Monthly Archives: October 2012

Looking around the economic and financial world today, I see countless negative developments and virtually no positive developments to speak of. Just off the cuff, I note that: China is entering a hard landing if not an outright economic collapse. … Continue reading →

Since the Financial Crisis erupted in 2007, the US Federal Reserve has engaged in dozens of interventions/ bailouts to try and prop up the financial system. Now, I realize that everyone knows the Fed is “printing money.” However, when you … Continue reading →

My prediction regarding the breakup of the EU was obviously way early. However, the fact remains that the EU will break up in time. And it will likely be Spain that brings this about. The reasons? Among other things: Spain’s … Continue reading →

I realize that the situation in Europe can be very confusing. Aside from the fact that we’re dealing with over 20 different countries all with their own respective economies and debt issues, we also have the European Central Bank and … Continue reading →

As noted earlier in yesterday’s article, the entire European banking and corporate system is over-burdened with debt. Germany sports a real Debt to GDP of over 200% (this from the former head of the Bundesbank), and the rest of Europe … Continue reading →

Europe is heading into a full-scale disaster. You see, the debt problems in Europe are not simply related to Greece. They are SYSTEMIC. The below chart shows the official Debt to GDP ratios for the major players in Europe. As … Continue reading →

Quite a few articles have been written about the importance of owning Gold and other precious metals as a means of maintaining one’s wealth in the face of rampant money printing by the world’s Central Banks. Today I’m going to … Continue reading →

For the last year, I’ve steered clear of commenting on the US Presidential election for the simple reason that I wanted us to be closer to the actual date before I went through the process of explaining what’s to come. … Continue reading →

As I noted previous articles, Spain has essentially three options: 1)   Spain goes the “Greek route” of agreeing to austerity measures in exchange for bailouts (which will implode the economy). 2)   Prime Minister Rajoy refuses to impose austerity measures and … Continue reading →

While the media world is abuzz with last night’s Presidential debate, I’d like to cut through the noise and present you with two truly staggering facts that need to be kept in mind as the backdrop for the US Presidential … Continue reading →

We’re introducing a new component to Gains Pains & Capital: politics. While I’ve stayed out of commenting on the US Presidential elections and politics in general for the most part, at this point so much is riding on public policy … Continue reading →

The markets roared from June to September, ever Fed mouthpiece Jon Hilsenrath of the WSJ penned an article calling for more QE in June. Fast-forward to mid-September and the Fed did indeed announce QE3, a plan that will see the … Continue reading →

Is China an economic miracle, or one massive Government-­sponsored fraud? History has shown us countless times that centrally-­‐planned, command style economies do not produce long-­term economic growth. We’ve seen this will the Soviet Union, the UK, the US-­since the Tech … Continue reading →

Spain was already experiencing a banking crisis as well as a sovereign crisis. It’s now on the verge of a constitutional crisis (as well as its ongoing sovereign and banking crises). Secession crisis heaps pain on Spain Spain lurched further … Continue reading →

For the last 80 years or so, financial theory has held that inflation and deflation were mutually exclusive events. We’ve now seen that idea go up in smoke as deflation affects home prices and incomes in the US at the … Continue reading →