The speculative fervor in China's equity markets is spreading. The Shanghai Composite has cleared the 5000 mark after hovering just above 2000 around six months ago. This rally has been nothing short of spectacular. HERE are some key trends that point to just how heated the market has become.

It's up to the concerned and critical-thinking among us to look at the math, the hard data underlying the headlines, and construct what we can best calculate to be true about our current personal financial level of (un)readiness for the future and the truth is that there are 3 adult generations in the U.S. are experiencing a squeeze that is making it harder to create value, save capital, and pursue happiness than at any point since WWII. Let's walk through the numbers.

With the market richly priced, forward returns just don’t look good enough. Worth the risk? I think it’s better to have a game plan in place that enables you to capitalize on the next major market correction – which in my opinion could be in the -40% to -60% range.

There’s no better time than now to start saving for the future. Retirement is becoming longer and more expensive with many costs likely to come out of your own pocket. Here are 4 investment strategies to get you on the right path and give yourself an edge toward meeting your retirement goals.

Stock markets around the world have been on an extended bull run for a long time now and 2 new charts, from Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, show that shares are in too-good-to-be-true territory and that, if history is anything to go by, they're due for a sharp correction.

An annualized average of 56% of all actively managed domestic equity funds, 59% of active U.S. large-cap equity funds, and 64% of active mid-cap equity funds underperformed broad-market indexes. [Index funds anyone? Let's review.] Words: 895

Extremes eventually reverse, and generally in rough symmetry with their explosive rise and we are reaching such extremes in valuation, complacency and margin debt. When the speculative frenzy dissipates, central banks will be the only buyers left and unless the Fed increases its balance sheet from $4.5 trillion to $14.5 trillion in a matter of months, even central bank manipulation will be swamped by sellers exiting bursting-bubble markets.

If you really want to be sure you’re keeping pace with inflation and own assets that can survive a crisis then forget gold. [A look at the evidence] tells us that over long periods of time, investors are better off holding stocks than gold. Words: 665; Table:1

As the markets are propelled higher by the successive interventions of the Federal Reserve, it is hard not to think that the current rise will continue indefinitely, but the reality is that markets cycle from peaks to troughs as excesses built up during the up cycle are liquidated...This time...[will be no] different...[so what's an investor to do? Below] are 10 basic investment rules that have historically kept investors out of trouble over the long term [and hopefully will for you as well].

Anyone who has bad credit will want to find some tips to improve credit score problems so they can get approved for loans, get good insurance rates. This article provides some simple but effective tips that can help you repair your credit yourself. Words: 442