Financial Sense Newshour: Big Picture

Jim’s Big Picture topic this segment focuses on the recent budget “negotiations” going on in Washington. Jim pulls back the curtain on Washington’s budget games and gives his perspective on the current budget process. Jim sees it as 21^st century feudalism, as budgetary policies favor big government and big business over small business, which has always been the engine for job creation. He also takes the main stream media to task for allowing Washington to use “Orwellian Newspeak” to describe the budgetary process. Jim will also answer your Q-Calls in this segment of the program.

In this week’s first Big Picture topic “Wash, Rinse and Repeat – that was then, this is now” Jim looks at a repeat of the Petro Business Cycle pattern for the fourth year in a row. The familiar economic scenario features a strong start to the year, then the LEI’s roll over and the economy starts to slow, which is followed by more Federal Reserve stimulus, which leads to a strong finish to the year. Wash, rinse and repeat. The next topic, “Has the glitter faded? Why gold prices can go higher” is in response to the weak precious metals market. Jim continues his thesis that you don’t need a Doomsday scenario to see rising gold prices in the future. This topic also leads into Jim’s in-depth conversation with John Kaiser on gold in the next segment of the program. Jim also answers some of your Q-calls in this segment.

In this week’s edition, Jim and Cathlyn discuss the reasons to formulate retirement and estate plans early, and why this can be very beneficial later on in retirement. They look at a case study and offer specific solutions for creating a more successful retirement. The guest this week is attorney Roberta Robinson, who speaks about tax planning for the “not-quite-1%-ers” and discusses specific tax planning strategies. Roberta is well known for her ability to explain complex ideas in a clear manner.

In the first Big Picture topic this week, Jim looks at the Federal Reserve’s exit strategy from its extreme low interest rate policy. Jim lays out the reasons why rates will not likely rise anytime soon, and then only slowly. This is of course bad news for any investors in cash, hoping for higher interest rates. In the next Big Picture topic, Jim explains the many reasons why the retirement system is vastly different for the Baby Boomers than the World War II generation that preceded them. Taken in total, the evidence points to a gloomy retirement ahead for many Baby Boomers. Jim also answers some of your Q-Calls in this segment.