Finance

Losing a spouse through death or divorce can be emotionally devastating and is often a difficult time in which to make important life decisions yet it’s typically when many financial matters require your immediate attention. Here are six important action steps that can help protect your personal finances.

After two years of dogged wrangling, mainly to block China's ambitions for control, the new BRICS bank was announced as a reality at the sixth BRICS summit held in Brazil with the five BRICS leaders announcing that the new bank has been capitalized with $50 billion, with equal contributions from all five. While all this is a fairly small step, it remains a highly significant one.

Many governments of the world are now hopelessly in debt and on the verge of economic collapse. As their leaders become more desperate, they will resort to more desperate measures. In the next few years, we shall see the leaders of the most "respected" countries throw out the rule book and resort to a final grab of their citizens' wealth. This article identifies which assets would be the best to own under such circumstances, where they should be held, and why.]

The warning signs are all there. The objective data tells us that most of the West is bankrupt in the same way that the objective data tells us that Argentina is bankrupt. Most of the West has borrowed far more than they’re credibly able to pay back; the U.S., France, Spain, etc. all have to borrow money just to pay interest on the money they’ve already borrowed. In light of this data, it’s imperative to make sure that you prepare. This article explains the situation further and outlines how you should go about making preparations to protect yourself.

Bitcoin has the very real potential to disrupt the existing financial system. Take a look at today's infographic to find out how.

The U.S. holds great power over international monetary transactions via the SWIFT network system given the USD's world reserve currency status...It is entirely possible, however, that China and its closest partners might someday implement their own SWIFT system...The world's players could then choose between the two and, given the resentment that exists worldwide toward the U.S. for the bullying of FATCA, many would likely align with China in their SWIFT system. In doing so it would eliminate their need to comply with FATCA and other draconian U.S. demands [which might well bring about a swift] end to the U.S. dollar as the world's default currency.

South America’s countries still rank quite high for investing, thanks to their smaller debt loads, emerging market fundamentals, and relatively high economic freedom and the lifestyle options on the continent are also very attractive. Let’s take a brief look at the situation in all but 4 of the countries there.

If you have a mobile banking app connected to USAA, Citigroup, American Express, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, TD Bank, JPMorgan Chase, BB&T or Regions Bank, you could be in deep Svpeng. Here's why.

Algorithms are the difference between you and the people who actually make money on Wall Street. This infographic explains what algorithms are, the different types, how and where they are used, what they do and their advantages. Take a look.

In the last few years a new “advisor” has entered the fray – the robo advisor, now being called “automated investment services”. Automated investment services are platforms that automate your investment portfolio and try to help you reduce fees, increase efficiencies and streamline your process through a simple computerized interface. Here's a look at 4 primary benefits and 4 potential problems to help you decide if such a service is for you.