Lorimer Wilson

Peak Oil: What a Farce!

It wasn't supposed to be this way. By now, Peak Oil was supposed to be a fact of daily life. People were supposed to be lined up at gas stations, struggling to buy US$10-a-gallon gas. Solar and wind companies were supposed to occupy prominent places on the Big Board instead of going out of business right and left. People were supposed to have diminished expectations – resigned to shivering in the dark.

Paul Volcker’s View on Inflation Not Right for These Times—Here’s Why

Paul Volcker has written an Op-Ed for The New York Times entitled “A Little Inflation Can Be a Dangerous Thing,” in which he argues – and we really won’t dispute it – that allowing inflation above institutionally accepted levels of say, 2 percent, can indeed be a slippery slope, and a very bad thing, but times have changed since Mr. Volcker decided that he would do whatever it took to slay inflation. [These days a little inflation might be a very good thing. Let me explain.]

Inside The Consumer Price Index: What Inflation Really Means To You

The Fed justified the last round of quantitative easing “to promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate”. In effect, the Fed is trying to increase inflation, operating at the macro level but what does an increase in inflation mean at the micro level — specifically to your household? [Let's take a look.]

Any Way You Look At It – Inflation Is On The Rise!

We can make some inferences about how inflation is impacting our personal expenses depending on our relative exposure to the individual components [and any way you look at it inflation is on the rise - so let's take a look at the particulars.]

2 Ways to Reduce Your Debts Using the “Snowball” Method

What is the best way to reduce debt? The most-efficient means is probably the snowball method. There are two main variations of the snowball method, but you must consider your personality to determine which of the two is right for you. [Let me explain.]

Americans are in deep debt!

Rising education and medical costs, on-going credit card interest payments, well used personal lines of credit and large mortgage debt and home equity loans – most a penchant for living beyond their means - is keeping 75% of American households in some degree of debt. Take a look and then pass it on to your friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Financial Dominoes: First Greece, then Much of Europe and Finally the USA?

For decades, the governments of the western world have been warned that they were getting into way too much debt. For decades, the major banks and the big financial institutions were warned that they were becoming way too leveraged and were taking far too many risks. Well, nobody listened so now we get to watch a global financial nightmare play out in slow motion. Grab some popcorn and get ready. It is going to be quite a show. [Let me explain.]

U.S. Economy Won’t Collapse Any Time Soon—Here’s 5 Reasons Why

A good way to think about our country's economy is to think of the U.S. like a boxer. We were knocked flat on our back in 2008 and have since struggled to one knee but have never got back to our feet. [As such,] those conversations that imply we might be on the verge of falling down again are rather pointless…With this much slack in the economy, it’s unlikely that any economic downturn from here will be substantial. Does that mean I think the U.S. economy can’t contract from here? No, but I would be very surprised if we were to experience another blow similar to the 2008 recession where real GDP fell 5%. [Let me explain.]

Here’s a Game Plan for the NEXT Time the Market Plunges

Sooner, rather than later, [excessive] volatility will break out again so it is important for investors to have a game plan in place for such a future event. [Below is just such a plan that I would like to share with you.]

Surprise! A Close Look at GLD Reveals What it IS and is NOT

The most common misunderstandings regarding the primary gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) is that it buys and sells gold. That is not the case. It is just a paper asset. It is not a way to buy gold and have someone else store your holdings for you. It is just an innovative way to “own gold.” [Below I outline more of just what GLD is andis not:]

Which Investments Are the Best Safe Havens In A Financial Crisis?

As investors look for safe havens in a potential market panic, I am reminded of the adage, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Today, I see several metaphorical one-eyed men in this land of the blind that could serve as safe havens were there to be a market panic. All of them have significant flaws. In this post I would like to discuss them one by one.

Eric Sprott: Financial Train Wreck Coming Soon! Got Gold? Better Yet, Got Silver?

