Jim Puplava's Blog

Financial repression is going to be with us for the balance of this decade. Fed officials have spoken clearly that they intend to leave interest rates at zero until at least late 2014, and maybe beyond. This means investors will have to look elsewhere to fill in their investment and income gap. One way to fill that gap is dividend paying blue-chip stocks. The authors of Triumph of the Optimists have shown that over the last century investment returns have been far superior when dividends are reinvested. The compound return is almost double when long time frames are considered.

While numerous events portend future global and economic turmoil, successful investing warrants a close examination of the dramatic effects central bank intervention and money-printing have on financial assets in the midst of major bear markets.

It’s happening again. Gasoline prices are on the rise. Since bottoming nationwide last September 29th at $2.69 a gallon, they have risen to $3.698; up $0.30 in the last month. The blow-dry’s on cable television are going bonkers with hysteria trying to explain it. News anchors like Bill O’Reilly are ranting vociferously: “It’s all due to greedy oil companies.” Politicians are blaming speculators. Meanwhile, at the pump the average American is stuck with higher fuel bills to help pay for the weekly cost for commuting to work. We’re less than $0.30 away from taking out the highs reached last summer and only $0.42 a way from surpassing the record set in July of 2008... and it's still only February!

Oil is the lifeblood of modern society, powering over 90% of our transportation fleet on land, sea, and air. Oil is also responsible for 95% of the production of all goods we buy and ultimately drives the natural rhythms...

Something is wrong with our economy. Fixing it with more debt will not solve the underlying issues we face. Seeing the obvious, our main trading partners are taking the necessary steps and forming bi-lateral trade agreements in their own currencies. Now, more than ever before, we are living on borrowed time.

We are now at a state where the sovereign bond market has grown to become the largest financial bubble in history; a bubble that could succumb to three potential market shocks: rising commodity prices via additional quantitative easing or falling supplies, political instability, or disorderly sovereign defaults.

There are few today that so clearly speak the voice of the people. Gerald Celente shares his views on a range of subjects connected to his losses at MF Global, the web of corruption surrounding Jon Corzine, and WWJD.

Many people are beginning to either consider or take the necessary steps to make their home more self-sustainable. One person in particular, Nicole Foss, has undergone much of this process herself and shares some key insights and considerations in the following interview conducted last week.

Accurate market technician and founder of Princeton Economics, Martin Armstrong, shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics including Fed policy, Occupy Wall Street, the state of Europe, and his forecasts for the U.S. and the global economy.

If you've been watching the markets on a daily basis you probably need a dose of Maalox. Each day and week the markets have something new to worry about. One day it's Greece, the next day it's Italy. The following week it could be a recession in the U.S. or it could be the growing risk to the European banking system. What is clear is that systemic risks are building again; this time the epicenter is Europe.