If there’s a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it’s the one that says: “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

The masks are coming off. It’s the end of the party, now we get to see what people really look like. And it’s not a pretty sight.

“You will lose more in purchasing power (as central bank monetary inflation destroys the currency by printing enough to finance the higher stock prices) than you will ever net in gains…”

Good morning Australia. It’s another triple digit mid-day decline on the Dow. Is this the Obama Rally?

When ethanol comes out of the plant, the first thing they do is add a few drops of gasoline. This has nothing to do with performance or transport… It’s simply to poison the ethanol so people won’t drink it.

The GDP, gross domestic product, of any economy is the sum of all economic activity that occurs in every household, in every company, at all levels across the economy. So, if you buy a pair of jeans at the store there is a lot of GDP involved.

Ever since the great tech bubble burst in 2000, everyone has wondered what the “Next Big One” would be. For a while it was real estate. Then it was China. Next, commodities had their stellar run.

Falling house prices, tighter credit and rising prices are going to hurt consumers.

The question came to me as I was standing on the floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange here. I’d be willing to wager that quite a few investors - both within China and back in the United States - are wondering about this, as well.

You could almost hear the champagne corks popping. After declining for five consecutive months, the S&P 500 clawed its way to a 4.7% gain in April. Yeah! Yippee! Hoo-rah!