By Greg Hunter
It looks like the Haiti quake in January was just the warm-up act to the giant 8.8 magnitude shaker that hit Chile.   It one of the largest quakes on record.   This could not come at a worse time given the severe financial stress that is hitting the globe. 

By Greg Hunter   
Have you ever heard someone say they saved money by buying something on sale?  An example would be saving $200 by spending $400 dollars on a new set of golf clubs that were on sale for 33% off.   In the real world, spending money is just that– spending money.   
When it comes to the health care plan, the President has said we cannot reduce the federal budget deficit unless health care costs can be controlled.  The President wants to “save money” by insuring an additional 30 to 40 million …

By Greg Hunter   
This week, a North Carolina newspaper headline read “Beauty Queens Feeling Squeeze of Economy.”  It was a story about how pageant contestants are cutting costs by wearing dresses more than once.  Some contestants are also selling old dresses and renting others to girls going to their proms.  It is just one of the many small signs of how the economy is changing. 

By Greg Hunter
I was on the nationwide overnight radio show, Coast to Coast AM, last week to talk about the real estate crisis.  The topic of foreclosures naturally came up, and I told people to make sure you ask the judge in the foreclosure proceeding to force the bank to “produce the note.”  

By Greg Hunter   
The Federal Reserve raised the discount rate yesterday to 3/4% from 1/2%.  That’s the interest rate the Fed charges banks in an emergency.  The Fed insisted that rates for consumers and companies would not rise.  So why did the Fed raise rates? 

By Greg Hunter   
There has been some encouraging news about the real estate market recently.  In San Francisco, real estate prices shot back up 16% according to the Case-Shiller Index.  On the other coast, friends of mine in the New York City real estate business say price declines seem to be leveling off.  There has been plenty of talk that “now is the time to buy a house.”  After all, the government will give up to an $8,000 tax credit if you purchase a home.  But what is the real story …

By Greg Hunter
Congressman Ron Paul put out a startling warning  video just over a week ago.  This tells me things must be getting really messy right now. 

By Greg Hunter
The financial malaise the world finds itself in right now can be summed in just one sentence.  There is way too much debt.  It is such an enormous amount of debt that most people cannot grasp its size.   It is a sum that is unparalleled in human history.  There are only two ultimate conclusions to debt–it either gets repaid or it does not.  If debt is repaid in printed money, then that is that same as a default.  The world will either repay its gigantic debt …

By Greg Hunter   
The recently published book called “This Time Is Different” makes the case that this financial crisis has the same basic elements as every other financial crisis since the 1300’s.  Economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart do a great job of researching various financial meltdowns in places like South America, Asia, Europe and the U.S.  In every crisis, no matter where it took place in the last 8 centuries, people thought a big debt buildup could not end badly.  The authors say “arrogance and ignorance” always pave the way …

By Greg Hunter 
The Markets breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after word of an European Union bailout of Greece.  The Dow was up 150 points.  Greece is one of, what is called, the “PIGS,” which is an acronym for Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain.  All of these Southern European countries are facing severe debt problems.   The most immediate problem is Greece, and it looks like a “Big Fat Greek Bailout” will postpone a debt crisis for now.