Billionaire John Paulson raised his stake in an exchange-traded fund tracking the price of gold while selling other stocks during the second quarter, leaving his $21 billion hedge fund with more than 44 percent of its U.S. traded equities tied to bullion. Read the rest here... http://www.bloomberg....

As an addendum to my previous the fact that a president lied occasionally does not mean they weren't great presidents. The nature of the job in the modern world makes the occasional lie necessary. The question is did they lie rarely and only when necessary for a specific reason (Ike Lincoln)? Or did...

Reub wrote: Was Reagan a liar? Was Truman? Was Eisenhower? Was Lincoln? Was JFK? Were they all liars?

Yes, Not Sure, Yes, Yes and Yes.

The major concern I have with the conventional PP is that of inflation. Historically there have been periods when treasury yields were kept low, whilst inflation raged. What should be a priority is retention of purchase power, not just nominal value. Many investors baseline to cash (nominal) instea...

I am not defending the sentence. I would not have gone there myself. But I do think we need to stop treating their behavior as a childish prank. It wasn't. It was a premeditated and very gross sacrilege that was intended to shock and offend an entire people, many of whom have direct memories of the ...

Just to make sure I am understanding what happened, in February the band members played one minute of an unauthorized song in front of a mostly empty church before being escorted out, right?   Actually it's a bit more than that. First they chose their target carefully. They did this in Christ the S...

Two years seems a bit stiff to my mind. But I think it is important to recall that what they did was deliberate sacrilege in a church. In any jurisdiction that I know of they would have been arrested and thrown in the clink. I have been, and remain a fierce critic Vladimir Putin's increasingly autho...

Illinois? Nah. That's the big O's home state! I'm from there and I can tell you that Illinois is probably the dirtiest place of them all. It'll always be a blue state even if they have to start registering dogs and cats to vote. true, dat sweet home Chicago Chicago; where the motto is vote early an...

Would anyone consider a vote for Gary Johnson? He's running on the Libertarian Party ticket. What I've read of him, I like, although I haven't done an in-depth analysis. I don't have any delusions he'll win, but some votes for him could help to make a statement, at least, that some of us are not ha...

FWIW I think TLT or EDV both work well for your long term bonds. TLT is a bit more pure, whereas EDV gives you a bit more zip on your returns coupled with slightly higher volatility. For cash I like SCHO since it it gives me added institutional diversification. But SHY and SHV also work well. VFISX ...

How can you say that they're identical when one has been President and failed and the other hasn't? Because both have track records that make it clear they are ideological twins. There may be some differences on details. But philosophically there isn't much difference. Romney and Obama are both cro...

Then you should be glad that Ryan is not the one running for president, and that Romney will be the one deciding on the exact details of the budget plan that will be proposed.  I'm sure it will compare favorably to the budget plan passed by the current administration :-)  Oh wait.... Yep. Anyone go...

In the eyes of many socialist types, the very mention of words like austerity and fiscal sensibility brings about a gut wrenching reaction leading one to surmise that they have already felt it's effects. Based on their track record I would say the same was true of the neo-Con Republicans who have b...

Greenwich, Conn. PAUL D. RYAN is the most articulate and intellectually imposing Republican of the moment, but that doesn’t alter the fact that this earnest congressman from Wisconsin is preaching the same empty conservative sermon. Thirty years of Republican apostasy — a once grand party’s embrace...

What formula are the ERE'ers and semi-ERE'ers here using?  Being able to live on a 3% drawdown? Well, tying this into PP, my goal is to be able to live on the expected PP return over inflation :-P That's a good approach. If you can handle a little flexibility I would go with that plan. For those us...

A few quick thoughts on food bills and health insurance from someone who has struggled with bills and been dirt poor at times. 1. Stick to non-name brand groceries wherever possible. 2. Cut back on junk food. You grocery bill will shrink as well as your waistline. 3. Look for discount grocery stores...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/busin ... wanted=all

It's kind of a fluff piece, but he deserves it.

There is a short article explaining the fasting discipline of the Orthodox Church.
http://oca.org/liturgics/outlines/fasti ... the-church

At one time Roman Catholics followed a similar discipline but it has been greatly relaxed in recent years.

See also this excellent essay by Todd Tresidder which explains why the traditional 4% rule is not as safe as most people think.

http://financialmentor.com/free-article ... eally-safe

"Two percent is bullet-proof, 3% is probably safe, 4% is pushing it and, at 5%, you're eating Alpo in your old age,"

-William J. Bernstein

For some overseas (Great Britain) exposure I would suggest Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. He is the International Business Editor of The Daily Telegraph. And a lot of what I have read from him makes me think he would be open to the PP.

Fasting in moderation is a good thing. Monks would probably disagree with me but I am not a fan of overdoing it. But then I again I am Russian Orthodox and the more observant members of the church will fast for about half the year. Lent is particularly severe. My personal pick for the hardest though...

Russ Roberts, Thomas Sowell, and (no kidding) Michael Phelps. Well, Phelps certainly has one cornerstone of the PP covered..... I'm not so sure about that. This might be one of those items for the "what to avoid" section on gold investing in Craig's and MT's new book. NEW YORK (MainStreet...