I couldn’t help but think the only way to be independent of such a system that is in place simply to keep the elite in power at the expense of the common people is to invest some of our wealth in precious metals.

This is an interesting topic in my opinion and since somewhere around 100 million Americans (or maybe more) identify themselves as Christians, its a pretty relevant topic.  If you don’t consider yourself a Christian, this may not apply to you but why not read it anyway?
Christianity in America has definitely been influenced by the idea of the American Dream.  My goal here isn’t to put down the American Dream but to talk about it in the context of American Christianity.  The American Dream is an idea that its all about …

Interestingly, the Feds shutdown a network of 73,000 blogs this past weekend.  Many are critical of this move since it basically shut down a huge network of websites because of a handful of potentially criminal blogs within that larger group.  Coming off the heels of the possible legislation that grants the President authority to have a kill switch for the entire internet, this is definitely possibly infringing on freedom of speech rights that many Americans hold so dear.
If government is able to kill the internet for up to four months, …

The index that measures the confidence of our nations’ homebuilders fell to the lowest level since March 2009.  At risk of sounding like a broken record, housing is not rebounding folks.  Look for more stimulus to “fix” housing again this fall or next spring.  I’m still short the Homebuilder ETF (XHB) and will be holding for a while most likely.

One of my favorite things to monitor and watch is the investor psychology of various markets.  Currently, the psychology behind the range-bound gold prices is one of complacency and ambivalence.  Ever since the last major leg up in the price of gold from about $1100 to $1250, we’ve been in a range anywhere from $1175 to $1250 – currently, we’re just under $1200 / oz.
Volume in ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares Trust ETF (GLD) and the Market Vectors Gold Miner ETF (GDX) has been fairly low over the …

If you ask Obama, the answer to this question is yes.  In his recent radio address,
Striking a deeply partisan tone in his weekly Saturday radio and online address, Obama said the GOP leadership has chosen to “filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress” by blocking votes on agenda items the president says would breath life into the economic recovery.
Whether or not Republicans are blocking economic progress depends on how you define economic progress.  Obama claims Republicans are blocking measures that would extend unemployment benefits and increase lending to small businesses. …

Demographics is an interesting issue in the world of investing.  It’s definitely a factor, but it’s such a long-term factor that most people ignore it.  Think about it, we’re focused on quarter to quarter results, not long-term factors.  Yet, oddly enough, we’re told time and time again that investing is all about a long-term focus!  Well, which one is it?
I think it is about long-term, at least part of your portfolio, and therefore, demographics is very important.  While it’s maybe not the most important factor, it’s one of them.  Consider …

Housing is a mess, everyone knows that. But, what everyone doesn’t know is that we’re not going back to what real estate was doing during the peak of the bubble. To back up my point, I wish to give two reminders of what it was like during the real estate bubble.
First up, the raffle. Back in the hey-day of 2005/2006, people were staying up all night (including several people I know personally) to enter a raffle or drawing where a select group of winners will have the opportunity to buy …