Tag Archives: unemployment

Over the last week, the S&P 500 has been decimated...and decades of financial data suggest that further downside is entirely likely...anywhere from 10-30% is over the next year. Here's why.

It is my contention that the official “unemployment rate” has become so politicized and so manipulated that it is essentially meaningless at this point. The following are 10 reasons why.

[Charts have the ability to clearly illustrate various situations and no 2 could be more so than the following charts] on the incredible divergence in the U.S. economy and the European economy as it related to the extent of unemployment and industrial production in each region. Take a look. It's truly amazing - truly tragic.

When there is lots of economic activity, there is lots of money changing hands. When there is not very much economic activity, the pace at which money circulates through our system slows down. That is why what is happening in the U.S. right now is so troubling. Let me explain.

The impending emergence of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Debt, Derivatives, Deficits & Dollar) may soon sound the death knell of the entire U.S. economic recovery [we have seen] since early 2009 and eventually and sadly morph into mass Unemployment, Home Foreclosures, Stagnant Wages & Shrinking Retirement.

It is my contention that the move in precious metals...[from] late 2008 through 2011 was largely a result of the expansion in central bank balance sheets and the perceived threat of runaway inflation. Since 2011, [however,] we’ve seen economic growth improve and inflation rates across the globe subside. As a result, investment banks and market strategists are arguing against owning gold, and making the case that, with a lack of inflation and an improved economy, the need for owning gold as an insurance hedge against inflation and currency debasement is no longer present. I strongly disagree.

Some of the most respected prognosticators in the financial world are warning that what is coming in 2014 and beyond is going to shake America to the core. Many of the quotes that you are about to read are from individuals that actually predicted the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis of 2008 ahead of time so they have a track record of being right. Does that guarantee that they will be right about what is coming in 2014? Of course not. In fact, as you will see below, not all of them agree about exactly what is coming next but, without a doubt, all of their forecasts are quite ominous.

The Misery Index is a lens through which to look at quality of life and, from an American perspective, such misery has risen steadily since 1994. How miserable is your state (and your state of being)? Take a look..

5 years into the official economic “recovery” the labor participation rate is still lower than when the recession was declared over in June 2009 by almost a percentage point. It is still over 4 percentage points lower than when the recession officially began. The Federal Reserve chart of employment as a percentage of working age adults proves the point that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words - sometimes much more. Words: 388; Charts: 1

"Do we really have a time machine and have reset to 2007 or have we in fact entered the uncharted territory of unsustainable, runaway trends the likes of which have never been observed in recorded history? Also, just how relevant is the Dow Industrials Index in all of this?"