economic future
Read more of this article. »
Effects of the Student Loan Bubble
Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
For a number of years now, a number of critics of the American system of higher education have rightly insisted that there is a "bubble" in the system, with more and more students running up loans in amounts they will find difficult to pay back.
Read more of this article. »
Consumers Lower Debt Levels Despite Government Stimulus
Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
The government wants Americans to spend, spend, spend - but the average consumer is over it. Instead of doing what the government wants, millions of consumers are doing what's best for their own lives: they're taking a hard look at their finances and trying to dump their debt load.
Read more of this article. »
Schiff: America Needs the "Fiscal Cliff"
Posted: Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
So what exactly is this looming menace, and why is it so dangerous? Stripped of its rhetorically charged language the fiscal cliff is simply a legal trigger that will trim the deficit in 2013
Read more of this article. »
For Greek Startups, Things Are Looking Up
Posted: Friday, November 2nd, 2012
My wife Zoe and I taught a young Greek girl, named Eve, English for three years in Thessaloniki, where we live. This ended last year when Eve was sixteen years old and proficient enough to pass the kinds of exams she needed to in order to get into a decent school abroad for further studies. Eve's ultimate goal is to get a job in the European Union. To become, as we Americans like to call career employees of the EU, a Eurocrat.
Read more of this article. »
An Example of "Distributing the Wealth"
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Romney's Impossible Mission: Create More Jobs
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
The New American Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised August 30 to create millions of jobs - 12 million of them, in fact - if he is elected president in November. He said: "What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs.… "I am running for president to help create a better future … a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job.…"
Read more of this article. »
Britain, "Austerity," and the Lessons of Economic History
Posted: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Economists and pundits alike are going wild over the United Kingdom's recent "double dip" recession. The 2008-09 recession prompted the election of a conservative coalition led by Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron decided the best path for economic recovery was "austerity," a program of reduced government spending and smaller government debt.
Read more of this article. »
Top Investors Predicting Recession, Buying Gold
Posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
In what analysts say is another indication that the economy will get worse in the not-too-distant future, recent filings by billionaire financier George Soros show he dumped virtually all his holdings in major financial companies like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup. His multi-billion-dollar U.S. fund also loaded up on gold, with the portfolio now holding more than $130 million worth of the precious metal.
Read more of this article. »
Legalize Competing Currencies
Posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
I recently held a hearing in my congressional subcommittee on the subject of competing currencies. This is an issue of enormous importance, but unfortunately few Americans understand how the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department impose a strict monopoly on money in America.
Read more of this article. »
Saving Money Is Still a Great Idea
Posted: Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
The word "debt" is being constantly bantered about in every facet of the media. We seemed obsessed with the "national debt" and how the next president will solve it. Frankly, the whole debate is getting tiresome, especially when used as a political "football" by less than honorable leaders.
Read more of this article. »
Facebook for First-Graders? Are You Concerned?
Posted: Friday, July 27th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
The Importance of a First Job
Posted: Friday, July 27th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Pensioners, Taxpayers in for Nasty Reality Check
Posted: Saturday, July 7th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Junk Silver 101: The Best and Easiest Coins to Collect
Posted: Thursday, June 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Missouri Sound Money Act Would Make Gold & Silver Legal Tender
Posted: Thursday, May 31st, 2012
Read more of this article. »
What Death Does to Debt
Posted: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
When your child asks you if they can trust Google, you should probably say "no".
Posted: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Is Romney an Evil Capitalist?
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
ABOUT THOSE GREAT EARNINGS
Posted: Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
"Made in America" Making a Comeback
Posted: Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
What is a QR Code and How Can it Help My Business?
Posted: Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
When Will Silver Reach a New High?
Posted: Monday, March 5th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Unemployment's Answer: Get a Trade
Posted: Monday, March 5th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
What The Constitution Says About Earmarks
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
Phishing Season - Don't Get Hooked!
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
It was evident; someone hacked his AOL account and was now on a mission to swindle his friends in his address book. So how did he get hacked? Common causes include phishing emails, viruses, trojans, or keyloggers. Either he was tricked into giving his password to a hacker, or his password was stolen via malicious software (malware) running on his local computer.
Read more of this article. »
Obamanomics Result in Worst Year of Home Sales in History
Posted: Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Read more of this article. »
When the Citizens Fear Their Government
Posted: Thursday, January 5th, 2012
"What can we do? We are running out of time. We need to be pounding on the desks of our elected representatives more than we ever have and tell them we won't stand for this tyranny. We need to tell them "Fix it or else". If Obama isn't removed from office, you will have a lot more to worry about than your portfolio. Thomas Jefferson warned us. He was a wise man; we should be worried."
