No Bang for $200Billion

The U.S. dollar index lost more than double yesterday’s gains, treasuries rose, and the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P fell by the close as optimism faded over whether the fed’s plan announced yesterday will be able to effectively solve ongoing credit market problems. Hawkish European Central Bank comments also helped push the dollar to a new record low while oil topping $110 a barrel was certainly a contributing factor to the Dow turning an early nearly 150 point gain into an almost 50 point loss by the close. -Chris Mullen, Gold-Seeker.com

So, after being force "fed" a shit sandwich yesterday, the Dollar shorts have got to have a bit of indigestion today after getting squeezed out of their delicious short positions yesterday.

Smart Gold and Silver Bulls were snapping up bullion in the final days of the St Patrick's Day Sale Event as the Dollar bears choked on every bite of that sandwich too.

As pathetic as the Fed has been in their response to this "credit crisis", you have to thank them for all that they have done to keep a wind in Gold's sails.

The Fed's in a desperate race with spectre of collapse

The Fed, with its latest $200bn offer of cheap cash, has provided yet more state aid for errant hedge funds and another Washington-backed bail-out for Wall Street bankers. The Bank of England joined in again, further shedding any notion of being wary of moral hazard. But as the bail-outs are getting bigger, then clearly the problems causing them must be getting bigger.

The Fed has saved the day again, but it will only be for a day or so. It was Friday remember when it had to pump $200bn of cash into the system. Yesterday it was offering to lend a similar amount to try and soak up some of the toxic debt out there which has left the lending markets hamstrung. How much further can the central banks go to support a system that is so obviously broken?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/03/12/ccom112.xml

The treacherous nature of bear market rallies

Dr. Marc Faber

However, I would be extremely careful in concluding that rising stock prices after a terrific decline, such as we had in the NASDAQ since March 2000, do signal improving business conditions. For a market, which has become very over-sold, it is only natural to rebound, but frequently these rebounds are merely bear market rallies, which are subsequently followed by vicious declines.

http://www.ameinfo.com/16529.html

Will Gold Catch-Up With Crude?

As you can see, the oil price is now approaching its all-time high adjusted for inflation at near $105. Simultaneously gold clearly remains at less than half its inflation-adjusted high of over $2300 per ounce. What's more, looking back to the stagflationary 1970s, an era many economists equate with our own, gold rose at roughly twice the rate of oil. Now gold is rising at roughly half the rate of oil. In other words, if historical balance is to be retrieved in the months and years ahead, gold will not only have to rise with oil, it will have to rise faster than oil.http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1205263969.php

Investors Plan to Buy More Commodities, Barclays Says

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- More pension funds and other money managers plan to have in excess of 10 percent of their portfolios in commodities in the next three years, Barclays Plc said.

Thirty-four percent of about 260 investors surveyed at a conference in Barcelona last week said that more than 10 percent of their portfolios would consist of commodities in the period, Kevin Norrish, director of commodity research, told reporters in London. That's up from 22 percent of those surveyed a year earlier and 19 percent in 2006, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aB_d6g4UnuGE&refer=canada

So let's see if we have this right. The Fed is desperate, bear market rallies are followed by vicious declines, Gold will soon rise faster than Oil, and Investors plan to pile into Commodities.

I guess buying stocks and covering our Dollar shorts was not a good idea yesterday. "Well duh, that's obvious." I know, but it's fun to make fun of the fools.

You Can't Polish A Turd...

...but with enough money you can rap it in a bow and pass it off as sweet chocolate. Where does one begin after a basket of PURE BULLSHIT has been dumped in your lap. No mule shit mind you, PURE BULLSHIT. The US Fed has now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the financial chicanery they will stoop to in an effort to pull the wool over the widening eyes of the World Financial Collective...not to mention the American Public.

We begin the day at 5AM est with news out of London that Gold was edging higher.

Gold edges higher on continued dollar weakness
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Gold was higher in early London trade as investors eyed continued weakness in the dollar, but gains have been capped by investors cashing in, with prices at elevated levels.

At 10.08 am, gold was trading at 977.60 usd an ounce against 970 usd in late New York trades yesterday. Last week, gold hit a record high of 992.90 usd before consolidating on profit-taking ahead of the much touted 1,000 usd mark.

"Gold has seen a steady start this morning and is likely to remain extremely volatile in the short-term as the metal is caught between further profit taking from investors and speculators forced to cover margin requirements, and ongoing investment demand given the bullish tone across the commodities spectrum," said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.

