Many years ago, when Dad and I used to look at official data and analysis, we knew they were flawed. So we developed our own. That’s how we figured out that the capital of savings and loans was grossly overstated and that thousands of S&Ls were headed for a massive bust. Our awareness of the flaws was also a key factor in helping us warn consumers prior to the failures of giant insurance companies during the 1990s. (See the review of our work by U.S. Government Accountability Office GAO.) It was critical to helping us warn you of nearly every major financial failure in the debt crisis that began more than two years ago. (See my blog for our forecast track record.) Plus, it’s one of the main ...

Last week, the U.S. Congress finally passed an unprecedented financial bailout package aimed at thawing out frozen credit markets, but the market's response was telling — the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 474 points from peak to close on Friday. Not exactly a vote of confidence. The start to this week showed no improvement either, as investors woke up to another Black Monday. Stocks plunged in a global stock market rout, with the Dow down over 800 points at its low. The problem? Washington's plan may be too little too late! The U.S. economy is probably mired in recession ALREADY, and Wall Street's NIGHTMARE is already spilling over to Main Street America. The unprecedented volatility we're seeing in financial markets is like nothing ever experienced before. Triple-digit swings in the Dow have become common! ...