Commodity HQ: Stocks To Buy For Hyperinflation

With the Federal Reserve firing up the presses for a third round of quantitative easing, it’s only a matter of time before more talk of imminent hyperinflation pops up. While calm discussions on the prospects of hyperinflation are rare (and there’s often a tinge of hysteria or paranoia around the topic), the reality is that the U.S. does have some disturbing trends working against it in terms of demographics, debt/deficits, and a policy of easy money that debases the fiat currency.



What’s more, thumbing through the history books shows that periods of extreme inflation or hyperinflation (definitions vary) are not all that uncommon around the world. Post-World War I Germany is probably the most oft-cited example, but a range of countries including Greece, Russia, Argentina, China, Brazil, and Zimbabwe (most recently) have seen stretches of inflation severe enough to call it hyperinflation.

Follow this link for more:
http://commodityhq.com/2012/how-to-prepare-yourself-for-hyperinflation/

FinancialEdge: Buying Power Around The World

Anyone who has traveled outside of North America has likely noticed that prices can be very different around the world. What are luxuries in some countries are relatively common in others and vice versa. Price is a central mechanism in economics as it represents the place where suppliers and consumers do business, so it is interesting to explore these differences and the factors that shape them. (If you want to take advantage of the increase in consumer prices, check out A Guide To Investing In Consumer Staples.)

Same Foods, Very Different Prices 

Food is a good proxy for some of the differences in prices between countries, as everybody eats and an egg is an egg wherever one may roam. While The Economist has long used its Big Mac Index as a means of measuring purchasing power parity (PPP) between countries, the Big Mac is simply one particular food item. It is interesting, then to explore some of the other discrepancies. 

Ground beef sells for about $3 a pound in much of the U.S., but nearly $6 in Australia and $11.50 in Taiwan. While the latter makes sense (there aren't large herds of cattle wandering Taiwan), Australia is a bit surprising with its ranching culture. Sticking with fruits of the bovine, milk retails for about $2.25 in the U.S., but only 70 cents in India and a little over a dollar in Brazil and South Africa. Curiously, milk in Hong Kong retails for about $2, while the price in Taiwan is more than twice as high.

To read the full column, please click below:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0711/Buying-Power-Around-The-World.aspx

FinancialEdge: 10 Reasons To Fear The U.S. Economy

Halloween is a time for the sort of fear we all enjoy - cheesy horror movies, clever costumes and a general appreciation for the macabre and creepy. Far less enjoyable, though, is thinking about some of the reasons investors may have for fearing the U.S. economy. Unlike ghosts and goblins, some of these fears may prove to be very real and offer more than just a friendly little tingle up the spine.


1. Crumbling Infrastructure
While the U.S. government has handed out plenty of money over the past three years, relatively little of it has made its way towards bridges, roads, schools and hospitals. That is unfortunate, as the U.S. went through a building boom in the 1950s and 1960s and is now badly in need of repair and expansion. Infrastructure underpins economic growth. Without better public facilities, there will be a long-term drag on economic productivity.  

2. High Debt
Of all the problems in the United States, large budget deficits and a growing debt burden are probably the best-known. Public debt is at about $13.6 trillion in the United States, or roughly 94% of annual GDP. That puts the country in uncomfortable company with the likes of Japan, Italy, Greece and Portugal.

Please click the link below for the full story:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1010/10-Reasons-To-Fear-The-U.S.-Economy.aspx

5 Things To Do Before Interest Rates Go Up

Low interest rates are great, but even this silver lining has a cloud to it - those rates are eventually going to go up again. And when you really think about it, we should all be happy to see rates go up. Rising rates are a normal part of healthy economic growth and rock-bottom rates are usually a sign of a long-term malaise (like Japan) or bubbles in the making (like the U.S. housing market). With rates likely to head higher someday, what should investors do to prepare themselves?


For the full piece: 
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0710/5-Things-To-Do-Before-Interest-Rates-Go-Up.aspx

Putting The Dow In Perspective

I apologize for the slowness of posting this one, but I do not get automated updates when my pieces go up on the FinancialEdge website.

Here is the article:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0510/Putting-The-Dow-In-Perspective.aspx


The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is inescapable. No matter how middling a news outlet's coverage of business may be, it is a safe bet that the performance of the DJIA or "the Dow" will be offered up as a comment on how the market is doing.

What is often lacking, though, is a sense of context and significance. Without a bit of perspective on just what the Dow is, it's not that useful to talk about moves in the index, particularly when those moves are talked about only as points.


You can read the rest at:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0510/Putting-The-Dow-In-Perspective.aspx