Funds have been pouring into commodities to hedge against dollar weakness and recessionary fears in the US. Gold has benefited from its traditional role as a safe haven asset during times of economic turmoil, as well as being boosted by inflation concerns and its use as an alternative holding to the US currency.

Later today, investors will be watching the release of US balance of trade data for January at 12.30 pm GMT, which could weaken the dollar further, in turn boosting gold, analysts said.
http://www.fxstreet.com/futures/news/article.aspx?StoryId=5085d1be-231b-4754-81e4-649f245c0339

Gold has cleared 975 overnight and Silver has tagged along and risen into the 19.80s. At 5:30AM est the following headlines rolls across our screen, and Gold and Silver are exploding higher. With the US Trade Deficit numbers coming out later this morning, we anticipate a big reversal in the Precious Metals today.

European government bonds extend losses after above-forecast German ZEW
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - European government bonds extended losses after a better-than-expected German ZEW survey raised hopes that the downturn in Europe's largest economy may not be as severe as previously thought.

The ZEW economic expectations index rose to -32.0 points in March from -39.5 in February, well above forecasts for a deterioration to -40.0.

"March's surprise rise in the German ZEW index provides some encouragement that investors do not expect a deteriorating outlook for the US and problems in financial markets to spell disaster for the German economy," said Jennifer McKeown at Capital Economics.

Although the index remains at a very low level and most responses will have been taken before last week's dismal US payrolls data, today's ZEW survey "could clearly have been far worse".

"It seems that the recent run of broadly positive news on the Germany economy, including January's strong industrial production figures, has reduced investors' pessimism," she said.

Resilient data, official's remarks boost euro
Also contributing to the euro's gains were remarks by German Bundesbank President Axel Weber, who is also a member of the European Central Bank's rate-setting governing council. He said German economic growth for 2008 would likely come in near potential.

"Demand is broadly based and supported by increasing employment. Therefore we are sticking to our forecast that GDP growth should be around potential," Weber said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Weber said price pressures remain a worry, however, after German inflation hit 3% last autumn. "It is not at all sure that the average inflation rate will subside significantly," he said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/resilient-data-german-officials-remarks/story.aspx?guid=%7B8ECA13C8-4413-464E-A0B7-DA69BF54249E%7D


The Euro promptly knocked the US Dollar to the canvas and began dancing circles around it reaching 1.5494 over the next hour. Gold and silver vaulted higher as the Dollar re-entered its death spiral. Gold quickly reached 985.50 in London and Silver 20.28. The race to $1000 Gold looked like is was back on with a vengeance.

Coincidentally, perhaps, perhaps not, the Wall Street Journal published an article this morning suggesting that the Fed might have some new tricks to help ease the credit crisis up its sleeve.


Will Fed Try Something New to Aid Markets?
With worsening strains in credit markets threatening to deepen and prolong an incipient recession, analysts are speculating that the Federal Reserve may be forced to consider more innovative responses -- perhaps buying mortgage-backed securities directly.

"As credit stresses intensify, the possibility of unconventional policy options by the Fed has gained considerable interest, said Michael Feroli of J.P. Morgan Chase.

He said two options are garnering particular attention on Wall Street: direct Fed lending to financial institutions other than banks and direct Fed purchases of debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the two shareholder-owned, government-sponsored mortgage companies.

Fed officials have said that, at times like these, the prudent course is to evaluate all sorts of ideas, many of which may be rejected.

Since 1932, the Fed has had the authority to lend, against collateral, to individuals, partnerships or corporations other than banks in "unusual and exigent circumstances," subject to the vote of five members of the Board of Governors. (The board has seven seats, but two are currently vacant.) This power has never been used.

Mr. Feroli noted that Congress in 1966 gave the Fed temporary authority, made permanent in 1979, to purchase obligations of government-sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.


Since 1932, the Fed has had the authority to lend, against collateral, to individuals, partnerships or corporations other than banks in "unusual and exigent circumstances," subject to the vote of five members of the Board of Governors. One pauses to ponder just what that may entail. The lender of last resort, that's what it means. The Fed is desperate... And before I can brew my morning cup of coffee and almost at exactly the same moment the US Trade Deficit numbers are released along side a stunning news report from the Fed.


