The stock market is a huge gamble right now

All debt is suspect now because so many of the world's economies are contracting. Sovereign debt, State debt, local and municipal bonds are no longer safe havens. At one time these vehicles were safe and sound. Not anymore. Recall that in 2008 AAA top rated derivatives turned out to be based on fraudulently granted sub-prime mortgages. As this essay points out, it's about to be 2008 all over again, only more so because the government simply does not have the resources to bailout every failed institution without hyper-inflating the currency (within an hour of penning this I noticed the following headline on CNBC.COM- Alabama County to File Biggest US Muni Bankruptcy in history). cheat cards

 Since pension funds are heavily invested in debt vehicles they are a potential source of trouble that perhaps little can be done about. But you can do a few things:

 1) Most big name US banks are extremely over-leveraged. It is not reported well in the mainstream press, but Bank of America, Chase, and Citibank are the three most over-leveraged retail banks in the US to the tune of trillions of dollars. They are prime targets to topple. When they fail this time they may or may not get bailed out again. The FDIC does not have a fraction of the funds required to make good on customers' deposits. Consider moving your accounts to a smaller, regional bank or credit union (you can easily google this info).

 2) Keep some ready cash at hand. In the event of some kind of credit crunch (a.k.a.  liquidity crisis), bank failure, or other event… in other words if the dominoes start to fall… some or all banks may close their doors for a time. ATM machines may be temporarily non-functional. I know this sounds like a clip from the movie ‘It's a Wonderful Life' with Jimmy Stewart, but there have already been small versions of this eventuality play out, although it's been under-reported.

 3) Convert some of your assets into gold and silver. Precious metals will be the final landing spot for capital when all other paper based safe havens are gone. The reason why is simple; gold and silver are hard to devalue. infrared ink

 4) The stock market is a huge gamble right now. The normal matrix of company profitability and supply/demand for stocks is no longer in force. Keeping money in the stock market in my view incurs enormous risk. Major gold/silver mining stocks may be an exception if purchased for the long term. Also, find out if your broker is overextended in risky debt in an effort to improve its bottom line. Last I heard Charles Schwab is clean, but do your own research.

 5) If there is any sort of disruption due to the financial dominoes falling it is a certainty people will panic and clear the shelves at the grocery store. In a liquidity crisis those shelves may not be restocked as quickly as you are used to. Stock up now on food and supplies.