This market is so wild, so volatile, that I’m calling it the “Andy Warhol market” — everyone gets a turn to be right, but only for 15 minutes at a time! And right now, there are massive forces lined up that could thrust stocks and commodities to the moon … and an equally formidable array of triggers that could send them tumbling lower. The stocks I’ll leave to others … But let me show you the forces that are pushing around gold and oil. Plus I’ll give you four ways to play these wild swings. Gold-ilocks and The 3 Bears I’m generally bullish on gold, so it’s good to acknowledge the bearish forces as well. While total gold demand rose 18% in the third quarter, the fourth quarter was when ...

Oil falls after two sessions of gains… Israeli offensive goes into fourth day…  OPEC output set to fall further in December

Oil fell below $40 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by gloom about prospects for world economic growth which outweighed heightened tensions in the Middle East due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

Prices had jumped as much as 12 percent on Monday after Israel launched its fiercest air offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip in decades.

U.S. crude was down 77 cents at $39.25 a barrel by 1151 GMT, having earlier touched a session high of $40.39.

London Brent fell 60 cents to $39.95.

“With most global economies struggling and credit markets still in an impaired state, it is hard to get too excited about the upside potential in energy markets attributable solely to geopolitical factors unless, of course, these are directed at the heart

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nbsp;Here's what I am reading today ...brbrASIAbrbrA class=summheadline href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=auPaBwMwwGtgamp;refer=worldwideSTRONGJapanese Business Confidence Plunges Most in 34 Years as Recession Deepens /STRONG/ASentiment among Japan’s largest manufacturers fell the most in 34 years, signaling companies are likely to cancel spending plans and cut more jobs, pushing the economy further into recession. brbrA class=summheadline href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089amp;sid=ablWg2RUlVmkamp;refer=chinaSTRONGChina Plans to Increase Money Supply in 2009 to Boost Domestic Consumption /STRONG/AChina aims to increase its money supply 17 percent in 2009 and encourage lending to boost domestic consumption and buoy growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy. brbrENERGYbrA class=summheadline href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072amp;sid=aXp2Rc3B4FSEamp;refer=energySTRONGCrude Oil Rises as OPEC's El-Badri Says Sizeable Cut Is Needed at Meeting /STRONG/ACrude oil rose, touching $50 a barrel in New York, after OPEC’s Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said the group needs to make a “sizable” output cut at this week’s meeting in Algeria. brbrA href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072amp;sid=auG5o.dtUTXMamp;refer=energySTRONGOPEC Collides With Goldman Over $75 Oil in First Demand Decline Since 1983 /STRONG/AThe Organization ...

I'm appearing on Fox Business TV at 1:00 to 1:06 today on the Stuart Varney Show. Stuart's a good guy, so probably no chairs will be flung (ha-ha). Anyway, I'm going on to talk about oil prices.brbrIf you don't get Fox Business -- I don't get it on my darned cable -- here are the talking points I'm bringing for my interview ...brbrGoldman Sachs predicts oil prices will fall to $30 a barrel.brbrOPEC President Chakib Khelil said all the group’s members support an oil output cut at this week’s meeting, including the largest producer Saudi Arabia.brbrOPEC is about 75% compliant with the last round of production cuts (cutting production by 1.5 million barrels a day from Nov. 1) – that’s pretty good by their standards.brbrRussia, a non-OPEC producer, will likely cut production as well. OPEC is asking Russia to reduce oil output by 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a daybrbrWe are ...

December 8, 2008 ndash; This morning we heard that the Chinese auto industry declined again last month - down 10.3% on a Y/Y basis. But for the period from January through November, auto sales are still up 8.9% to 6.16 million units. And despite Chinarsquo;s slowing pace of growth in the current global economic crisis, it is still growing 9% (as of the most recent quarter). Now, factor in the fact that China is readying to invest RMB 4 trillionnbsp; ($586 billion) back into its economy to get its growth back on track (remember that Chinarsquo;s auto sales growth was 18.5% in 2007) and it is reasonable to expect that Chinarsquo;s auto industry is still well on its way to displacing the U.S. market as the largest in the world. As it stands, it is the second largest market, and this is in an environment where less than 10 out ...