We have a financial system that's on the edge of a cliff here. People have to be in precious metals if they want to protect themselves. Everyone who's an investor has money. They have it invested in some paper instrument and when they realise they have a problem with their money in a bank or owning some government note the demand for gold could just be overwhelming! It could be parabolic all of a sudden. Currently, only 0.75% of the world's financial assets are in gold so just imagine what a 5% to 10% interest in gold would mean for its price. On top of that, I believe that silver will get back into a 16:1 ratio to gold in three to five years for sure so that means that silver is going to have a great upside potential. Got gold? Better yet, got silver?

Jim Sinclair Sees an Economic Train Wreck Coming – Slowly but Surely!

James Turk interviewed Jim Sinclair recently at the GATA conference in London about his successful gold price predictions, the U.S. debt problems, how to ride the second phase of the gold bull and the gear change from arithmetic to exponential growth as public perceptions about the safety of the US dollar changes. Below is a heavily edited and paraphrased version of the interview to provide you with a fast and easy understanding of its contents.

What is the Best Investment For These Volatile Times? (And It’s Not Gold!)

In response to a recent request to identify the best one investment that provides acceptable growth without incurring unreasonable risk we applied our proprietary algorithms based on our unique ZYX Change Method and came up with a relatively unknown equity that warrants serious consideration for inclusion in your portfolio.

Roubini, Schiff, Rosenberg and Whitney Agree: Another Recession Is At Hand! Here’s Why

Michael Spence, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics, believes there's "probably a 50%" chance of the global economy slipping into recession. Noriel Roubini disagrees and says flatly that a recession is coming and that it is a mission impossible now to stop it. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank places the odds at 85% of a recession. David Rosenberg, another very savvy economist, says that by 2012, the chance of a second recession is 99%. Peter Schiff, who with Roubini, correctly and accurately predicted the collapse on Wall Street and ensuing recession, thinks one is 100% certain. [Let's take a look at why they hold such views.]

These 17 ETFs Have Higher Yields Than 10 Year Treasuries!

We are in a “new normal” environment with a future of low returns and high volatility. The Fed is pledging to keep short-term interest rates near zero through mid-2013. [Nevertheless,] in this low-yield world, there are still plenty of large ETFs offering yields higher than the 10Year Treasuries. [Let me explain in detail below.]

How the Dow 30 Stocks Compare According to Their Margins of Safety

Benjamin Graham, known as the father of value investment, is famous for his simple, yet powerful, valuation method as first explained in his 1973 book, Intelligent Investor, and later updated in his book entitled Renaissance of Value. His "Graham Number" approach has been adapted and applied to all 30 stocks listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Index to determine which of the stocks have above average safety factors--of which only 10 do. Below is an explaination of the approach, the formula and the results for all 30 stocks.

Is $1,000,000 Enough to Provide for a Successful 30-year Retirement?

Withdrawing from a $1,000,000 nest egg upon retirement using the familiar 4% rule to generate a successful 30-year inflation-adjusted (3% per annum) retirement proved to be totally inadequate as per the retirement withdrawal strategy that I put forth in a previous article (1). In fact, it crashed and burned in year 25 of the 30-year plan! In fact, as I show in this article, it will only succeed if your portfolio outperforms the S&P 500 by 5% every year for 30 straight years – and what is the likelihood of that?

Soros and Rogers Agree: Greater Returns from Farmland Than Gold! Here’s Why

Question: What asset has appreciated more than any asset since the year 2000? Answer: Farmland – by 1,200%! [George Soros and Jim Rogers have recognized that fact and invested accordingly. Here is what you need to know to do likewise.]

Gold Stocks At Historically Cheap Levels! Here’s Why

One market trend that seems to be attracting more and more attention is the large performance gap between gold bullion and gold stocks. The price of gold bullion has increased roughly 28 percent in 2011, while the S&P/TSX Gold Index is down [about] 1 percent. [Let me convey why that is the case.]