Gold has big year in 2020 and outlook for this year robust. Learn about monetary expansion and gold future prices.Read More

The gold futures price reached US$1,767/ounce this week before retreating, which was the second time it has surpassed US$1,760 in the past two months, marking some of gold's highest levels in several years.Read More

Fed's Esther George: speaking up for middle America … Federal Reserve officials, as a rule, can expect a tough crowd when they visit places like Oklahoma where suspicion of big government runs deep. Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, is an exception. As she surveyed the cattle ranchers, energy bosses and other business leaders waiting to hear her speak at an event in El Ren...Read More

Bundesbank declares 'war' on Mario Draghi bond bail-out at Germany's top court. Germany's Bundesbank has issued a devastating attack on the bond rescue policies of the European Central Bank, rendering the eurozone's key crisis measure almost unworkable. The Draghi plan mobilized the ECB as lender of last resort and led to a spectacular fall in borrowing costs across the EMU per...Read More

The great economic experiment of 2013: Ben Bernanke vs. austerity … We rarely get to see a major, nationwide economic experiment at work, but so far 2013 has been one of those experiments … – Washington PostDominant Social Theme: The Federal Reserve and the US government have to work hand-in-hand to resolve this mess.Free-Market Analysis: Here's an interesting article in the...Read More

In 2012, America had the most energy efficient economy in US history. The EIA released new energy data this week showing that the U.S. had the most energy-efficient economy in history last year, based on the amount of energy consumed to produce each real dollar of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2012, it required only 6,990 BTUs of energy (petroleum, natural gas, nuclear and renewables) to produc...Read More

Earth Day and Four Decades of Fear … A vast array of blatherings have accumulated over the years, warning the end is nigh. Earth Day means never having to say "Don't worry." For the environmental Left, the Passover seders may be past, but the plagues are eternal: floods, fires, cyclones, drought, extinctions, pestilence, famines, acid rain, ozone holes, cancer-causing power lin...Read More

$2 Trillion Underground Economy May Be Recovery's Savior … Estimates are that underground activity last year totaled as much as $2 trillion. The growing underground economy may be helping to prevent the real economy from sinking further, according to analysts. The shadow economy is a system composed of those who can't find a full-time or regular job. Workers turn to anything that pay...Read More

RCMP grapples with questions of FBI authority in Canada … In the wake of a dramatic RCMP reveal of two people arrested in Canada in connection with a plot to derail a passenger train, Canadians may have questioned why the United States Department of Homeland Security and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the operation. Those who have followed the quiet evolution of Cana...Read More

Euro may only last five years, says senior German government advisor … The euro has a "limited chance of survival" and may only endure another five years, Kai Konrad, one of the German government's closest economic advisers, has claimed. "Europe is important to me. Not the euro," said Dr Konrad. In notably outspoken remarks for a senior German figure, Dr Konrad, chair...Read More

Germany will enter recession, says George Soros … As one of America's most successful investors warns the eurocrisis is far from over, we consider the investment case for Europe. Investors can be forgiven for feeling jittery about the eurozone again, after George Soros, America's most successful investors suggested the economy in Germany could be pulled under by the crisis. …&q...Read More

Everything you 'know' about the Fed is wrong … 5 misconceptions about the effects of QE and monetary policy … Few would still argue against the assertion that the Federal Reserve has been central to the financial stabilization and economic recovery from the 2008 crisis. It fixed the plumbing and are now trying to incentivize animal spirits to pump water through the pipes. The d...Read More

The Economic Argument Is Over — Paul Krugman Has Won … For the past five years, a fierce war of words and policies has been fought in America and other economically challenged countries around the world. On one side were economists and politicians who wanted to increase government spending to offset weakness in the private sector. This "stimulus" spending, economists like Pau...Read More

The Austerity Movement Is Crumbling … The big news in economics last week was the paper by a UMASS Grad Student showing that economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart had made an Excel spreadsheet blunder in their famous paper arguing that as debt-to-GDP goes above 90%, growth slows dramatically. It's easy and tempting to overstate the influence of Reinhart and Rogoff. Even if they h...Read More

Banker steps into the role of superhero … In other ages, we have called on shamans or saints in times of crisis when the usual remedies have not worked. In the stagnant world economy today, we have designated central bankers as our superheroes, and we are relying on their magical monetary powers to restart global growth. As the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, whom some have ni...Read More

Janet Napolitano: Immigration bill important step … Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano mounted a vigorous defense of the Senate Gang of Eight's comprehensive immigration plan on Tuesday, calling the legislation an "important first step" to reforming the nation's immigration laws. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Napolitano said the 844-page bill...Read More

Gold's Declining Price Is a Reversion to the Mean … Since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, conservatives have been predicting that inflation is right around the corner. They base this prediction on the vast increase in the money supply that the Federal Reserve brought about in order to keep the financial system from imploding. Because a too-rapid rise in the money supply did...Read More

How Did the World's Rich Get That Way? Luck …Why are some people so rich and others so poor? Is it from good choices or good luck? Hard work, smarts, and ability—or something else? That depends who you are comparing yourself to. If you are more successful than your friends, colleagues, and family members, surely a lot of it is because you are better at what you do, or have made bet...Read More

Wealthiest Americans Only Winners in Recovery, Pew Says … The U.S. economy has recovered for households with net worth of $500,000 or more, a new study shows. The recession continues for almost everyone else. Wealthy households boosted their net worth by 21.2 percent in the aftermath of the recession, according to the study released today by the Pew Research Center. The rest of America lost...Read More

German 'Alternative': Parallel Currency Idea Carries Great Risks … A new German protest party is proposing the gradual re-introduction of the national currencies of highly indebted euro-zone countries. While the party's spokesman insists the idea solves everyone's problems, it has one major drawback: Economists agree it won't work. – Der SpiegelDominant Social Theme...Read More

Limit Austerity, EU Official Says A top European Union official signaled his support Monday for relaxing Europe's austerity drive, in what could be a significant break for countries struggling to hit tough budget targets amid persistent economic weakness. In a speech, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said the policy of austerity pursued by the EU in recent years no long...Read More

Greece will probably pull through … Greece is not yet out of the woods. But there is a credible path that could lead the country back into the sunlight. That's the main conclusion of a week I have just spent in the country. Although the economy will have a terrible 2013, next year should be better. But the outlook is fragile: political crisis could yet rear its ugly head, tax evasion is...Read More