The Dow has been hit hard with selling, breaking through the key 11,600 support level I’ve been warning about. I said that once the Dow breaks 11,600, the bear is back in control and much lower prices are to come. That means U.S. stocks, and by default the U.S. economy, are going over the cliff. How low will it go? We need more fear in the market before a bottom comes and I see the Dow dropping to as low as 9,200 before a turnaround starts to take hold. Of course, it won't be a straight-down affair. There will be a lot of fake-out moves and with all the uncertainty out there, there will be a lot of volatility. The economic news is not good, and a lot of investors are very, very nervous, and rightfully so. What should you do? Be cautious. Stick ...

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is trying to support the dollar, making rare statements on Tuesday about how the weak dollar has contributed to inflation, and that the Fed is closely monitoring the dollar. Bernanke went on to repeat his inflation concerns while speaking at Harvard University yesterday, saying that “some indicators of longer-term inflation expectations have risen in recent months, which is a significant concern for the Federal Reserve. We will need to monitor that situation closely." Interestingly enough, his comments come at a time when my models have been forecasting a bounce in the buck, and a short-term correction in gold, oil and other natural resources. So Bernanke’s unconvincing attempt to support the dollar comes as no surprise to me. These moves tend to happen at normal turning points in the market, which proves once again that it’s not the news that drives the markets necessarily, but it’s the ...

The Chinese are very smart. They know they need to secure natural resources and commodities to fuel their future growth and are taking steps to insure they get what they need. Fonterra, a New Zealand dairy giant, signed a deal to supply milk powder deal to China for $235 million. Chinese has imported 456,000 tons of agricultural products worth 540 million from Taiwan in the last three years.

Nearly every natural resource under the sun is about to enter the second, most powerful phase of their bull markets, eventually reaching dizzying heights that make today’s record prices seem tame by comparison.

Almost everyone would scoff if I gave you my peak projections for copper, uranium, corn, wheat, and each of the other commodities I follow. They’d probably lock me up in Bellevue!

But then again, that’s what the so-called experts said of me six years ago, when I proclaimed gold would surpass $1,000 an ounce and oil would easily climb to over $100 a barrel.

Maybe now they’re listening!

Bottom line: As for the natural resource bull markets, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

All told, I see five persistent, strengthening forces that explain …