The fallout from the financial meltdown has taken its toll on office space. As the recession took hold, companies laid off more and more employees. It stands to reason that all that office space isn't needed. Reis Inc. tracks office space. Reis reported that 1.8 million square feet of office space were lost in the recent quarter, with a vacancy rate of 17.4%.

Office space is tied to employment. The recent numbers indicate that employers are still not planning to hire additional employees who, in turn, would occupy more space. Some agencies of the federal government have expanded but this has been countered by a cutback from banks and larger corporations.

Twenty years ago, Nathan Most invented the exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a simple mutual fund that trades on exchanges like a stock. Then other creators like Blackrock Inc. (BLK) joined in, creating ETFs for commodities as well as exotic ones that double and triple returns. They are called 2x and 3x shares.

When first introduced, ETFs were shunned, mainly because investors knew little about the way they worked. Slowly, they gained momentum, and now there are some 260 such funds trading $40 billion globally. On some days, more than four out of ten trades on U.S. stock exchanges involve ETFs.

Well, millionaires of the world, your club has become a bit less elite. The number of millionaires across the globe rose by an astounding 17% in 2009, according to the 14th annual "World Wealth Report" published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini SA. That's a lot of wealth in a time of global economic crisis.

But first, what defines a millionaire? No, having a baseball-card collection that might fetch that kind of a price tag doesn't count (unfortunately). The way the Merrill study defines it is those households with at least $1 million in investable assets, not including primary residences. There are now 10 million of these households in the world, up from 8.6 million in 2008.

Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, predicts trouble ahead for world economies. The Black Swan is a metaphor for unexpected events because people view the world as something structured, ordinary and comprehensible.

Some of his statements are factual, and some are conjecture. Here is list of quotes from his interview on CNBC:

The endless oil rising from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico has sunk BP (BP) stock; investors fly away, while the vultures are circling above.

It is sad to learn of BP's poor adherence to basic safety precautions and the conflicts between managers on the drilling rig. It appears from the news reports that have trickled out that this mess was created by more than damaged equipment and poor decisions. The actual decision-making process on the leased Transocean (RIG) platform was faulty from the beginning. Sadly BP is not alone in this regard -- just the most recently exposed.

We can make this short and sweet: buying utilities pays off in many ways that other investments do not. Utilities pay regular dividend distributions that are higher than most stocks, bonds, Treasuries, and certificates of deposit. In these volatile times, utility stocks add stability to your portfolio and moderate the wild swings. And, here is the kicker that everyone but day traders will appreciate: long term returns beat all of the major indices over time.

The following charts and stocks will further make the case.

Perhaps the European Union was doomed from the start and it just took a decade for the more productive member states to realize it.

If you went into a business with a bad partner is there any way for it to work? Inevitably there will be a split and that might be the case for the EU members and the battered euro.

Regardless of the end result shrewd investors should be on the lookout for stock bargains in large successful European companies undermined by the failure of the monetary system. The following three stocks are examples worth considering.

On Monday spot gold was quoted at $1,182.46 per ounce, after hitting a 2010 high of $1,182.95.

The key to the spike was the lack of confidence in the Greek debt bailout of $147 billion. While the aid package will halt the present debt problems in Greece, investors are looking forward, over the long term, and still see difficulties for the eurozone.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time. The decision was not unanimous: it came with one dissenting vote.

The Fed has, in essence, decided to continue its current course of discontinuing quantitative easing with the elimination of the remaining special programs. Shrinking the Fed balance sheet is the next step. However, monetary policy in general will be loose with the rates staying low for an extended period of time.

Do you like the feel and crackle of new money? If you do, you will like the new $100 bills. They are designed with the latest technology to deter counterfeiters.

Here's a peek at what they will look like and the special technology that went into their production:

• There is a blue three dimensional security ribbon with alternating images of bells and the number 100 that move and changes as the viewing angle is tilted. The blue ribbon in embedded in the fabric of the note.
• There is another security strip, visible to the left of Franklin's head, It is visible when held up to the light. It, too, is embedded in the fabric.
• There is a bell image inside a picture of an inkwell that changes from copper to green when tilted and a large 100 that does the same.
• The new note has a watermark of Franklin's portrait, also visible when held up to the light.

The reason for these changes is that counterfeiters, mainly from North Korea, were able to pass off their counterfeit "super note" as real currency, usually outside the United States. This is a big problem because there are roughly $6.5 billion $100 notes in circulation. Plus, two thirds of Federal Reserve notes in circulation are outside the United States.

Fed chairman, Bernanke said officials will work to educate people on the changes in the new bill. The new $100 notes are scheduled for issue in 2011. The older notes now in circulation will be destroyed as they are replaced with the new Ben Franklins.

Do you believe that the old Ben Franklins will be collector's items?

My, my, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice...

It seems Goldman Sachs Group (GS), now charged with fraud by the Security and Exchange Commission, was doing more than practicing. Apparently its business practices leave much in question about its ethical practices and how far it would go to make a deal. In particular, failing to disclose what the SEC deems material facts that may have altered an investor's decision to buy a collateral debt obligations in the form of a Residential Mortgage Backed Security (RMBS).

One might think an experienced investor would have been suspicious from the onset about any security that actually included the letters "BS" in its title and that this would have been adequate disclosure.

It always amazes me how "group think" sways the market to do stupid things, or at least jump to foolish conclusions.

Today it was announced that Goldman Sachs Group (GS) has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding investors alleging that they knowingly misstated and omitted key facts about securities tied to sub prime mortgages during the rupturing of the housing bubble when they structured and marketed a synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) tied to the performance of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

The U.S. economy is picking up steam and so too is the U.S. trade deficit. Overall, the trade deficit grew by 7.4% to $39.7 billion in February.

Americans are returning as consumers, buying computers and consumer products.The is the key factor in the rise in the trade deficit. Compared to last year, the trade gap is up nearly 50%.

Here is some real good news! The Commerce Department reported that US wholesalers' inventories rose .6% in February, far above expectations. Analysts had expected only a .3% gain.

What is even better news is that sales of US wholesalers were up .8% to $338.66 billion It was the eleventh straight month of sales increases.

To those taking time off for Good Friday: "May the Force Be with You!" To those working half days, enjoy your time with your families. The U.S. stock markets are closed today and that might be best so that we all can take a breather.

Given that stock markets all around the world were up yesterday, including ours -- again ... April Fool's Day! -- even day traders expressed confidence because they obviously were willing to hold stocks knowing the long weekend left plenty of time for unforeseen bad news to to slam their positions.