Metals Strong - Paper Curencies Floundering

Both silver and gold are in a strong upward move today. Gold is 859.60 and silver 11.45.
Meanwhile, the DJI are down 165+ after yesterday's big gain. Have the metals decoupled from the general market? Might be temporary, but one can dream.

My trading miners >> DROOY 5.99; HMY 10.19; VGZ 1:43. I am still seeking a new trading range which is comfortable.

From the Telegraph UK:

Monetary union has left half of Europe trapped in depression

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 9:36AM GMT 18 Jan 2009

Events are moving fast in Europe. The worst riots since the fall of Communism have swept the Baltics and the south Balkans. An incipient crisis is taking shape in the Club Med bond markets. S&P has cut Greek debt to near junk. Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish bonds are on negative watch.

Dublin has nationalised Anglo Irish Bank with its half-built folly on North Wall Quay and €73bn (£65bn) of liabilities, moving a step nearer the line where markets probe the solvency of the Irish state.

A great ring of EU states stretching from Eastern Europe down across Mare Nostrum to the Celtic fringe are either in a 1930s depression already or soon will be. Greece's social fabric is unravelling before the pain begins, which bodes ill. Read it HERE.

From TimesOnLine UK:

World Agenda: riots in Iceland, Latvia and Bulgaria are a sign of things to come

Our third global political column explores the start of an age of rebellion over the financial crisis - beginning in Iceland

Icelanders all but stormed their Parliament last night. It was the first session of the chamber after what might appear to be an unusually long Christmas break.

Ordinary islanders were determined to vent their fury at the way that the political class had allowed the country to slip towards bankruptcy. The building was splattered with paint and yoghurt, the crowd yelled and banged pans, fired rockets at the windows and lit a bonfire in front of the main door. Riot police moved in.

Now in the grand sweep of the current crisis, a riot on a piece of volcanic rock in the north Atlantic may not seem to add up to much. But it is a sign of things to come: a new age of rebellion. Read it HERE.

From the Telegraph UK:

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy

Iain Martin says the Prime Minister hasn't 'saved the world' and now faces disgrace in the history books

By Iain Martin
Last Updated: 8:41AM GMT 21 Jan 2009

They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious.

Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at root what is happening here. Read the article HERE.

From Commodity OnLine:

China overtakes India in Gold sales

2009-01-22 16:50:00

Commodity Online
India has been until now, the undisputed single-largest Gold bullion consumer, with its own final demand outweighing the next largest market – China by almost 57 percent. But it seems now, that the Chinese Gold buyers have caught up during 2008.

World Gold Council’s latest data says Chinese demand is surging rapidly (up by 15 percent year-onyear) while Indian demand fell as Indian Gold sales collapsed by about 65 percent in the first six months of 2008. Read it HERE.

It is great to know that our God is in control. That provides peace, comfort, and joy throughout life.

Best to each, Doug