Trade gap widens to $58.2 billion in January
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly in January as strong exports were offset by higher oil prices, the government reported Tuesday.
The nation's trade gap widened by 0.6% in January to $58.2 billion, the Commerce Department reported.

The trade deficit for January was still below the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists, who were expecting a deficit of $59.5 billion in January.

U.S. stock futures jump on new Fed lending program
LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures on Tuesday surged after the Federal Reserve announced it's expanding a securities lending program, which helped to offset another record high for oil prices and downbeat outlooks from Texas Instruments and WellPoint.

To promote liquidity and "foster the functioning of financial markets more generally," the Federal Reserve said Tuesday it's expanding its securities lending program. The Fed will lend up to $200 billion of Treasury securities to primary dealers secured for a term of 28 days, rather than overnight, as in the existing program.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-stock-futures-surge-new/story.aspx?guid=%7BAE4A4C52%2DCF58%2D454A%2DBDD4%2D0C809ECE61C4%7D&dist=TNMostRead

Fed turns on the spigot of money again
Mortgage-backed securities will be swapped for safer Treasurys
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve and other leading central banks doubled to more than $400 billion the amount of money they're willing to lend to banks and bond dealers, hoping to flood dysfunctional credit markets with enough money to get them working again.The Fed announced a new temporary lending program on Tuesday that will allow participants in the bond markets to swap the mortgage-backed securities that they can't currently sell for highly liquid Treasurys that they can. The hope is that the extra money in the financial system will restore trust and keep prices of illiquid securities from plunging.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fed-extends-emergency-lending-program/story.aspx?guid=%7B9AF5E673-0BA7-40E6-9D35-8B639C7860E2%7D

Read Fed press release here:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20080311a.htm

If this doesn't smell like a BLATANT effort by the Fed to prop up the stock and bond markets, then the effort has never been made. Incredulous! The Fed is going to PRINT MORE MONEY and buy literally worthless securities from floundering banks? Yes they are! Gold and Silver promptly turn tail and plunge back towards Monday's lows. The Dollar miraculously gets up off the mat and scorches the Euro in it's rebound on this "news". I scratch my head and ask myself if this is Dollar positive. How can it be? The Fed has just devised a way to pump BILLIONS of Dollars into the financial system and avoid an inter-meeting Fed Funds rate cut. The shorts on Wall Street are caught completely off guard by this news, and the stock markets open up with jaw dropping gains. No matter how you slice it, this is NOT good news...it's very bad news. VERY VERY bad news...Things are WAY worse than even the most pessimistic prognosticators could even imagine.

The Fed is following up on their promise to do anything and everything to save the stock and bond markets...the financial system... And sadly, this "trick" will fail just as the countless other before it have. Wall Street is Euphoric today...a false sense of hope at the expense of those caught short when the Fed pulled a fast one on them. If this "move" isn't inflationary, then I don't know what inflation is. I just wish I could print money they way these criminals do.

Needless to say the "weak hands" dumped Gold and Silver into the "smart hands" today to chase the latest pipe dream of the US Federal Reserve. The Dollar rally? Just another short squeeze in a market that is going so low it may never see the sun again. Nobody wanted the Dollar at 5AM est this morning, and the lines to buy Gold and Silver were growing in length. 8:30AM rolls around and the Fed unveils another in a long line of tricks to prop up the US financial markets, and it was lights out. And the cockroaches of Wall Street once again covered the floor. This "Dollar rally" will fool a few, but amuse many more as the opportunity to buy Gold and Silver on sale has been extended.


Dollar soars as Fed announces liquidity measures
"In a nutshell, this demonstrates the Fed will use every means at its disposal to get the economy going," said Jonathan Lewis, founder of Samson Capital Advisors in New York.

Some market participants, however, said the dollar's gains were probably not sustainable, especially as recent U.S. economic data has been almost universally gloomy. Some economists believe the economy is already in a recession.

"The economic rationale for buying the dollar is that this encourages confidence in the U.S. financial system, but, earlier this morning, the market was selling the dollar on exactly the same logic," said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital, in a note to clients.

