"Ben Bernanke is trying like mad to stimulate credit and lending but to no avail. It's an uphill battle because of demographics, student debt, and lack of jobs. [Frankly however, given such an environment,] prospects for family formation are fundamentally very weak and overall economic fundamentals are very weak as well" [and that certainly does not bode well for housing coming back anytime soon. Let me explain.] >Michael "Mish" Shedlock< (http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)Words: 650

"The most important issue in this year's election is the economy. Unfortunately, this topic has now been "politicized," which means that you can't talk about it without being instantly cheered or jeered by fans of each respective political team...[the truth of the matter, however, is that] the economy is much more important than this year's election or either political team....The first step is getting past the political blame-game and understanding what's wrong.... Let's go to the charts."

The global market turmoil in the European Union with Greece, Spain and Italy and the slowing growth in China and other Asian markets has been monopolizing the headlines lately....You could very well have the attitude that it doesn't directly affect you. Like it or not, however, the United States is tied to other economies....and, since the financial markets facilitate trade and business all over the world, problems in other countries can severely impact your investments, your job and even how much you pay for everyday items. Therefore, you cannot afford to ignore the health or strength of other countries' financial systems and their banks. [Let's take a look.] Gene Kirsch > www.moneyandmarkets.com

Gold is not a solution to investing problems. It is an insurance policy against an inflationary explosion. The higher the probabilities of inflation, the more gold I hold. [Let me explain.] "Monty Perelin" - www.economicnoise.com

Global consumption of natural graphite has doubled in the last 10 years and will increase even more so in the next decade due to a) the continuing modernization of China, India and other emerging economies given the strong demand from traditional end uses such as the steel and automotive industries and b) the advent of new applications for graphite such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear and solar power. As a result of such increased demand prices for large flake, high purity graphite (+80 mesh, 94-97%C) have more than doubled making the mining of such a minerals increasingly profitable. Learn even more by viewing the infographic below.

Take a look at how many tabs and programs you have open on your computer. Odds are you multi-tasking. As technology becomes more and more a part of our lives, most Americans are learning to do several things at once but, unfortunately, all our multi-tasking can be anything but - and it can have some serious consequences. [Let's take a look at the infographic below for a better understanding of the place of online technology in our lives today.]

Tens of billions of dollars per year are being spent worldwide on graphene research. Why? Because graphene could have a dramatic impact on our future by changing the fields of computing, energy, materials and optics. How? By making everything smaller, stronger and more ecologically sustainable. Below is an infographic that provides all the details.

It’s incredible that the Mayans forecast 2012 would be the end of a major era. It looks, today, like we are standing on the eve of massive changes in the world that will have consequences for a long, long time to come. The scene is already set....the euro will collapse, and...other major currencies will collapse. The consequences of these (eventual) collapses will be horrible because we will have a hyperinflationary depression.

We’re coming to the end of government’s ability to borrow money to fund current spending that’s beyond the growth of their economy....and I actually find that massively bullish because that government funding misallocates capital. It’s going to end in the next 2 or 3 years, Europe first, then Japan, then the US....

Everyone who purchases a Treasury bond is purchasing a depreciating asset. Moreover, the capital risk of investing in Treasuries is very high. The low interest rate means that the price paid for the bond is very high. A rise in interest rates, which must come sooner or later, will collapse the price of the bonds and inflict capital losses on bond holders, both domestic and foreign. The question is: when is sooner or later? The purpose of this article is to examine that question. Words: 2600