Is Another Depression Coming?

The global economy led by the U.S. and Europe is already crumbling. To save the Euro Zone from collapse will require Germany to bail it out, something neither it or the International Monetary Fund have the money to do. Meanwhile Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are sinking and England is right behind them, which means European banks and other lenders have huge but undeclared losses and may need massive bailouts.

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A Staggered Bank of America Is Slashing Jobs

The U.S.'s biggest bank, the Bank of America is getting hit by giant mortgage write offs and lawsuits and has heavy exposure to the falling U.S. economy. So it is doing what many cash strapped U.S. households are doing, slashing its costs.

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Is Gold A Good Buy At U.S. $1,800 An Ounce?

The answer depends upon how you view the U.S. economy and its dollar. It may be way overpriced at $1,800 or way under priced at $3,000. We raised this same question at $1,500 an ounce on 4/19/11, just 4 months ago.

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What Is The Real State Of The U.S. Economy?

Most U.S. politicians, economists and pundits claim the economy is rebounding. But Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer says no, stating U.S. economic conditions are worrying customers and making them hesitant to spend. And retailers that include Macy's and J.C. Penney that typically sell to higher income customers are finding similar fears.

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How The Soaring U.S. Trade Deficit Effects You

The U.S. Commerce Dept. announced the biggest U.S. trade deficit in nearly 3 years, $53 billion, a trade deficit far larger then the Obama Administration and most economists and pundits anticipated. This means one of the last vestiges of a supposedly recovering economy is now faltering and it is faltering despite a weak U.S. dollar which makes U.S. made goods relatively cheap.

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Will Governments Pay Their Pensioners?

In the U.S., we have Social Security and state and local governments have made additional pension commitments. But in most cases, those commitments are only partly funded meaning state and local governments rely upon incoming revenue to fund them and now that revenue is getting squeezed by unending tough times. And Social Security, which is funded by its future recipients has been drained by the U.S. government and is packed with IOU's in the form of government debt. If you live in Europe in the Euro Zone or in England, you know your economy is under siege. This is especially true in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain but it could easily spread to France and elsewhere throughout Europe.

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The Silent Terror Gripping America

It's the terror of losing one's job, which means losing one's paycheck, medical benefits and for some, their sense of purpose. Or it's being jobless and facing constant rejection as one's resume piles on to the resumes of many other despairing job seekers. It often leads to losing one's home and being overwhelmed by car payments, credit card bills and other debts. This is America today.

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The U.S. Economy Is Crumbling, What Can We Do About It?

As you see global stock markets are jittery and the U.S. economy is crumbling. Without a massive restructure it will eventually collapse.

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The U.S. Fed Holding Rates Near Zero Will Not Save The Economy

Yesterday, Wall Street was thrilled to learn the Fed will hold interest rates near zero for at least two more years and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up over 400 points. Unfortunately, cheap money won't save the U.S. economy from crumbling.

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Are Nations Rushing To Gold?

Fearing heavily gyrating currency values and the falling U.S. dollar, many nations are diversifying their reserves into gold. South Korea this week became the latest nation to disclose this as it recently doubled its gold holdings.

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Loss Of Confidence In Governments Send Economies Spiraling Down

In 2008, the global financial system nearly collapsed from its own greed and wild, unregulated speculation on financial instruments that had little substance. Governments around the world then conducted huge bailouts and it was their citizens who paid the price for the financial folly.

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Is The U.S. Economy Grinding To A Halt?

U.S. manufacturing is falling. Health-care firms threaten to cut patient care for America's sick as the U.S. government threatens to slash payments and London based global banking giant HSBC, with a major U.S. presence is considering firing 30,000 employees over the next 2 years, 5,000 now, some of them Americans. Book retailer Borders is shutting, also firing thousands of people.

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Gold Hits New High In U.S. Dollars

Today U.S. President Obama signed into law the "Budget Control Act," which is anything but budget control. In response, gold hit a new high, measured in U.S. dollars, of $1,643, up over $23 an ounce.

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U.S. Home Prices Continue To Fall

U.S.resale home prices are now 4.5% lower than they were a year ago, according to Standard & Poor's latest Case-Shiller home price index. Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that U.S. new home sales dropped 1% in June from May to an annualized rate of 312,000 homes. This is the lowest annual rate of sales on record.

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Would You Buy A Greek Bond?

The Greek economy is falling apart and its people have rioted over the severe financial cuts their government is trying to force on them as part of last year's European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout. As we sadly and humbly predicted last year, Greece will default on that bailout.

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Does The U.S. Economy Depend Upon War?

“If we were about to be attacked or had been attacked or something happened that threatened a vital U.S. national interest, I would be the first in line to say, ‘Let’s go,’ ” said retiring Defense Secretary, Bob Gates. “I will always be an advocate in terms of wars of necessity. I am just much more cautious on wars of choice.”

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An Ugly Truth About The U.S. Economy

U.S. politicians are discussing slashing Medicare, Social Security, the educational system, police and fire protection and other essential services. But they don't discuss slashing military spending, which is the U.S. government's single biggest expense. Do you know why?

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What Happens If "Too Big To Fail" Banks Fail Again?

One of the hottest things on Wall Street these days is speculating in commodities. The list of those who are speculating reads like a "Who's Who" of the U.S. bailed out banking giants: Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others.

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Another Sharp Drop In Home Prices Is Coming

I'm a 35 year real estate investor and what I'm about to tell you is not meant to scare you but to protect you. Come September 30th, middle and upper income home buyers and sellers will see another sharp drop in real estate values. Here is why:

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Even A $20 Trillion U.S. Debt Ceiling Won't Be Enough!

The current debt ceiling is $14.3 trillion but our government has already zoomed past it. But then the debt ceiling was always just a political creation, an illusion to convince the public our government is doing something about its out of control spending.

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