Robert Prince, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater, and his managers at the world's biggest hedge fund firm are preparing for at least a decade of slow growth and high unemployment for the big developed economies. Prince describes those economies—the US and Europe, in particular—as "zombies" and said they will remain that way until they work through their mountains of debt.

An anonymous financial adviser with extensive Wall Street experience explains why he intends to stick with a pro-bond strategy even though many of his peers expect a rebounding stock market. For Baby Boomers in particular, the deflationary trend he foresees holds stark implications.

The United States is increasingly similar to a 3rd world county in several ways and is accelerating towards 3rd world status. Economic data indicate a harsh reality that obviates mainstream political debate. The evidence suggests that, without fundamental reforms, the U.S. will become a post industrial neo-3rd-world country by 2032.

Amazingly, part 1 of this series was written in February 2010 and has proven prescient. I strongly recommend you read all three parts. Needless to say, there is little in any of these three articles that will offer a lot of cheer, but it is important to be forewarned at the least.

The Heath brothers, one of whom is a Stanford University business professor, write a regular column for Fast Company magazine In this free e-book, a collation of some of their articles, they tackle interesting business issues like: • Why you should never buy another mutual fund • Why your gut may be more ethical than your brain • How to communicate with numbers in a way that changes decisions • Why the "Next Big Thing" often isn't • Why you may someday pay $300 for a pair of socks

US firm Casey Research gains exclusive insight from a 'Lord of Finance', someone whose career on Wall Street has stretched over 40 years and includes 10 years as the chief financial officer for one of the world's most powerful investment banks. The interview "is to help calibrate our own views on the outlook for the economy with an individual who is not just hyper-intelligent but who has spent a lifetime immersed in the money game at the very highest levels".

Lord Wolfson is offering a GBP 250,000 prize for the best plan to manage one or more countries abandoning the euro currency. The prize is described as the second biggest cash prize to be awarded to an academic economist after the Nobel Prize. Lord Wolfson has said, "I think there is a very real possibility that the euro may collapse, and if that happens then it needs to be managed, and if it's not managed then it's going to be catastrophic for European finances, and not just for European finances. The knock-on effects for the world banking system would also be very very serious."

When the language used by financial analysts and reporters becomes increasingly similar the stock market may be overheated, say scientists. After examining 18,000 online articles published by the Financial Times, The New York Times, and the BBC, computer scientists have discovered that the verbs and nouns used by financial commentators converge in a 'herd-like' fashion in the lead up to a stock market bubble. Immediately afterwards, the language disperses.

Various economic problems raise the possibility that the United States is not merely suffering through a normal, if severe, downturn. Instead, it may have entered a phase in which high unemployment is the norm.

A fascinating new book argues that the United States has already been eclipsed as the world's dominant economic power.

At moderate levels, debt improves welfare and enhances growth. But high levels can be damaging. When does debt go from good to bad? Research by the Bank of International Settlements has found that many developed countries have too much debt, that this is reducing economic growth and that the situation is much more serious than previously thought.

This looks at how the US fiscal and monetary authorities stabilised the US economy after the housing crash and set in motion a financial markets recovery starting in March 2009. However, they also now risk sending the US into a double-dip recession by pulling the wrong policy lever. Paisley attempts to to answer the following questions: 1. What causes a balance sheet recession? 2. Are there lessons to learn from the Japanese experience of the 1990s? 3. What are the cures for this disease? 4. Can fiscal authorities make matters worse?

With Greece and Ireland in economic shreds, while Portugal, Spain, and perhaps even Italy head south, only one nation can save Europe from financial Armageddon: a highly reluctant Germany. The ironies—like the fact that bankers from Düsseldorf were the ultimate patsies in Wall Street’s con game—pile up quickly as Michael Lewis investigates German attitudes toward money, excrement, and the country’s Nazi past, all of which help explain its peculiar new status.

The payoff of sex depends more on context than quantity. The same investment, or sex partner, has a different value to different people. Investments that pay off have a synergy with an individual investor's particular human capital, which is why finding alpha is just as much a process of self-discovery as it is of raw ambition.

This is the first course in a series of 38 called "Investment Basics" - created by Professor Steven Bauer, a retired university professor and still a proactive asset manager and consultant / mentor.

YES, GROWTH IN global gold demand is rapid. No, another decade of quintupling prices isn't nailed on. But neither of those facts make gold a "bubble" today. In fact, anyone calling gold a bubble right now is talking through their hat - at best.

The stocks stealth bull market passed its second anniversary this month (March 2011), having trended from trough to peak on the Dow Jones Industrial Averages stock Index from 6470 to 12,400, a gain of over 91%. This in-depth analysis seeks to formulate a concluding trend forecast for the remainder of 2011 and into early 2012.

Countries everywhere are facing debt crises today, precipitated by the credit collapse of 2008. Public services are being slashed and public assets are being sold off, in a futile attempt to balance budgets that can’t be balanced because the money supply itself has shrunk. Governments usually get the blame for excessive spending, but governments did not initiate the crisis.

The last time we have seen this much volatility in commodity prices was amidst the financial crisis in 2008 and the early part of 2009. Does this mean we are at the brink and risk assets are going to decline precipitously

Slowing economic growth and the fast-approaching end of QE2 are just a few of the concerns facing market participants.

Despite efforts to rein it in, China's inflation rate has reached a point where it is sparking social unrest. The world's second-largest economy faces some fundamental choices if it is to restore stability.