Copper Is Even Stronger Than Gold

Gold and silver and hot, but for the past month, copper has been a lot hotter.  I did a video blog-cast about that yesterday that will hopefully be up on the site today.  Here is a chart from the vlog …

Here is what I’m reading today …

UN Panel Says World should Ditch US Dollar A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

Paris Streets Erupt in Violence as Millions Protest Handling of Financial Crisis.  The biggest protests were in Paris, where police said up to 85,000 people took five hours to walk from Place de la République to Place de la Nation. Hundreds of riot police were sent to the area where anarchist groups waved revolutionary flags. Riot police fired rounds of tear gas after demonstrators lit fires and smashed shop windows. Fighting broke out on all corners of the square, with police moving in to try to arrest ring leaders.

XX Sean’s note — So why don’t Americans do this?  Because we’re hooked on that most American of drugs, television.  “I can’t go out and protest — American Idol is on!”

Marketwatch reveals that many consumers are just a paycheck or two away from financial ruin.

A MetLife study released last week found that 50% of Americans said they have only a one-month cushion — roughly two paychecks — or less before they would be unable to fully meet their financial obligations if they were to lose their jobs. More disturbing is that 28% said they could not make ends meet for longer than two weeks without their jobs.

The high bullish volume we’ve seen in the markets recently would be very bullish signals in normal markets.  But these are not normal markets. That doesn’t mean we can’t rally for awhile — it can go on for quite some time.  I just wouldn’t make any long-term plans.

“Trillion is the new billion,” writes Tyler Cowan at Marginal Revolution:   “If this fails the U.S. economy, and the stock market, will test new bottoms.”

XX Sean’s note — I’ve been thinking lately that the global financial crisis is worthy of a scheme that could have been dreamed up by Dr. Evil.  “Why make trillions when we can make … billions?!”

Are these weather balloons over London?  Or are aliens as ticked off by the financial shenanigans as everyone else?

In today’s version of the former Wall Street Millionaire selling apples in the Great Depression, we now have  a Hedge Funder Who Now Delivers Pizza

China Industry Aims to Boost Gold Inventory, Output in 2009, Ministry Says China’s gold industry, the world’s largest by output, will seek to boost its bullion stockpiles by 800 metric tons and increase production to 290 tons this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

Rice Demand Growth May Top Expansion in Output Amid Slowdown, Zeigler Says Global demand growth for rice may exceed the expansion in output this year as the recession forces people to eat more grains in place of meat and farmers struggle to secure loans as banks hoard capital, a research official said.

China Corn May Extend Gains as Government Buying Shrinks Commercial Supply China’s corn prices may climb further this year as the government buys the crop to boost stockpiles in the world’s largest grain producer, said Feng Lichen, general manager of Yigu Information Consulting Ltd.

Related Posts

• Looks Like the Copper Correction Is Over (02/19/10)
• Copper Was the Big Winner of 2009? And for 2010 … (01/04/10)
• Chart of the Day — Copper (03/15/10)
• A Big Cru-u-unch in Copper! (01/28/10)
• Oil and Gold Charts and Monday News (10/19/08)