There is no doubt that the crisis in Spain is getting worse, threatening to drag down the rest of Europe, and ultimately the US, with it. Over the weekend, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the debt of 11 Spanish banks, after downgrading the country’s sovereign debt weeks earlier. Further downgrades are a given so expect them [...]

Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams argues that you should invest in companies you hate, because only the most unprincipled and rapacious firms make the greatest profits. Moral bankruptcy is a great leading indicator of success, and the best ones can get you to balance your wallet on the end of your nose and bark like a [...]

When anyone starts lecturing you that the US has the highest tax rate in the industrialized world, just turn around, walk away, and pretend you never heard of them. This person is either ignorant about this country’s taxation system, or is deliberately trying to deceive or mislead you. According to a report released by the [...]

When I was remodeling my 160 year old London house, the chimney was in desperate need of attention. After the bricklayer crawled up the fireplace, he found a yellowed and somewhat singed envelope addressed to Santa Claus. Thinking it was placed there by my kids, he handed it over to me. In it was a [...]

Following Howard Ruff for the last 35 years has always been eye opening, if not entertaining. The irascible Mormon is the publisher of Ruff Times (http://www.rufftimes.com  ), one of the oldest investment letters in the business, and one of the original worshipers of hard assets. The great thing about the end of the world crowd [...]

Vietnam has delivered one of the top performing stock markets so far in 2012. Take a look at the Market Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM). The venture invests in companies that get 50% or more of their earnings from that country, with an anticipated 37% exposure in finance, and 19% in energy. This will get you [...]