Tom Brady the Best Decision and 22 More Signs and Symptoms

Well, Tom Brady is the best thing that has happened to the New England Patriots. I think they have a good chance to go all the way and capture another Super Bowl. Of course, one key injury, one bad call or one bad play can change a game around. With the top teams we have playing, one bad call/play can change the outcome.

Even though America will be focused on the playoffs this weekend, there are some other things that we all should be focusing on as well. Twenty-two of them to be exact.

Here are some that. I feel are really important.

** On Thursday it was announced that U.S. jobless claims had soared to a six-week high.

** Over the past 12 months, dozens of prominent retailers have closed stores all over America, and one
     consulting firm is projecting that there will be more than 5,000 more store closings in 2012.

** There are signs that the Chinese economy is seriously slowing down.  The following comes from a recent
     article in the Guardian….

"Growth had slowed to an annual rate of 1.5% in the second and third quarters of 2011, below the “stall speed” that historically led to recession."

** The Bank of Japan says that the economic recovery in that country “has paused“.

** Germany’s economy actually contracted during the 4th quarter of 2011.  At this point many economists
     believe that Germany is already experiencing a recession.

** According to a recent article by Bloomberg, it is being projected that the French economy is heading
     into a recession….

"The French economy will shrink this quarter and next, suggesting the nation is in a recession as investment and consumer spending stagnate, national statistics office Insee said."

 But, this one could be the nail in the coffin.

**** The major industrialized nations of the world must roll over trillions upon trillions of dollars in debt during 2012.  At a time when credit is becoming much tighter, this is going to be quite a challenge.  The following list compiled by Bloomberg shows the amount of debt that some large nations must roll over in 2012….
Japan: 3,000 billion
U.S.: 2,783 billion (That is $2.783 trillion)
Italy: 428 billion
France: 367 billion
Germany: 285 billion
Canada: 221 billion
Brazil: 169 billion
U.K.: 165 billion
China: 121 billion
India: 57 billion
Russia: 13 billion

Keep in mind that those numbers do not include any new borrowing.  Those are just old debts that must be refinanced.

Where is the WORLD going to come up with $7,609,000,000,000? I know some countries can just print money, cough, cough...America, but just think what will happen to the strength of the dollar if America prints $2.7 trillion dollars to refinance their debt.

Stay tuned and get prepared!