This is happening people… According to financial research firm ICI, total retirement assets in the Land of the Free now exceed $23 trillion. $7.3 trillion of that is held in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). That’s an appetizing figure, especially for a government that just passed $19 trillion in debt and is in pressing need of new funding sources. Even when you account f... read more

Earth At Night - Public Domain After a series of stunning declines through the month of January and the first half of February, global financial markets seem to have found a patch of relative stability at least for the moment. But that does not mean that the crisis is over. On the contrary, all of the hard economic numbers that are coming in from around the world tell us that the global econo... read more

Roughly a third of oil producers are at high risk of slipping into bankruptcy this year as low commodity prices crimp their access to cash and ability to cut debt, according to a study by Deloitte, the auditing and consulting firm. The report, based on a review of more than 500 publicly traded oil and natural gas exploration and production companies across the globe, highlights the deep une... read more

Imagine the following scenario: you’re a homeowner with no home insurance. The good news is that home insurance rates keep dropping. In fact, they’ve been dropping since 2011. Should you get coverage now? Most people would say “of course.” Not that we expect a fire to burn down our house anytime soon. But, it’s nice to have insurance in place, just in case that happens. It’s th... read more

It is now just a matter of time before the US central bank follows the central banks of Japan, the EU, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland in setting negative rates on reserve deposits. The goal of such rates is to force banks to lend their excess reserves. The assumption is that such lending will boost aggregate demand and help struggling economies recover. Using the same central bank logic a... read more

With continued uncertainty in major markets, two veterans give their take on the chaos in global markets, including short squeezes, rumors and the selling stampede. Short Squeeze Erupts Across Asset Classes – A broad and sharp short covering rally swept markets on two continents. The rally was most pronounced in two assets that had underscored the market’s sharp weakness earlier in th... read more

No one is very concerned about inflation right now and that’s understandable. Although inflation exists in some sectors of the economy, the present subject of discussion is deflation. Any depression is inherently deflationary since spending is curtailed, which drives prices down. Since 2008, despite all the fudged reports emanating from governments, much of the world has been in a depre... read more

The euro zone will need "a strong effort" from all its policymakers if it is to overcome the "significant challenges" that global markets have thrown down over the past few weeks, the head of the European Central Bank has told the region's lawmakers Monday. In pre-released remarks, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi told the European Parliament on Monday that to make "the e... read more

 James Turk: “Both gold and silver have pulled back here in London today, Eric, which is not too surprising. The precious metals have been on fire this year, and particularly so last week. Gold and silver both jumped 7% from the week before and gains like that are exceptional. So some cooling off is to be expected… What we really need to do is try distancing ourselves from what... read more

We live in a world in which more and more things happen electronically. It is now possible to buy all your clothes online, all your books, all your food, and have them all delivered to you. Online communication allows us to communicate with almost anyone on the planet, anywhere, at any time. Someone who had fallen asleep 30 years ago would be amazed at how different things are. That extends t... read more