Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Individuals are consistently promised that investing in the financial markets is the only way to financial success. After all, it’s so easy. Financial pundits across the country state the one simply buys a basket of mutual funds and they will make 8, 10 or 12% a year.

On a nominal basis, it is true that if one bought an index and held it for 20-years, they would have made money. Unfortunately, for most, it has not worked out that way.

Well another day, another horrible piece of economic data out of Brazil.

Core retail sales in South America’s most important economy slid 2.7% M/M in December, erasing a meager gain the country eked out in November when the numbers got a boost from promotions.

Broad retail sales, meanwhile, declined 0.9% marking the eleventh decline in thirteen months. They’re now off more than 16% since peaking in August of 2012.

In New Orleans, some black nationalist crazies invaded a vacant house for rent, claimed it as part of their self-described “Washitah Nation” … and the police won’t do anything about it. Excerpt:

Fredrick Hines, whose name is on the tax rolls for the property and whom neighbors say is the true owner, called police after he found out a group of young people had moved into his investment property and changed the locks. Hines said he showed police the deed, which has his name on it, but they wouldn’t remove the people living in the house.

Submitted by Frank Hollenbeck via The Mises Institute,

It is now just a matter of time before the US central bank follows the central banks of Japan, the EU, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland in setting negative rates on reserve deposits.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump is thinking of suing his GOP opponents and making a quick buck from the 2016 U.S. presidential race. The billionaire businessman and American success story has got the Grand Old Party by the balls. The Donald is “seriously thinking” about starting the litigation ball rolling by first accusing his GOP rival Senator Ted Cruz of being a foreigner and a liar.