pNo sooner do I say that gold may go lower (and the U.S. dollar higher) than gold ramps up again and the greenback stumbles badly. Sigh. Well, my longer-term (and bigger) bets are on the right side.br /br /Here is news I'm reading ...br /br /a class=summheadline href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083amp;sid=aOsLprMIpWycamp;refer=currencystrongDollar Falls From Three-Week High Versus Euro as ADP Says Job Cuts Rose /strong/aThe dollar fell from a more-than three-week high against the euro after a private report showed U.S. job market deteriorated last month, reinforcing expectations for a long recession. br /br /XX Sean's note -- does the ADP news surprise anybody? Yes, the loss of 693,000 jobs was a href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087amp;sid=axprAUuvIM3Aamp;refer=worldwidestronghigher than analysts' expectations /strong/aof a loss of 495,000 jobs. But everyone I talked to thought the real number would be higher than estimates. So again, who is surprised? br /br /a href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087amp;sid=ahkU9Lg5fzoAamp;refer=homestrongOil Traders Seek Another 10 Supertankers for Storage/strong/a br /Frontline ...

OPEC cuts 2.2 million bpd of crude output… Dealers say record cut not enough to offset demand slide

Oil prices dropped 3 percent on Wednesday after OPEC announced a record supply cut that dealers said may fail to offset slumping world energy demand.

U.S. crude oil prices fell $1.40 to $42.20 a barrel by 1:35 p.m. EST (1835 GMT), after dipping to a more than four year low of $40.20 earlier in the trading session. London Brent rose 66 cents to $47.31 per barrel.

Oil prices have fallen more than $100 since July as a global financial crisis cuts into consumer and industrial fuel demand, and top forecasters are now predicting the first decline in world energy use since 1983.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, eager to push prices back up, announced on Wednesday an agreement to cut 2.2 million barrels per

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Key News• The Japanese economy entered its first recession in seven years, as growth declined for the second quarter running by a wider margin than expected, raising fears the situation could deteriorate amid the global downturn. (FT)• Mining companies -- which couldn't dig minerals out of the earth fast enough just a few months ago -- now are struggling to climb out of a very deep hole. On Friday, the world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, said major Chinese customers are trying to delay purchases of iron ore as China's building boom slows sharply. (WSJ)• Australian retail sales rose in the third quarter by less than economists forecast. (Bloomberg)• Key Reports (WSJ):8:30a.m. Nov NY Fed Manufacturing Index: Expected: -27. Previous: -24.6. 9:15a.m. Sep Industrial Production: Expected: +0.4%. Previous: -2.8%. 9:15a.m. Sep Capacity Utilization: Expected: 76.7. Previous: 76.4.

Quotable “It is fascinating to watch politicians come up with

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-- After a week of grim news, could Friday provide a happy ending to the week? Some in Washington certainly hope so. According to the WSJ, the bailout bill "appeared to gather momentum in the House of Representatives" after the strong bipartisan showing in the Senate.

-- US stock futures reflect the brighter mood on Capitol Hill. "S&P 500 futures rose 9 points to 1,133.40 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 10.25 points to 1,520.75. Dow industrial futures rose 73 points," according to MarketWatch.

In the energy market Monday, crude for November delivery plunged, closing at $96.37/barrel, down $10.52 from Friday. November reformulated gasoline plummeted 25.4 cents, to $2.3615/gallon. The day’s action was pretty easy to interpret.

Money Morning/The Money Map Report Where to start?  Market volatility is sure to continue for the indefinite future as investors, economists, analysts and politicos debate the merits of the federal government’s ongoing move – and try to make heads or tails out of the new financial landscape. Mega-financials that offer everything (deposits, lending, brokerage services, deal underwriting, wealth management, mergers & acquisitions deals) appear to be the wave of the future (is beleaguered Citigroup Inc. (C) suddenly ahead of its time?). Comparisons to past crises are emerging: The Great Depression, the savings & loan crisis, the junk bond collapse, Japan’s stock-and-real-estate implosion, and even Tulip Mania). Many investors have thrown in the towel (capitulation) and unloaded any and all financials (not to mention autos, airlines, and even technology stocks…anyone catch the 25,000 jobs lost at Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) or ...

(P.S: Sorry for any disturbances the advertisements above may have caused you)If late-2004 and early-2005 are remembered for the corporate debacles of CAO, Citiraya and ACCS, the later part of 2005 will be remembered for the attention that centered on oil and refining. The catalyst was Hurricane Katrina, which was the worst-ever storm to hit the Gulf of Mexico and caused extensive damage to the refining facilities in the region, exposing the deep global capacity crunch in refining capacity.Katrina formed over the Bahamas in late August 2005 and due to the unpreparedness of the authorities, caused severe destruction along the Gulf of Mexico coast from central Florida to Texas in the form of a Category 5 storm, with the most severe loss of life and property damage occurring in New Orleans. Of more interest to oil traders was the damage to ...

Article Source: A potentially huge story from the New York Times. NYT reports: Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is planning to increase its output next month by about a half-million barrels a day, according to analysts and oil traders who have been briefed by Saudi officials. The increase could bring Saudi output to a production level of 10 million barrels a day, which, if sustained, would be the kingdom's highest ever. The move was seen as a sign that the Saudis are becoming increasingly nervous about both the political and economic effect of high oil prices. In recent weeks, soaring fuel costs have incited demonstrations and protests from Italy to Indonesia. Saudi Arabia is currently pumping 9.45 million barrels a day, which is an increase of about 300,000 barrels from last month. Data source: 2004 through March 2008: EIA; April-June: numbers discussed in NYT article....

Crude oil futures closed above $133 last week, and again today. An event that was said to be responsible for another big decline in the DJIA last week.

Think that high oil prices are hurting U.S. stocks?

Check out this whole article, and more importantly this free oil forecast video clip, before you say “yes.”

Soros: Oil Boom Increasingly Speculative

Soaring oil prices are increasingly the result of speculation, financier George Soros said in an interview published Monday.

The billionaire investor said the money pouring into the oil market increasingly had the look of a bubble, but that it would not burst until both the United States and Britain were knocked into a recession.

“Speculation is increasingly affecting the price,” Soros was quoted as saying …