This post is a guest contribution by Dian Chu*, market analyst, trader and author of the Economic Forecasts and Opinions blog.

The dollar’s value against major currencies has fallen in recent months as the US fiscal outlook worsened and amid expectations that interest rates will remain close to zero for some time to fight the economic downturn.

This week, the euro broke above the psychologically important level of $1.50 driving gold prices to record levels, prompting many global central banks intervening on currency markets to slow the dollar’s fall (Fig 1).

How did we get here?

Since the financial crisis last fall, currency markets have taken their cues mostly from stock markets. When stocks plunged in March of this year, investors rushed to the safety of US government bonds, pushing the

It’s always a pleasant surprise to find yourself in good company. As loyal readers already know, here at Notes HQ we’re not exactly part of the “in crowd.” Whether we’re writing about the trillion dollar deficits, banks’ phony earnings, government bamboozles or the sucker’s rally in stocks, you’re unlikely to find the official spin in our daily missives.

Generally, we like it like that. It makes us feel special. Instead of pulling up our knee socks and getting out our pompoms along with the mainstream media hacks, we remain ever sceptical about tales of recovery… of so-called “green shoots”… and, above all, of Washington’s empty promises and various boondoggles.

But once in a while, it’s nice to know you have friends… that people far smarter than you share the same opinions as you do.

So it was with much delight that we opened up the latest King Report from honorary underground investor Bill King –