Gold hit briefly above 1000 last week. God is in control.

I took a week off and the precious metals went wild. Seems that is what generally happens when I sneak away. It is hard for me to believe that the month of February is about gone. Just six days left.

Time is running very short for most to dig themselves out of debt. However, this must be the goal of each of us. As God's word says that the borrower is slave to the lender. We have lived on debt for such a long time that many folks do not know any other way to live. This is leading to many bankruptcies of families and businesses all over America. Debt free living provides a great degree of freedom.

We must learn to live beneath our means and put as much as possible in an emergency saving fund. This is essential for people to live debt free. It eliminates the necessity of debt for emergency needs.

Think about planting "victory" gardens to provide a portion of good food for the families. What a great project this is for young children. Get them into gardening rather than the mind numbing electronic games which consumes too much of their time without providing real Godly benefit. After all, we should as parents and grandparents be preparing them to work for the spread of the Kingdom of God over all the earth. God demands that we do this. However, most of us are too complacent to educate our children toward this goal. 'This should be the primary task of the parents, and it should begin at very early age. However, it is never too late to start.

Recognize that exposure to the vile language of modern movies, music, and even media ads numbs the mind to the language which should shock sensitive minds. It leads us to believe that this is normal. It is not in the eyes of the sovereign God of all. He abhors vile language and those who take His name in vain. He hates this and so should we. He hates ever type of sin and so should we.


Silver is holding fairly well at 14.30 now on a down tick.
Gold is at 985.90 on a down tick. Both of these prices are from current Asian trading.
On Friday, the miners were holding above both the 50 and 200 day moving averages. We should expect some kind of a correction after the metals sprinted ahead. Gold briefly shot up above 1000.

I am looking to add to my portfolio of DROOY, HMY, and VGZ possibly this week. I am waiting for an expected correction in the price of the metals which should be reflected in the miners. Using great caution, I will be as patient as I can. Of course, I may use some options on those miners which offer options.

Options tend to give more leverage, but have an expiration date. Thus, one must be careful when using options.

The general market looks to be the worst we have seen in years. It is the most dangerous market of recent times. If you are in it, you are losing dollar value almost daily. Many believe they have no stake in the market, but how about your 401k and IRA accounts? Are these in the general market though mutual funds or other managed accounts? Have you checked the value of these accounts recently and compared them on an annual basis? Even money market funds pay so little dividend and interest that the purchasing power is lost as the dollar devalues. Check it out for yourselves.

Here are Friday's closings: DJI 7365.67 Off 100.28; Nasdaq 1441.23 Off 1.59; S&P 500 770.05 Off 8.89, and Dow Transportations 2698.87 Off 9.43. This is not a good showing. I have been selling into any increases and have almost completely eliminated all my general stocks. I am still holding the mining stocks and bullion trusts.

From Bloomberg:

Obama Plans to Slash U.S. Budget Deficit by 2013

By Hans Nichols and Nadine Elsibai

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama plans to increase taxes on the wealthy and cut spending for the war in Iraq as part of a plan to slash the U.S. budget deficit to $533 billion by the end of his first term, according to an administration official.

Obama wants to reduce the deficit because he’s concerned that over time, federal borrowing will make it harder for the economy to grow and create jobs, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Read it HERE.

This reminds me of the promises of all politicians. They promise the impossible, because they believe it sounds good and will buy them some support, particular reelection. It is a bit early for running again. He's only been there a month. I really don't know what he is thinking if he intends to slash the deficit on the backs of the "rich." Who are these "rich?" The higher income bracket folks are those who pay significant amounts of the income taxes. Sounds more like a continuation of the tactic of dividing the population and playing one segment against the other. More divide and conquer tactics.

More from Bloomberg:

Asia Agrees on $120 Billion Currency Pool Amid Crisis

By Shamim Adam and Seyoon Kim

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian nations will form a $120 billion pool of foreign-exchange reserves that can be used by countries to defend their currencies in an expansion of efforts to battle fallout from the global financial crisis.

Finance ministers from Japan, China, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian nations agreed to the fund at a summit yesterday in Phuket, Thailand. The amount is 50 percent more than was proposed last May, and a broadening of the current arrangement called the Chiang Mai Initiative that allows only bilateral currency swaps. No date was set for completion of the new pool. Read it HERE.

Asia is awakening to the need for an Asian common currency. This is not that, but it could be a forerunner to one. They are moving to defend themselves against the coming massive depreciation of the dollar.

More from Bloomberg:

American Budgets Have More to Spare for Cars, Home Than in 1955

By Bob Willis

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Even in the midst of what may become the worst recession in the postwar era, Americans still have the means to enjoy more luxuries than their parents or grandparents did a half-century ago -- for now.

Necessities like food and clothing take a much smaller share of household budgets, with plenty left over to pay for bigger homes, second or third cars and higher levels of education than families could afford back then. Read it HERE.

Americans have more to spare, because of the high level of debt and the fact that the dollar remains the reserve currency of the world. The latter advantage may be coming to an end in the not too distant future.

From Reuters:

U.S. seeking up to 40 percent stake in Citigroup: report

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. government may end up holding as much as 40 percent of Citigroup's common stock, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website, citing sources familiar with the plans.

But Citigroup executives hope the talks with U.S. federal officials will result in a stake closer to 25 percent, the Journal reported. Read it HERE.

The major difference between socialism and communism is that under the latter, the government owns more banks, businesses, and property. That is for the "good" of the masses. However, private ownership of property is a Godly necessity in a free market. We are moving more toward greater central control at the federal level, and are losing more freedom in the move.

Let us pray diligently that the Lord will spare us as a nation and return us to the God of our forefathers before it is too late for America.

Best to each, Doug