Oh the shame of being a baby boomer. What a bunch of shysters we seem to be. We are the most selfish, greedy, job- hogging, pension-grabbing bunch of egomaniacs history has ever seen. Here we are, cackling to ourselves in our overpriced homes and exploiting our political power to shaft the younger generation. We use our demographic throw-weight to skew the welfare system in our favour and above all we are squandering the natural resources of the planet. You know that Goya picture of the giant eating a naked human being? That's us, all right – Saturn devouring his children. Or at least, that is the portrait presented by David Willetts in his new book, "The Pinch-How Baby-Boomers Took Their Children's Future and Why They Should Give it Back". Words: 759

There are very compelling arguments for both inflation and deflation. The answer will eventually depend on decisions made in Washington and how people react to those decisions. For now, let’s stop fooling ourselves and admit that we don’t know. It is a problem that has to be dealt with and there is no easy medicine. Either path will be painful, but that’s what we get for our two and a half decade debt binge. Words: 1142

Three key indicators have suddenly broken trend over the last few weeks/quarter. It appears that the economic landscape has shifted. One major change is interesting. Two could be a coincidence. When three points like this connect, it's worth paying attention. Words; 324

I like to hold stocks with different yield/dividend growth characteristics where yields are somewhere between 3% and 5% and dividend growth is in the upper single digits or in the double digits. Words: 671

Financial pundits have been cheering the declining U.S. trade deficit, but they should be careful what they wish for. Once the U.S. is no longer running a huge trade deficit, then all those exporter nations will no longer have hundreds of billions of dollars floating around, looking for a home in Treasury bonds. Interest rates are about to start rising, and will continue rising for a generation Words: 782

If you believe further political disruptions around the world will likely occur in 2010 and/or 2011 and that we will also likely see inflation begin to rise within the next 12 months then we should see higher gold prices. Furthermore, if the economy falters once again, many investors will sell their common stocks and put their money in gold pushing the price up even further. Words: 779

There are 436 nuclear power reactors operating in 30 countries around the world today, providing approximately 15% of the world’s electricity, and according to the World Nuclear Association, another 50 power reactors are currently being constructed in 14 countries with over 130 more power reactors being planned and 250 more being proposed. Talk about a growing industry! Words: 776

Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are the top emerging markets with much better long-term prospects than most of the so-called "developed" markets and now there's a way you can trade the BRIC stock markets with some new leveraged ETFs — but you need to be careful. Words: 681

The conditions which would support a major correction in the gold price are not present. Should a correction from a failed attack on recent highs occur in such an environment, it is likely to be a short one. Words: 712

When Bernanke announced back in 2009 that he saw "green shoots" in the U.S. economy, it was a green light for global investors to start dipping their toes back in the water. Gradually investors started feeling better about the world and as they felt better, they started taking on more risk. It was a shift in focus, away from the mandate of "return OF capital" back toward one of "return ON capital." So, what's in store for 2010? Will it be risk-aversion or risk-taking? Words: 794