Lord William Rees-Mogg, driving force behind the biweekly Fleet Street Invest newlsetter, analyzes the current state of the dollar, the euro and the future of gold – and why it will always be an attractive, tangible asset.

Lord William Rees-Mogg (Fleet Street Invest UK): In the last six months there has been a rebound of 50% in the great majority of world stock markets.

There has also been a comparable rebound in the price of oil, with West Texas oil rising very close to $80 a barrel. In the oil market there has been heavy two-way trading in options. There could be a sharp spike in the oil price if speculators have to cover their positions.

At the same time the US dollar has remained weak, and now stands at $1.4886 to the euro and $1.66628 to the pound. This is close to a 14-month low on a trade-weighted basis. The

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Today we are featuring top-performing "European" equity mutual funds, which primarily invest in equity securities of companies based in Europe.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of Zacks #1 Rank European Equity Funds.

3 Solid Samples

ING European Real Estate Fund A (IAERX) seeks to provide investors with high total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income. It was incepted in November 2007.

The fund normally invests at least 80% of net assets in a portfolio of equity securities of real estate companies located in Europe. The fund may invest in convertible securities, initial public offering and depositary receipts.

The fund has an expense ratio of 1.75%. As of July 2009, it has a portfolio turnover of 166%.

Steven D. Burton has been lead manager of the fund since November 2007. Burton is a managing director at ING and has 24 years investment experience.

T. Rowe Price European Stock

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Luke Harding has two pieces on Russian climate change in today's Guardian: an audio report on Northern-Siberia's seasonal shifts, and a special report on the Yamal peninsula.  Rumors abound that China, Japan, Russia and France have been in secret talks on using an alternative to the dollar for oil trading, but OPEC's Secretary General says that, even if there were to be a shift, it would be a long process, and that 'tradition' would make it difficult.  Serbian oil monopoly NIS, majority owned by Gazprom Neft, has signed a $100 million loan with Bank of Moscow on the back of Medvedev's Belgrade visit.  Italy, Russia, and Turkey, have signed a joint statement on the construction of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline linking Turkey's Black Sea coast and Mediterranean coast (the New York Times has a special report today ...

Given all the news this week of Russia and Italy's South Stream deal with Turkey in exchange for a nuclear power plant, I thought I would repost an article written by Robert Amsterdam last fall in Energy Risk on Turkey's political pipelines.

FROM OCT. 2008, ENERGY RISK:

Turkey's political pipelines

Turkey's strategic position at the crossroads of East and West has put it at the centre of a geopolitical tug of war, with energy supply a key driver. Robert Amsterdam examines the energy policies being brought to bear in the region

Turkey's role in global affairs is defined by its geostrategic importance as the bridge between Europe and the Near East. Following Russia's invasion and occupation of Georgia in August, which caused considerable energy supply jitters, Turkey was once again thrust into the spotlight as the European

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According to Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, during Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey it is expected that deals on energy projects will be secured.  Russia will sign an agreement with Turkey on building a pipeline to transport Black Sea Oil to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Bosphorus Straits.  'The West's propaganda campaign regarding Nabucco creates a false impression that the EU will improve its energy security by diversifying Europe's gas suppliers', suggests Tatyana Mitrova in the Moscow Times, with the pipeline capable of transporting only 10 billion to 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year.  Both Shell and BP are postponing decisions on major projects on the basis that costs may drop.  Russian helicopter maker Vertolyoty Rossii and Israel's IAI are creating a new unmanned helicopter system for Gazprom to survey the working of gas pipelines.  Russia ...

Take a minute, close your eyes, and think back to when you were in the 7th grade. At some point your geography or history teacher was probably talking to you about Marco Polo and something called the Silk Road. The Silk Road, actually a network of roads and sea routes connecting China to the Mediterranean, and ultimately to Europe, was a conduit for trade until the 15th century. Gold and silver were carried eastward to China and in return traders going back west carried something that was, pound for pound, far more valuable than even gold. They carried what was for thousands of years one of China’s major exports, natural silk, the product of a lowly caterpillar.

The reason for silk’s hold on people is, of course, its unique properties. A smooth and luxurious fiber, it can be dyed and printed in striking bright colors. It

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One of the most subtle forms of discrimination is said to be embodied in the application of diminished expectations - which has certainly been the phenomenon toward Russia in recent years as compared to the high hopes following the collapse of the Soviet Union.  This is a great country of great people with a great history - and there's no reason why we shouldn't have high expectations for it to develop into a strong and free society.  Yet, as Keith Smith of CSIS notes in this briefing note, at some point the West, especially Europe, abandoned any expectation of a Russian return to normality and legality - a diminished expectation of accountability fueled largely by the corrosive political impact of the energy trade.

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Silver has a long history. Ancient cultures used silver for trade, jewelry, and crafts.  Silver ore was first processed by the Chaldeans around 2500 BC as well as in Asia Minor (Turkey).  In an effort to meet rising societal demand, ancient Mediterranean cultures eventually looked to silver deposits in modern-day Armenia.

Later, Rome exploited deposits from the Laurium mines in the Black Sea region.  The Romans used silver and other metals for coinage. The Carthaginians looked to Spanish mines for their silver ore supply. Most cultures have valued that shiny metal known as “gold’s poor cousin.”

As for modern times, silver prices were stagnant for decades before exploding upward the last few years.  A huge gain in silver, along with a similar move in gold, is causing many investors to revisit precious metals……..

…….#3 – iShares Silver Trust (SLV)

As you know, we

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Italy’s Banks: A Conservative Lending Business
From the United Kingdom we travel south to the Mediterranean, where an Italian ETF comprised mainly of financials offers investors an opportunity to participate in some of Europe’s safest banks.

The MSCI Italy Index Fund (NYSE:EWI) holds approximately 40% financials along with a number of utility, energy and other Italian large caps, serving as a proxy for the broader Italian market. Italian banks are currently attractive because they were not exposed to subprime loans in the way many other European nations’ banks were.

Italian banks engage in a far more traditional banking business than their continental counterparts, and therefore don’t assume the risks of brokerages, insurance companies and other specialized financial institutions that require gains from underwriting and investments just to compete. The shares are currently yielding a very safe 5.49% annual dividend and have appreciated by

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How did it get here, and where is it going? What a difference a year makes. While March lions and April showers were at work in 2008, so were these factors in the U.S. and global economies:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained steady above 12,000. The leading indicator of existing home sales was down over 21% from the previous year, and the official unemployment rate was just beginning its upward creep by crossing the 5% mark. The first official admissions of the “R” word. In early April 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared a 25% chance of a global recession, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that gross domestic product “could even contract slightly.” The novelty of bailouts began. Bernanke also assured Congress that the Fed’s emergency authorization of a loan against $29 billion of Bear Stearns assets wasn’t putting taxpayer money at risk: “I feel reasonably confident that ...