Economics and Investing:

Big Banks Caught Using Credit Default Swaps To Destroy Nations

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Silver: Until Paper Currencies Stop Losing Value

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

U.S. News

Janet Yellen: An Orthodox Economist in Unorthodox Times (Reuters) Commentary: Brief, easily readable, a good overview as we approach the coming announcement with the Federal Reserve’s decision regarding a rate hike. This article revisits the idea that old models may no longer work to evaluate current conditions and the uncertain environment in which decisions will be made.

Fannie and Freddie’s Propoganda War (Wall Street Journal)

Bubble Watch: No Down Payment Jumbo Mortgage Makes Comback (Mises Institute) Commentary: This is a BIG WHOOPS waiting to happen… Article Excerpt: “San Francisco’s real estate market is widely regarded as being in a bubble, boosted by the money flowing into the tech industry. The tech industry, of course, is also regarded as being in its own bubble, brought about by the massive amounts of money poured into the financial system by the Federal Reserve in response to the 2008 financial crisis.”

International News

The Global Economic Cost of Terrorism is Now at It’s Highest Since 9/11 (Bloomberg) Article Quote: “In 2014, acts of terror cost the world $52.9 billion— roughly the size of Bulgaria’s entire annual gross domestic product…”

How Much Money Goes to Fighting and Funding Isis? (Market Watch) Spoiler Alert: Most of their revenue stream comes from oil with an estimated annual revenue stream of $500M from this source alone.

The World’s “Hot” Money (Visual Capitalist) Commentary: This type of activity should sound all kinds of security alarms. Article Quote: “Trade misinvoicing is a form of trade-based money laundering made possible by the fact that trading partners write their own trade documents, or arrange to have the documents prepared in a third country (typically a tax haven), a method known as re-invoicing.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

6 Steps to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early (Clark Howard) Article Quote: “It’s a question personal finance experts have been debating for years. Some say it makes financial sense to invest that money in the stock market, while others say you won’t ever regret being 100% debt free.” Commentary: People who believe in prepared living will most certainly go with never regretting being 100% debt free!