Free Republic

This is not a good sign for stocks, is it? ..."It was a terrible auction," summed up one trader at a U.S. primary dealer. "The bid-to-cover stank, the indirect bid was bad -- I would be surprised if the market manages to rally from here." ... Worse yet, indirect bidders bought a meager $2.96 billion or 21.1 percent of the deal, compared with last year's average 38.13 percent. That left dealers holding the bag with $10.72 billion or 76.6 percent. Signs of a tightening labor market had taken an early toll on Treasuries, with jobless claims receding to levels consistent...

As gold flirts with 20-year highs, we are hearing more from the "gold bugs" or, as they are sometimes appropriately called, the "doom-and-gloomers". Appropriately, because a gold bug's current outlook for the future of traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds and currencies is not optimistic, particularly in the US. A gold bug traces today's financial problems back to the removal of gold backing from global currencies; without such backing, there is no limit to the amount of money that politicians and the banking system can create. Monetary inflation inevitably leads to price inflation, and creates asset bubbles and excess...

"All the perplexities, confusion and distresses in America arise not from defects in the Constitution or confederation, nor from want of honor or virtue, as much from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation." [1] Abstract Ignorantia juris non excusat (ignorance of the law does not excuse) is a well established principle dating back thousands of years. Roman and English law, precursors of the American system of jurisprudence, both recognized the maxim. Be it not forgotten – justice excuses not the law. The laws of the land are to be made in pursuance of the Constitution. The...