The outlook for the Japanese yen has become clouded as a likely recovery in risk appetite competes with currency traders backtracking on overdone US Federal Reserve rate hike expectations for control over near-term price action.

The British Pound may continue to retrace the advance from the previous year as policy makers see a risk for a protracted recovery.

The Swiss franc continued to weaken against the greenback as the Federal Reserve signaled an increased willingness to normalize policy this year.

Burger King’s decision this week to raise the price of a double cheeseburger from $1 to $1.19 and to remove one slice of cheese from the double cheeseburger on its dollar menu is a perfect example of the dilemma that major U.S. corporations are dealing with in the current economic environment.

How did the '70s period end? Inflation increased and the Dow sank. It didn’t hit its final low until August 1982. But at that point, stocks were undeniably cheap. You could buy the Dow for about 5 times earnings.

Congress is supposed to confront the problems of the nation and solve them. But with more people getting something from the government than supporting it, Congress is not likely to change course.

No lobbyist left behind! That's the new motto of the whole Washington establishment.  Every spending bill has something in it for everybody.

While German Chancellor Merkel has indicated a willingness to help, the German finance minister and other politicians are suggesting German cooperation will either not be forthcoming or only be there at a very high price.

Ask yourself if you have a culture of trading?  Do you have a set of ritualized rules that contain and control your behavior to protect your capital?

There are a few approaches the European Union can take to defuse perhaps the greatest threat to its stability in its relatively short history.