CNN Money is running an interesting feature by David Goldman entitled "10 countries, 10 solutions" which details the particularities of the global economic crisis facing 10 key countries. In typical old-media fashion, the layout makes no sense from a user-friendliness perspective, so I'm going to take significant liberties in reposting their original content. They also have a single table layout of the 10 countries here. Time Warner lawyers, if you're watching this, get your editorial guys to put their content into a more sensible format that doesn't require constant clicking and I won't have to go such lengths to discuss it and in turn will actually drive more traffic to your site. Got that? Good. Now then, first some

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U.S. stocks rose for a fifth day on Thursday as a larger than expected drop in U.S. jobless claims and an upbeat forecast from consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble added to enthusiasm that the economy is on track for a rebound.  Energy shares advanced, helped by rising forecasts for oil demand.  Nevertheless, given September’s weak track record, market participants have been bracing for a pullback.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.26 points, or 0.8%, to 9,627.48, its highest close since October 6.  The broader S&P 500 index advanced 10.77 points, or 1%, to 1,044.14, its first five-day climb since November.  The Nasdaq composite index rose 23.63 points, or 1.2%, to 2,084.02.  With traders eschewing safe havens, yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.35%. The yield on the 30-year notes declined to 4.20%.

As the holiday-shortened week comes to an end today, investors

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U.S. stocks edged up slightly higher, after swinging back and forth in a narrow range, as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines.  After yesterday’s better-than-expected reports on housing and consumer confidence, investors looked for fresh signs to help restart a rally that has catapulted major indexes to multi-month highs. 

Yesterday, fifteen of the thirty DJIA components closed higher; 245 of the S&P500 closed up and 42 of the NASDAQ100 finished on higher ground.  Trading was subdued with NYSE volume of 1.05 billion well below last year's average of 1.49 billion.  The DJIA gained 4 points to close virtually flat at 9543; the NASDAQ and S&P500 each recorded gains of 0.01%.  Declining issues beat those that advanced eight to seven.  Treasuries were mixed after the government successfully auctioned $39 billion in five-year notes.  The Treasury is scheduled to auction $28 billion of 7-year notes today.

Five of the S&P500

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Currencies sold overnight…  But rebound in early morning trading…  China throws cold water on stock values… German exports rival the Big Kahuna! And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! I returned home from San Francisco last night, and am back in the saddle today! Not the way I like to travel, where I get a day when returning home to recharge the batteries, but it is what it is… I did an interview with MarketWatch yesterday morning, talking about… Well, what else? The deficits, and diversification! My presentations in S.F. were well attended… On Saturday, my power point froze up, but I carried on in spite of the technical difficulties!

You know… I really, heard a lot of people talking about the rumor / conspiracy story that there will be a bank holiday at the end of the month (this weekend) and the Gov’t will announce major changes to

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China’s economy grew by 7.9% in the second quarter, exceeding most analysts’ expectations, and lending credence to Beijing’s goal of 8% annual growth. Now, with the nation awash in liquidity and the economy picking up steam, the only task ahead of the central government is deciding when to rein in lending and let the economy stand on its own two feet.

The momentum behind China’s economy is staggering.

“China is increasingly becoming a responsible citizen in the global community,” economist Allen Sinai of Decision Economics told The Associated Press. “No longer lawless, no longer difficult to deal with, much more responsible. It is now a powerhouse among economies and finance. And it’s a rich country.”

In just the past few weeks, two of the world’s key global institutions – the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – and a large swath of investment banks raised their 2009

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At Casey Research, they have been watching the actions of foreign holders of U.S. dollars as closely as a Las Vegas pit boss watches a card player on a $1 million winning streak. Many of those in the deflation camp largely, or entirely, ignore the potential role these foreign holders may play in the drama now unfolding. But in fact, foreigners have, over the last decade, been by far the single most important source of buying for U.S. Treasuries.

Given the Treasury’s need to flog on the order of $3 trillion worth of its unbacked paper this year just to keep the government’s doors open – and that is a four- or fivefold increase over 2008 – the foreign buyers not only have to show up for the Treasury auctions, they have to show up in droves.

In mid-July, the Associated Press reported that “Foreign demand for long-term U.S. financial assets dropped

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Bernanke sticks to the script…  Pound sterling comes under pressure…  China starts shopping for assets…  BRIC MarketSafe lights up the phones… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… We had a very busy day on the desk yesterday, as our newest MarketSafe offering, based on the BRIC currencies, is making the phones ring off the hook. But while we were busy, the currency traders had another slow day as the dollar just drifted throughout the day. The return chart for the last 24 hours shows only one currency made more than a .5% move vs. the US$; and that was the South African Rand which increased .75%.

The markets were watching Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony through most of the day, but those waiting for a surprise were disappointed. Bernanke stuck to the script which he had laid out the day before in the Wall Street Journal, and the members of the House Financial Services Committee couldn’t get

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Stock Market Rally in Financial Horror Movie. Drag Me to Hell! That’s the title of the first horror movie with a credit crunch theme. No kidding. We just read about it in the Financial Times. The idea of the movie is simple enough. A young woman is a mortgage loan officer at an LA bank. She wants a promotion… but to get it she has to prove that she’s tough enough to say ‘no.’ So when a creepy customer comes in and asks for an extension of her mortgage, the woman rejects the proposal… perhaps a little too coldly.

Then begins the horror.

But just look around. There are plenty of frightening and unnatural scenes going on.

Broadly speaking, it’s a merciless war between inflation and deflation. But there are many different attacks, ambushes, counterattacks, feints, and massacres going on.

The Dow retreated 173 points yesterday. Typically, following a major fall

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I’m confident that there are thousands of blog lurking gold bugs who are going to want to comment on this article from Mark Leibovit of VRGoldLetter.com. Mark hits on a number of issues, which include a possible conspiracy theory. Mark will be on PBS tonight talking about Gold, and if you visit VRGoldLetter.com, be sure and use the promo code “INO” for a discount.

But more importantly read the piece below and let the comments fly! It’s time for all of those blog lurkers to make their thoughts and opinions known!

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In the short term, the precious metals, especially Gold, are trading counter to the stock market, but we have also seen precious metals rally along with stock market during the 2003 and 2008 bull cycle.  Regardless, in the long-term, precious metals should rally because of currency debasement and the resulting inflation which follows.  I have recently inaugurated the

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Euro climbs back to 1.30…  High Yielders bounce back…  Gold to hit $1,500?  Kurt Richebacher… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Well… We had a rally in the currencies yesterday and this time the rally wasn’t reversed overnight by profit taking! WOW! It’s been some time since we could say that! Maybe it was the good karma the overnight markets received by my little buddy Alex’s base hit last night to drive in 2 runs! Or, the good karma from a Cardinals pitcher going into the 9th inning of a game! WOW! Or… Maybe, just maybe, cause you never know, fundamentals are creeping back

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