But the U.S. Government has a technology, called a printing press that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. Government can reduce the value of dollars in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices of dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation.
Ben Bernanke, 2002

Lenin is said to have declared the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, government can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of its citizens. Lenin certainly was right...
John Maynard Keynes

Just when you thought you had seen it all and could possibly be seeing the light at the en

As some of you may have heard from previous announcements, on Monday we are going to officially announce ThinkFunds – three growth-focused mutual funds (ThinkGrowth Fund, ThinkGlobal Fund, ThinkGreen Fund). We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to provide vehicles to participate directly with investments that we have been researching and recommending for two decades.

One could naturally question the launching of three new funds in the current market environment (which has been awful!). It is widely known that numerous growth funds have shut down for poor performance – the average growth fund for the past ten years having a compounded annual return of 5.4%, which suggests that the waters have been very traitorous. Year-to-date, volatility has been extreme and markets have been mainly down with the ThinkGrowth Index down 20%, NASDAQ down 14.7%, the Dow down 14.7% and the S&P 500 down 10.4%.

It's been our experience that the greatest opportunities are w

It's been said that the market is the ultimate forecaster - discounting future's reality into current stock prices.

In the excellent new book Wealth, War and Wisdom, Barton Biggs outlines in captivating and convincing fashion how the "wisdom of crowds" in the stock market actually interpreted events of World War II much better than the "experts" of the day. Stocks topped out in Germany well before Hitler's Nazi military did. Conversely, the U.S and the U.K. markets bottomed well before the Allies looked like they had any hope of victory.

Not surprisingly, therefore, was that despite this week's continuation of dismal economic news, the market had great a week. The very future-orientated ThinkGrowth Index was up a whopping 7.1%, followed by NASDAQ 100 up 5.6%, NASDAQ advancing 4.9%, and the S&P 500 up 4.2%.

Putting the cherry on the top of evidence of a 2008 rec

It seemed like we were just about to enjoy moving to the next, more positive chapter of the market story when our old trusted friend General Electric (NYSE: GE, $32.05) decided to give us a "Jagged Edge" twist to our plot. We've come to expect consistency from what is arguably the bluest of the blue chips and Friday's announcement of its miss was all the market needed to plunge lower.

On one hand, it seems strange that anybody would be shocked that a company with as broad of exposure to the overall economy as GE would be suffering, particularly given it's significant finance business and the numbers we're seeing across the board from firms involved in credit. On the other hand, Jeff Immelt had told investors, as late as on March 13th, that 2008 earnings were "in the bag." Not surprisingly, while the Dow was off 2% on Friday, GE was down 13% while trading 321 million shares. Looking for the silver lining, while the market was off significantly, volume was down despite

If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and development. - Aristotle

It's very true that what ultimately may become historically gigantic starts with an action that may appear insignificant or unrelated.

When George Washington decided that two terms were enough, and thus the concept of "limited presidency," he abandoned the European monarchy tradition.

When Archduke Ferdinand heir to the Austria-Hungary throne was assassinated, it became the catalyst for World War I.

The tipping point for the Great Depression was the Stock Market Crash of October 1929.

The United States was brought into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.

The civil rights movement was liberated by the Brown versus the Board of Education decision in 1954, and catalyzed by Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on December 1, 1955, and then memorialized by Martin Luther Kings "I have a dre