Jim Rickards on Russia and the most important stories of 2014

Inflation in Japan dropped to a 14-month low in the month of November. The disinflation comes as a relief to consumer who, since April, have been struggling with an increased consumption tax, which put a squeeze on many household finances. It was the first consumption tax in 17 years. However, the latest fall in the core consumer price index – to 0.7% in November, down from 0.9% in October – will cause some concerns for the central bank, which has staked its credibility on hitting a 2% inflation rate within two years. Erin weighs in.

Then, Erin is joined by Jim Rickards – chief global strategist at West Shore Funds and author of “The Death of Money.” Jim tells us if he thinks the Ruble rout is a crisis similar to those of 1998 or 2008 and gives us his take on the strong dollar.

After the break is Defining Moments, featuring comments made by recent Boom Bust guests David Collum, Jim Grant, Steve Hanke, Eswar Prasad on IBM, the Federal Reserve in 1920, emerging markets, Raghuram Rajan, and US GDP.

And in The Big Deal, Erin and Edward Harrison are taking a look at some of the biggest deals of 2014. Enjoy!

- Source, Russia Today