Oil rises above $47 a barrel… U.S. weekly oil stocks data expected to show bearish rises… OPEC compliance to cuts at 66 percent for November

Oil rose above $47 a barrel on Wednesday but the gains could be limited as further signs of weakening U.S. oil demand are expected to emerge in weekly data due out later in the session.

The market has fallen $100 a barrel from July’s record high of $147.27 to stand at a 3 1/2-year low, pressured by the gloomy economic outlook and after OPEC deferred a decision on whether to cut supplies until a Dec. 17 meeting.

U.S. crude rose 22 cents to $47.18 a barrel by 1020 GMT. It settled down $2.32 at $46.96 on Tuesday, the lowest settlement since May 2005. Brent crude gained 22 cents to $45.66.

“It’s a correction after yesterday’s fall,” said

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Sometimes the worst markets hide the best profit opportunities. And you don’t get much worse than the housing market at the moment. Jonas Elmerraji says prefab manufactured housing is making a big comeback in devastated real estate industry. He says investors can play this emerging trend with small cap firms like Skyline Corp (NYSE:SKY) and Champion Enterprises (NYSE:CHB).

More from Penny Sleuth:

While most investors look for industries they expect to boom in the future, there’s a solid investment case to be made for buying stocks in bad industries.

Jeremy Siegel, one of Wall Street’s best investment minds, said that, “Some of the most successful investments of the last thirty years have come from industries whose performances have been utterly horrendous.”

And if ever there was a horrendous market, housing’s it. The housing industry has sunk almost 40% this year, sending most investors heading for the hills…but not all…

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Does $2.00 for a

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The IEA confirms what I've been saying all along: There isn't enough oil supply on the planet to meet demand. And that's not about to change anytime soon. A new oil supply crunch looms as oil companies have put the brakes on sorely needed investment to increase oil production to satisfy future demand and to offset the accelerating declines of today's aging fields. This at a time when opportunities to invest are more constrained than ever. Bullish for oil? You bet. My longer-term target of $200 oil remains intact.   Energy agency warns of supply crunchNovember 12, 2008, LONDON (AP) — The International Energy Agency on Wednesday called for massive investment in producing more oil to prevent a supply squeeze in coming years, saying energy demand will rise 1.6 percent a year on average between 2006 and 2030.The IEA's base scenario for energy demand has fallen due to

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M3 Money Supply Chart

M3 Money supply represents the amount of money added to the money supply. The Federal Reserve stopped reporting this (gee I wonder why) but it is still tracked by private firms.

I have watched this closely over the last few months, as I wanted to see if we were going to see a contraction, or expansion of the money supply.

As you can see, money supply has expanded substantially, going from roughly 13.5 Trillion $USD in August to approximately $14.5 Trillion in November. Annual rate of change (increase) is approximately 17%.

Any expansion of the money supply is bullish for gold.

Baltic Dry Index Chart

The Baltic Dry Index shows us how much surface tonnage is being shipped, which also gives us a feel for how much international trade is being conducted.

As you can see, it has basically fallen off

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The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Friday said it would cut oil production quotas by 1.5 million barrels a day in an attempt to put a floor under oil prices, which have plunged nearly 60% from their July record.

“Oil prices have witnessed a dramatic collapse - unprecedented in speed and magnitude,” OPEC said, adding that prices have fallen to levels that could jeopardize “many existing oil projects and lead to the cancellation or delay of others, possibly resulting in a medium-term supply shortage.”

The 1.5 million-barrel daily reduction exceeded the expectation of many analysts, but failed to rally crude prices which have plummeted 57% since hitting a record high record high of $147.27 a barrel on July 11.  Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $3.09, or 4.55%, to settle at $64.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

“The financial crisis is already having a noticeable impact

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