Although the U.S. government has never officially defaulted on its debt, it missed payments on some Treasury Bills in 1979.

This week we start with the latest version of the solution to the European Crisis, the details of which are now coming out.

Borrowing more money to keep from admitting the truth is disastrous. Europe just proved it.

Two percent GDP growth is not enough to absorb population growth and bring idle workers back into the active labor force. And it isn't enough to keep the US economy from dipping into recession from time to time.

There's no magic to money. It works as a medium of exchange and a store of value when, and only when, its quantity is strictly controlled.

On both sides of the Atlantic, the situation is about the same. The geniuses and scam-artists who run the big banks want to keep the honey pots open as long as possible.

The markets always find a way to surprise us; you can count on that. But, by one route or another, gold will end up at twice today's price – at least.

This week we are going to revisit some themes concerning the problems of the debt and the deficit.

It was a tough week for the world's foremost currency as it finished sharply lower against key counterparts on sovereign credit rating fears and lackluster interest rate prospects.

European policy officials, over the past year, have taken the approach to impending financial disaster by putting out small fires only when conditions seem to be borderline crisis.