This week, a new twist in D.C.'s Christmas tradition: not the White House tree lighting, but the passage of a "continuing resolution" (CR) to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.

Recession and resurgent inflation are hitting working people hard at the same time. Here are the many facts that show an intense storm of stagflation is looming right behind us.

The most important thing to understand about the budget deal is that it added more spending to the already bloated federal budget.

There are two predominant dangers that come with a cashless society, and just about every negative that you can think of due to such will fall into one of these two groups: Denial of purchasing power A complete loss of anonymity

So it’s still a dangerous time. There is also the risk of a hyperinflationary economic collapse. That would be the worst of all worlds. Gold would preserve your purchasing power during a runaway inflation. That's been seen time and again throughout history.

And if you’re superstitious and believe in curses, there is this headline from the latest edition of Barron’s: “Stocks Could Gain Another 20% in 2025. Embrace the Bubble”. Contrary indicators don’t get better than that.

Two indicators I consider primary to macro boom/bust signaling are forecasting an oncoming bust and market liquidity contraction, respectively. These indicators are not necessarily good timers, but they are conditions that will likely be in effect when the next economic bust and market liquidity problems manifest.

When comparing intraday highs, the latest gold price peak of $2785 is far cheaper than its 1980 ($3407) inflation-adjusted price.

Who trades what along which routes has been an important part of economic history. For eons, trade routes were part of globalization which, with its free movement of goods, money and information, most economists still see as the key to growth and prosperity.

So, as I have noted, the more and more we begin to study the psychological aspects of our financial markets, the more we understand why we see movements such as this past week.