Why has the price of oil risen so much in the past few months?  Is it a supply and demand issue as some believe; or is it because of an out-of-control futures market driven by the proliferation of commodity index funds and rampant speculation, as everyone tries to get in on the rise in commodity prices?  This is a very complex issue, with a lot of emotion attached to it.

Is the economy poised for a recovery, as the stock market seems to expect?  Or are we in for another few more quarters of recession or slow growth?

A big part of successful investing is simply avoiding the mistakes that the large majority of investors make.  You can have all the techniques, trading tips, fund recommendations, forecasts, but you must still keep away from the patterns that are typical of failed investors.

If we are to believe the government statistics, the GDP of the US grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of this year. And unemployment actually fell. And there were only 20,000 job losses. This week we do a quick review of why the statistics can be so misleading.

Sometimes a fast-growing money supply is not as inflationary as you might think.

Will the US muddle through the coming year or will we see a full on recession?

The answer can make a huge difference in your investment portfolio.

John Mauldin comments on a "minor" change of the rules on how we value assets, proposed changes in regulations, employment and ISM numbers that are clearly showing we are in a recession, and what it all means.

Existing home sales rose by 2.9% in February, the first significant rise in home sales since the housing market started to decline last year.

This week we will reexamine Bear Stearns bailout, look at the drop in gold and commodities, come to the defense of Alan Greenspan, and think through to the end game of the economic crisis.