Read more of this article. »
Fake Silver and Gold Flood Global Markets; 100,000 Coins From A Single Counterfeiter!
Posted: Monday, January 2nd, 2012
"Whether it's pirated software, poison-infused baby formula, cancer-causing drywall, luxury purses, or fake medicines, if you need a knock-off, China has traditionally been the go-to country, with a counterfeiter always willing to oblige."
Read more of this article. »
The Best Way Back to a Gold Standard
Posted: Saturday, December 24th, 2011
In his Forbes magazine article published Thursday, Nathan Lewis makes it sound easy to get back to a gold standard. After all, it has been accomplished numerous times in history around the world, including in America following the Civil War...
Read more of this article. »
The Bear Growls Louder
Posted: Monday, December 12th, 2011
Winston Churchill is credited with the following quote: "The Americans will always do the right thing... after they've exhausted all the alternatives". In my peculiar way of looking at things, this American tendency is evident in investors' apathy toward the investment tsunami headed in their direction.
Read more of this article. »
DOW Jones Industrials at 7,000?
Posted: Monday, November 14th, 2011
"Let's step back a minute and look at markets from a longer term perspective. You, the investor, have probably concentrated only on recent numbers since March 2009, which have been mostly favorable. The bad experiences tend to disappear from our memories after a couple years. Wall Street doesn't want you to remember it either, lest it dampen your optimistic spirits."
Read more of this article. »
Facebook Wants to Solve Unemployment?
Posted: Monday, November 7th, 2011
"If Facebook can help solve the unemployment in this country, more power to them. Just keep your eyes open to what the government's roll plays in 'getting in bed' with Facebook. Will they start to demand to see our personal profile information and activities?"
Read more of this article. »
Dennis Gartman's Not-so-Simple Rules of Trading
Posted: Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
"Not so simple rules of trading."
Read more of this article. »
How to Create an Offer Your Prospects and Customers Can't Refuse
Posted: Saturday, October 1st, 2011
Do you know what the two most important parts of any marketing or advertising piece are? The first one is easy-the headline. But the second one is tougher. Because unless you've studied copywriting, you'd be hard-pressed to guess. Yet it can make or break your entire promotion… The second most important part of your marketing and advertising is the offer. Think about it. If you want to tons of sales, you really do have to make people an offer they can't refuse. Because even the most powerful call to action won't work unless your offer is practically irresistible.
Read more of this article. »
Bernanke's Fairy Tales
Posted: Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
"The Fed, along with the European Central Bank (ECB), has decided that since debt levels have become so intractable they must monetize a massive quantity of government bonds. Analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland have predicted the ECB will buy €2.5 billion worth of Spanish and Italian bonds each day, which is equivalent to €600 billion a year."
Read more of this article. »
Make the Most of Your Smartphone with Cool Apps
Posted: Thursday, August 25th, 2011
"As rules of thumb when deciding to download an app, I look for a rating of four stars or more, high download totals, good reviews, and preferably free ones. Shameless advertising is probably the largest downside of the free versions of apps. But if you really like it you can usually purchase an ads-free version through a small 'donation' to the developer."
Read more of this article. »
Markets Crash Right on Schedule
Posted: Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
"Washington and Wall Street have been consistently feeding investors misleading and overly optimistic information. The economy stinks and the market knows it. The S&P 500 is down by 18 % in the last 19 calendar days. By many definitions, we have just experienced a market crash some define as a rapid decline greater than 15%. Call it what you want, if you were fully invested and just lost 16-18%, it sure feels like a crash."
Read more of this article. »
Markets Crash Right on Schedule
Posted: Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
"Once again, re-consider the advice you may be getting from your advisor. You will hear interviews on TV designed to calm your nerves. One sample: '.. don't panic into this pull back..'. You pay up big if he's wrong!"
Read more of this article. »
6 Reasons to Buy a Car with Cash and Avoid Car Loans
Posted: Friday, August 5th, 2011
"Do Americans love their cars too much? Even as a car lover myself, I would argue yes. There is no other explanation for our behavior. Most of us who wouldn't consider financing furniture or appliance purchases will take out a loan to finance our vehicles without a second thought."
