Economics and Investing:

I recently took the tax hit and cashed out my Gold Eagle IRA that had been administered by GoldStar Trust (the assumed the accounts of American Church Trust). I did so because I suspect that precious metals IRAs will be nationalized before I hit retirement age. I’m presently 50 years old. Yes, I know that there is a huge tax hit. But thankfully that tax bite won’t be too painful, since I paid less than $500 per ounce for most of that gold, back when I was working in the corporate world. I then took most of those gold bullion coins to a coin broker in the big city and ratio traded them for pre-1965 U.S. silver quarters and half dollars. This is because I expect silver to outperform gold as an investment in the next few years. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the silver-to-gold ratio rise to 20:1 before 2020. If you have the vault space, you should buy silver, not gold!

Commentary from Brett Arends: The great bank heist of 2010.

Items from The Economatrix:

Jobless Americans Wary of Losing Skills  

High Unemployment Numbers Fueled New Heinous Job Scams  

Moody’s Says 2011 Double Dip Damages US Banks  

Holiday Shoppers Sprint to the End; Retail Revenue Up  

Investor Bond Retreat the Fastest Pace in Two Years  

Tax Cuts Raise Expectations for Economy in 2011