US authorities are in full socialization mode, where the capitalist model is being thrown out of the window. Look at the actions, not the words. The more irresponsible a company or individual has been during the past 10 years, the better its chances of being saved. Even the grotesque US automakers will be bailed out, for the nth time.

China announced a USD586 billion stimulus package Nov. 9, an amount equal to nearly a fifth of the country’s GDP. Global markets reacted with initial glee before turning negative in the face of discomforting economic news.

This is just the beginning. And it won’t be too long before we look back at these moves and wonder what we were thinking. Hopefully by then we’ll have moved on to a period where Uncle Sam isn’t a partner in a seemingly endless stream of businesses and industries. But for now, as it relates to your investments, the here and now dictates that you need to gear up to invest right along with Uncle Sam Inc.

The stock market couldn’t hold its gains after an election day rally, sliding into its biggest two-day slump since 1997. Higher-than-anticipated jobless claims amidst an already weakened economy and disappointing earnings across the market simply took the wind out of the market’s sails.

Vital resource stocks have been pounded during the financial crisis. Some of the losses have come from the liquidation of positions investors piled into—including hedge funds—on the way up. Some have been a result of the current surge of the US dollar, which--in turn--has been due in part to the so-called flight to quality and unwinding of the “carry trade” by large institutions. And some of the losses have been due simply to worries that the liquidity crisis would trigger a steep global recession.

Canada’s tighter regulatory system and more cautious approach to banking distinguish it from the US and the rest of the Anglo-Saxon financial system, but that doesn’t mean the crisis gripping the global economy won’t have a serious impact on its domestic economy. It’s important to understand that Canada entered this volatile period from a stronger position than other developed nations and that steps taken by its responsible authorities have been focused on mitigating the impact of external problems and maintaining competitive advantages its long-term conservative practices have made possible.

I recently spoke with Louis Rukeyser's Mutual Funds (LRMF) newsletter editor Benjamin Shepherd regarding the present state of investing in Asia and the future prospects of the region as an investment destination going forward. The full interview follows:

The Bank of Canada (BoC) lowered its target overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent Tuesday morning, citing severe strains on financial markets, a coming global recession triggered by an ongoing US recession and a sharp decline in commodity prices as its primary concerns going forward. The BoC is the first central bank to follow up the Oct. 8 coordinated rate cuts by global monetary authorities with another cut.

It seems everybody’s getting a helping hand. This week yet another major bank got a huge infusion of public help--$66 billion worth--to keep the doors open for at least a few more weeks. Zurich-based UBS (NYSE: UBS), announced that the Swiss federal authority in Bern, along with the Swiss National Bank, decided it didn’t want one of its biggest banks going down for the count. Swiss authorities are supposedly taking $60 billion in debt assets with no real assumable value and at the same time buying into the bank with equity capital of $6 billion.

This year marks the most critical sequence of events in financial history. We’re witnessing the greatest shock to the system. There’s no way to be sure of the final outcome yet, but the world will certainly be a different place after all is said and done.