Read more of this article. »
The Dollar Replaced
Posted: Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
"Currently, the greenback is at three year lows against key competitor currencies such as the Euro and the Swiss franc. It's setting new records for lows against the reminbi (which doesn't even trade freely!) and even Brazilian reals and Russian rubles are becoming preferred by traders as a transaction currency."
Read more of this article. »
Why I Hate Wal-Mart
Posted: Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
"Mostly, I don't like Wal-Mart because it has become so big that it doesn't care about its customers. America was made great because businesses used to have a heart. My Wal-Mart experience told me that it doesn't give a ----. Its philosophy: We got another billion where that guy came from."
Read more of this article. »
Have the Right Strategy When Selling Estate Property
Posted: Friday, July 22nd, 2011
"Here are the three most common challenges faced when selling an estate property and the answers on how to overcome them. An estate property is real estate that needs to be sold out of probate or Trust after the owner has passed. There is a personal representative or trustee who is usually pre-appointed and entrusted with selling the estate's assets. The Real Estate is usually the largest and the most complicated asset that needs to be sold. Here are the three challenges and solutions."
Read more of this article. »
Ask the Experts: Local Businesses Flunked Website Response Challenge
Posted: Thursday, July 21st, 2011
"Everybody wants to increase business and be successful. Don't ignore potential customers by letting their feedback form inquiries go unanswered. If you're too busy, then assign this task to someone in your organization. Customer service is the key to success. I can testify from experience, a prompt response is always appreciated when I follow up with a potential client."
Read more of this article. »
Exploding Six "Gold Bubble" Myths
Posted: Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
"Yes, growth in global gold demand is rapid. No, another decade of quintupling prices isn't nailed on. But neither of those facts make gold a "bubble" today."
Read more of this article. »
Ask the Experts: Pros and Cons of Mobile Sites
Posted: Monday, July 11th, 2011
"There are many benefits to having a mobile site for your business. The most prominent advantage to having a mobile site is its convenience and visibility for your audience to access information. Your main website contains graphics, content and pages that may be irrelevant to the mobile user, causing it to be tedious and time consuming to browse. Mobile websites provide a user-friendly interface that is easier to navigate and displays only the content you feel is most important such as hours, specials, directions or phone numbers."
Read more of this article. »
Silver is Tracing out 1980 Post-Bubble Pattern
Posted: Friday, July 8th, 2011
"The rules of market physics are a lot different and often more variable than the rules for the physical world, but the presumption behind chart pattern analogs is that if you are seeing the same behavior, then the same sorts of inputs and rules of motion are at work."
Read more of this article. »
Pension Peril: They are confident, but is it justified?
Posted: Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
"In conclusion, it pays to keep an eye on the State pension fund because the uncertain returns in their funds ought to be an incentive to you, the pension recipient, to cultivate other investments to supplement what you expect to receive from the State. Guarantees and promises don't mean anything if they haven't got the cash to make good on those promises."
Read more of this article. »
Ask the Experts: How Captivating is Your Website?
Posted: Monday, June 27th, 2011
"The majority of people depend on the Internet for many things on a daily basis. For me, it's been a way of life for 15 years. It's how I communicate with friends and family, shop, research a new product, look for someone to wash my windows, and run my business. In those years, I've come across a lot of websites...good and bad."
Read more of this article. »
Precious Metals Volatility: Buying Opportunity or Early Crash Warning?
Posted: Monday, June 20th, 2011
"If you are using precious metals as a means of protecting your savings, you may want to consider the current market fluctuations as a warning to mind the balance of your portfolio. Gold has been more volatile than silver, and so if you are weighted heavily into gold, you are taking on more risk for your nest egg. Moving some of your money into silver will give more stability."
Read more of this article. »
Dollars, Gold and Oil - It's All Relative
Posted: Sunday, June 5th, 2011
"An expert on world markets is suggesting another reason for why oil prices are still up -- and it has nothing to do with supply and demand or the Middle East."
Read more of this article. »
Home Users Live Dangerously with Computer Backup Practices
Posted: Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
Silver - Just Getting Started?
Posted: Saturday, May 14th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
Fall in Love with No Commodity: The Story of Timothy Bancroft
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
"You must stay flexible on your thinking. Fall in love with no commodity. And no matter how much you like a commodity, before you invest in a producer, be sure to think hard about whether it is a good business or not."
Read more of this article. »
Zero Risk Investing
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
Is it Really the Economy, Stupid?
Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
"Those promoting this philosophy - and they include everybody from Rush Limbaugh to the Federal Reserve to the Cato Institute to Oprah Winfrey to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the Wisconsin public union protestors to Joel Osteen - claim that money and material gain will solve humankind's problems; that prosperity will lead to world peace and harmony; and that universal affluence will enable unfettered gratification."
Read more of this article. »
Another Federal Reserve Deception
Posted: Monday, April 18th, 2011
"Given that the Treasury is essentially selling its debt to the Fed, in a process that we would call debt monetization, some may wonder why it doesn't just cut out the middle man and sell directly. But the Treasury is prevented by law from doing this, so the private banks provide a vital fig leaf that disguises the underlying activity and makes it appear as if there is legitimate private demand for Treasury debt. But this is just an illusion, and a clumsy one to boot."
Read more of this article. »
Nine Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation
Posted: Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
"Think of the cheapest foods at your local grocer - they are likely cheap pastas and boxed processed foods (Ramen noodles, mac and cheese, packages of potato flakes sold as 'instant mashed potatoes,' etc). While these foods will do in a pinch, they aren't exactly healthy staples to build the basis of a clean diet."
Read more of this article. »
A Comeback for Gold-Backed Money?
Posted: Thursday, April 7th, 2011
"Last November, clearing house ICE Europe began accepting gold bullion as initial margin for crude oil and natural gas futures. This year, JPMorgan Chase announced that it would accept physical gold as collateral for a number of transactions. According to the Wall Street Journal, stock exchanges in New York, Chicago and Europe recently agreed to accept gold as collateral for certain trades, too. The World Gold Council is gaining traction in its push to have the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision accept the precious metals as a Tier-1 asset for banks, along with government bonds and currencies."
Read more of this article. »
Mutual Funds - a (Formerly) Great Idea
Posted: Thursday, March 31st, 2011
"You can sell short many sectors or indices whether you're in a cash account or retirement account, such as an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Say, for example, I believe the financial sector is in trouble and likely to sink. I can buy shares of SEF or SKF, which profit when the financial sector index it tracks starts to decline. Or, you can bet against gold, silver, or several other asset classes. Mutual funds are frequently so diversified that you have no idea which fund to buy, whether it is overpriced or under priced or, more importantly, whether it is headed up or down."
Read more of this article. »
Japan's Devastation Is not an Economic Plus
Posted: Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
"It's not just disasters in Japan. After Florida's devastating 2004 hurricane, newspapers carried headlines such as 'Storms create lucrative times.' and 'Economic growth from hurricanes could outweigh costs.' Economist Steve Cochrane added, 'It's a perverse thing ... there's real pain, but from an economic point of view, it is a plus.'"
Read more of this article. »
How to Sell "Short" Without Losing Your Head
Posted: Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
Read more of this article. »
5 Reasons the Stock Market is Vulnerable
Posted: Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The Dollar Meltdown
Posted: Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
More Inflation Fears
Posted: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Broke and Jobless: 85% of College Grads Moving Home
Posted: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Famous Investors Are Different
Posted: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Gold and Silver: How to Buy It
Posted: Monday, September 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Treasury Tulips
Posted: Monday, September 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Starting a Business: The First 90 Days
Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Why the Silver Price Looks Set to Surge
Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Real Jobs, Fake Jobs
Posted: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Read more of this article. »
This is Why There are no Jobs in America
Posted: Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Read more of this article. »
A Gift from Nature and a Lesson About Panic Economics
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Gold
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Avoid Job Scams
Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The Lazy Way to Save on Groceries
Posted: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Tough Questions Pay Off
Posted: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Pittsburgh's Rise from Ashes
Posted: Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
I Say This to Save You From Bankruptcy
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Suiting Up for a Post-Dollar World
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Three Reasons Why Gold May be Due a Correction
Posted: Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Financial Commercials on Television
Posted: Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How to Save
Posted: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Gold and Silver: The Historical Relationship and What it Means to Today's Investors
Posted: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Everyone Prospers with Free Trade
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How to Buy Silver and Avoid Getting Scammed
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
To Gold or not to Gold
Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
How to Invest Locally
Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Jim Rogers: Next Recession Will Be Much Worse
Posted: Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Minimum Wage Cruelty
Posted: Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
The War on Internships - On the Job Training Better Than Classroom Training
Posted: Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money
Posted: Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Money, Money, Money #2
Posted: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Dollar Bulls Beware
Posted: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Read more of this article. »
A Practical Guide to
Posted: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
Legalize Competing Currencies
Posted: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Read more of this article. »
|
