While analysts and economists may disagree on the solution to an economic recession, they all agree that job creation and wage rates play a critical role in economic growth. You may be inclined to believe the issue today is a lack of jobs, citing job cuts and layoffs as support. However, the winners of the Nobel prize in economics for 2010 disagree–it may be a lack of proper job training.

As fears mount that global markets are no longer safe, investors are turning to gold as an investment, which has resulted in its price reaching a new high. As of Friday morning, the price of gold had jumped to as high as $1,881 per ounce, which marks a 7 percent increase this week alone.

Gold Price Increases 25 Percent since July

By Casey Bond

If your budget is hurting from summer festivities and you’re stressing about upcoming expenses, know that the right planning can get your finances back on track. Each month is the best time to buy certain items, so if you plan your shopping accordingly, you can save money on the things you need on a regular basis. The following is a guide to what you can save on in August.

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday its plans to investigate the process Standard & Poor’s used to rate dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis. The ratings given to these securities were deemed improper by the department as they directly influenced poor and avoidable investment choices.

Monetary policy is one of the least understood areas of finance, yet it’s something we’ve been hearing a lot about in the wake of the economic meltdown of 2008. In very general terms, monetary policy is what keeps the economy stable and prosperous.

So, how do the main components of monetary policy such as interest rates, lending and reserve requirements affect you, the consumer? In more ways than you may think–that’s why it’s important to be in the know.

New data released by Trulia reveals renting a home is more expensive than buying in nearly three-quarters of major U.S. cities. In other financial news, more homeowners are choosing to shorten the terms of their mortgage loans in an effort to pay off their debt.

Rent is Costlier than Buying in 74 Percent of Major Cities

By Stacey Bumpus

Most beginner investors are familiar with the stock market, as well as bonds and mutual funds, but there are a variety of other investments to take advantage of, too-one of the biggest and oldest being the foreign exchange market.

A new survey conducted by The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) found that a whopping 64 percent of Americans don’t have $1,000 in their savings accounts to cover emergency expenses. These individuals said they would unfortunately have to turn to an outside source to ask for money if an unexpected expense popped up.

Americans Must Turn to Others for Emergency Funds

Buying more shares when prices are low is the recipe for long-term investment success, and dollar cost averaging will accomplish that without the guesswork involved in timing the market.

When it comes to investing strategies, it seems as though everyone from the multi-billion dollar portfolio manager to the local mechanic has a theory. Passive or active management, buy and hold, technical or fundamental analysis and value investing are but a few examples. However, dollar cost averaging is a long-time strategy particularly suited for individual investors, at least those that don’t have $250,000, $500,000 or a million dollars on hand to meet private wealth management minimums.

It’s getting harder every day for regular Americans to honor financial commitments, especially when we see our own Federal Government raising its debt limits higher. Every night on the TV news, Americans watch fiscally irresponsible oil companies, auto manufacturers and banks all erasing their debts and posting huge profits while we struggle to pay our daily expenses.

“Many Americans feel that the banks specifically have wronged them and so they feel legitimized in sticking it to the banks and walking away from their mortgage obligations,” says Luigi Zingales, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.