US Federal Reserve

Via The Financial Repression Authority,

One year ago, when looking at the 20 most popular stories of 2014, we were troubled by a recurring thread: "despite the just concluded 6th consecutive year of a rising S&P 500 - the longest such stretch since 1999 of what otherwise would be deemed optimism - despite what should be a steadily improving economy and improving social and economic conditions, what readers founds most fascinating, and troubling, was the increasing preponderance of social disobedience, of covert, proxy or outright wars, and of civil unrest: all phenomena that accompany a world sliding deeper into distress,

Elections, elections, and more elections is the 'change' meme for 2016 but, as Bloomberg details, the key events of the year ahead vary from a California marijuana referendum to Brazil's Olympics, and from Davos to SCOTUS. No matter what, 2016 holds a lot of opportunity for volatility, and without The Fed's safety net, who knows what that means for markets...

Here's a selected calendar of key events for the year.

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

Any serious reform has to start with the dissolution of the existing political parties and the Federal Reserve. Anything less is self-serving, pandering fantasy.

Well-paid econo-pundit Joseph Stiglitz has a new book that repeats the usual pandering fantasy that "reform" can fix what's broken with the U.S. economy: Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity.

Submitted by Jeff Opdyke via The Sovereign Investor,

Gold has a message for the market: You’re a nut if you trust the Fed.

In the days since the arbiters of American monetary policy raised interest rates on December 16 - the first rate hike in nearly a decade - gold prices have pretty much gone nowhere. On December 15, the day before the Fed’s announcement, gold closed near $1,065. As I write this, it’s at $1,070 … and it has seen a high of $1,084 and a low of $1,052.