Social Security’s D-Day
D-Day for Social Security arrives eight, no seven… wait, six years early… why the trust fund can’t save it. The “8% illusion” that’ll sink most pension plans. Guarding against Ben Graham’s “the unexpected and the disconcerting”… how to take matters into your own hands if it’s income you need. Market up, but cloud of murky foreclosures hangs over Street. Readers sound off on Canadian, British health care… and the last word on the “civility” debate. Read More
Avoiding the Double-Whammy
Are stocks up only because the dollar’s down? How to recoup your purchasing power. Byron King identifies three catalysts for uranium’s next bull run. Chris Mayer on the “workhorse metal” with staggering profit potential. Our tech team pinpoints the drivers behind the next innovation wave. “Going Galt?”… Rebellion on behalf of gold and freedom in an unlikely place. Read More
Rising Prices, Falling Stockpiles
Governments in denial as grain prices rise, stockpiles fall. A data point about food supply that’s uncomfortably close to the crisis of 2008. Who says there’s no new farmland left? Chris Mayer’s on-the-scene report from Brazil. Gold Buffaloes sell out… plus, the next catalyst for gold stocks. “That idiot” and other reader comments on health savings accounts…continued hand-wringing over small business angst… and more! Read More
One Recession Ends, Another Begins
Surprise! The 5 called the “end” of the Great Recession in real-time… so why now is a double dip is “already under way”? One “no fail” indicator of a new recession six-nine months out… and how it turned nine months ago. Why “record cash on corporate balance sheets” is nothing to crow about… And how to invest accordingly. The giant factor that will propel gold past $1,300… sooner or later. More bank failures, and no refuge in credit unions… indignant over HSA accounts… “eat the rich” sentiments… and more! Read More
Two Certainties: $1,300 Gold and Taxes
Gold hits next magic number… Frank Holmes on why it’s heading higher still… Silver making an impressive run of its own. “Policy uncertainty”… Washington plays chicken with your income tax rates. Byron King on one of the “largest financial crimes in history.” Ireland, Greece and France, oh my… Inside the euroland of Oz. Dispatch from the “Goldline hearings”… Is this guy for real? Read More
Skittish About Stocks
Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights? Ordinary investors, corporate insiders alike flee stocks. Living through an “ebb tide” market… and the No. 1 way to play it. Crisis is over, declares Spanish premier Tuesday… Three eggs hit his face today. Smoot-Hawley redux? Critical China vote in Congress tomorrow. Rare earths story takes a critical turn: Is China shutting off exports to Japan? Read More
Fed Opens Pandora’s Box
How the Federal Reserve drove gold to nearly $1300 Read More
America: Love It or Leave It?
The “America: Love It or Leave It?” edition of The 5… Charlie Munger: “Thank God” for bank bailouts, but ordinary folks must “suck it in.” Economic oracles declare the recession over… but at what price? And where to from here? Washington’s war on gold buyers? The 5 analyzes this week’s House hearings. Scads of reader letters on whether it’s time to pack up and leave the “Land of the Free.” Read More
The $6.6 Trillion Retirement Hole
Americans’ $6.6 trillion retirement hole… and two new scary charts. Where’s my COLA? How Social Security’s new deal just got rawer. Yen intervention aftermath: Our currency trader calls the next move. Ultimate solution to the global recession: A new design and spiffy new colors for its reserve currency! Fed up with rising taxes. Sure, but enough to make you move overseas? Read More
The Phony Retail Rebound
The “Holy Grail of the American School of Economics” bounces back… why it’s too good to be useful… and what you should know about today’s headlines… Sugar at six-month highs, corn at two-year highs… gold sets another new record… three trades to capitalize on the “new bull” in commodities… China plays hardball: Why it should be no surprise, and three ways to play the trend here at home… Quantify your dissent: A new website helps you calculate — to the penny — how badly Washington is hosing you… And… what’s this? One indicator that points to a coming stock rally… it has a flawless 60-year track record… how to prepare… plus reader angst over Alt-As and option ARMs and more! Read More