Financial Sense Blog

With the holiday season in the rear view mirror and volume slowly creeping back into the marketplace, I can’t help but wonder what lies ahead. The optimist in me is hopeful that the economy will continue to repair itself and the financial issues that plague the federal government, state government, and local governments will just go away as the economy rebounds. The only problem with my hope is that massive debts and deficits do not simply disappear and I fear the problem will be a long and lasting one.

Indicators that exclude NYSE-traded securities that are not common stocks.

A study of equity performance in post-recession rising rate environments, the impact on various parts of the economy (esp. corporations and the household sector), and a review of the most recent large and small business confidence surveys.

This week I'm sending you a real treat. My friend & geopolitical expert George Friedman has written a fascinating new book, The Next Decade: Where We've Been... And Where We're Going. His previous book, The Next 100 Years, hit the New York Times bestseller list, so it's not just his fishing buddies like me that think he's good.

Earlier this week KGB Lt. Col. Victor Kalashnikov, who has been making news in Germany, discussed with me the origins of the Soviet regime, and the current Russian regime. Kalashnikov's interest in history led him to uncover the Soviet Union's initial phase of development during the Russian Civil War.

Another month - another disappointment in the employment picture. But it doesn’t matter! The economic recovery continues. Employment is a lagging indicator.

The gold bull market, which started from a low of $255 an ounce in early 2001, looks as strong as ever after hitting a new high price of $1,420 an ounce in late December last. In the initial years, gold’s rise had more to do with it being a cheap asset following a 20-year bear market through the 1980s and 1990s. More lately, its strength reflects deep-seated investor concerns regarding ongoing global monetary instability which has been created by persistent global trade imbalances, quantitative easing and the intervention by central banks to weaken their own currencies, of which Japan is the latest example.

A silver mask that had belonged to a Roman cavalryman of imperial times. It was found on the site of the battle of Teutoburg, fought in September 9 a.d. This year marks the 2000th anniversary of the battle that led to the annihilation of three Roman legions and changed forever the history of Europe. It was a tremendous shock for the Romans, who saw their mighty army destroyed by uncivilized barbarians. It was not yet the peak of the Roman Empire, but it was a first hint that something was deeply wrong with it.

With global economic activity exceeding low expectations and the Fed stating the threshold is high to scale back its money-printing program (QE2), it is a good time to examine the upside potential of the stock market.

Right now, the markets have pulled gold back in the face of what seemed to be an upward turn in the U.S. economy. Many may feel this is the time to sell gold. The growing Eurozone debt crises could spell the end of the euro as we know it. The debt problems of the U.S. are worse than Europe so it is a time to ask, “Will these three forms of money collapse?”