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Nikolai Kondratieff (1892-1938) was a Russian economist who theorized that capitalist economies are subject to a repeating 54-year cycle, though I have seen his work interpreted to fit economic periods lasting anywhere from 40 to 60 years. Each “Kondratieff wave” is divided into four periods that are given the name of the four seasons. ARead more

The Grexit, or Greece’s exit from the euro, is becoming more likely, judging by how frequently it is mentioned these days. Unfortunately, preparing for it may be more difficult than many believe. Before addressing that point, I would like to first illustrate the extent of the problem.

Congressman Ron Paul says that “central bankers are intellectually bankrupt”. This is actually the title of an excellent op-ed article he wrote last week for London’s Financial Times in which he clearly explains that controlling interest rates is a form of price fixing.

Back in 2009 when the Greek crisis was just starting to make headlines, I wrote an article concluding that sovereign debt defaults would bring the end of socialism. My premise was straightforward and based on financial reality.

In the April edition of The Casey Report, Doug Casey tackles the matter of gold price manipulation. He does this in an excellent article comparing gold’s bull market today with the one in the 1970s, which both he and I remember well given that we are about the same age and both were active participants in it.

March 21, 2012 – Earlier this week Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke gave a lecture to students at George Washington University. It was the first of a four-part series in a course entitled “The Federal Reserve and Its Role in Today’s Economy.” Interestingly, ZeroHedge notes that in his lecture: “The words Gold and Standard appearRead more

Greece remains in debtor’s prison. That horrible fate was confirmed this past week with the ‘group-sentencing’ handed down by Brussels’ eurocrats, Merkel, Sarkozy, the ECB and IMF, and most shameful of all, the Greek politicians who accepted the brazen ultimatum delivered to them.

In the first two months of the current fiscal year that began on October 1st, the US national debt has grown $320 billion. That is $21 billion more than the same 2-month period last year, which illustrates that the growth of the national debt continues to accelerate.

It has been said that book reviews are supposed to include something critical. Nevertheless, I have nothing negative to say about “Currency Wars”. It is a great book, and you will not be disappointed with it. But I do have one important thought to keep in mind as you read it.

September 19, 2011 – The Swiss National Bank finally gave up.  For months it tried standing alone against all of the bad monetary policies being pursued by the ECB, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and indeed, nearly all of the central banks of the world, but it was a losing battle.  So lastRead more