Ruskin said the dollar's rally probably has more to do with the market being caught off guard by the Fed's liquidity injection and being forced to cover short dollar positions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080311/markets_forex.html


But there's another story today, one from yesterday that is now forgotten, the story that most likely led to the Fed's call to the printing presses this morning:


Market panic after Bear Stearns reports
Panic swept the credit markets on reports of an insolvency crunch at both the US investment bank Bear Stearns and the mortgage giant Fannie Mae, triggering a dramatic surge in default insurance and rumours of yet another emergency rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Credit default swaps (CDS) measuring bankruptcy risk on Bear Stearns debt rocketed from 246 points to 792 on fears that it had been unable to raise capital to cover mortgage losses and was preparing to invoke Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company denied the reports, insisting that it had $8bn of ready credit lines and enough funds to meet its debt obligations for the next year without having to sell assets or take out fresh debt. "There is no truth to the liquidity rumours," said a spokesman.


The Fed has been "loaning" [giving money away] to floundering banks in exchange for "collateral" since the beginning of the year via their TAF bi-weekly auctions. They've given away BILLIONS already to date, and none of it has helped a damn thing. As a matter of fact, the credit markets are in worse shape going into today than they were when the Fed began handing out money in January. What makes anybody believe that this new "sleight of hand" is going to work any better than the last? Today's Fed response to the "credit crisis" is but another new drug for the zombies on Wall Street convinced that the floundering Fed can and will fix this whole mess. THEY CAN'T! The can try to, pretend to, but they never will. The problem can not be fixed. The Fed offers another bandage to a patient that desperately needs a tourniquet.

A week from now, probably less, the Dollar will once again be digging new lows, Gold and Silver vaulting to new highs. The US Dollar was raped today, soon to be left in a heap alongside the curb. Whose going to pay for this deceit, this deception, this CRIME? We all are... for years and years to come.

And in case you forgot to check the price of Oil and gasoline this morning:

Oil hits record above 109 usd/bbl as weak dollar triggers buying
http://www.fxstreet.com/futures/news/article.aspx?StoryId=99ef945d-d107-480c-af59-719cb37e2126

Gas Prices Rise to New National Record
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080311/oil_prices.html

Yep, good idea...sell your Gold and buy Dollars. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

When The Levee Breaks, Then What?

Bush quick to react to jobs report

Employers across the United States slashed payrolls for the second straight month, according to a federal report that served as the latest sign of an economic slowdown so worrisome that President Bush called an impromptu news conference to comment on the news and calm the nation's fears.

"Losing a job is painful," Bush told the White House press corps Friday after the Labor Department reported the biggest payroll cuts in five years. "I know this is a difficult time for our economy.

"But we recognized the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot," said Bush, referring to the recent federal economic stimulus package.

Employers cut 63,000 nonfarm jobs in February, the department said. There was a loss of 22,000 jobs in January. February's loss was the steepest one-month decline since March 2003, when payrolls plunged by 108,000. The last time the job count fell two months in a row was May and June 2003.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/08/BUR4VG5ME.DTL

Damn, is that leadership or what? Booster shot my ass. Like that tiny handout is going to do ANYTHING for ANYBODY that has lost their job. It is painfully amusing how brainwashed Americans believe their government is going to "make everything all right" by throwing money at it, or coming up with some grandiose plan/program with a "vision of hope" attached to it's name. They believe everything that falls from their "leaders" mouths as if it were gospel. Six months from now Americans from coast to coast are going to to wake up, scratch their heads and groins and ask, "What the the hell, and how was this allowed to happen?" "Ignorance" will be the answer. You think things look bad today? Wait until this Fall.

What Will Take the Gold Price Higher?
Take a look at the fundamentals that have driven gold higher; have they changed? Have they been exhausted? Not at all! Has the $’s fall terminated? Has the oil price stopped rising? Has the credit crunch been resolved? Has the world’s money system been repaired and solidified? Has the wealth’s move from West to East stopped? Has confidence in the U.S. housing market and the global economy been restored? Can any of these matters worsen? Is the investment climate globally looking solid and worth more investment? Will the potential Tsunami of capital stay in one place only? If the answer to these questions remains negative gold has good reason to rise further.
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldForecaster/1204909200.php

Dollar-Gold: A Perfect Storm - by Jim Willie CB
When people ask whether the USDollar has hit bottom, a simple question goes out as my reply. HAS ANYTHING BEEN FIXED? HAVE ALL DESPERATE MEASURES BEEN INVOKED? The answer to the first question is NO WAY! and to the second question NOT EVEN CLOSE!
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldenJackass/1204905600.php

Real Rates and USDX

Since July 2001 our current dollar bear has bled 39.2%. This may seem extreme, but the USDX lost 52.4% in its last secular bear ending in September 1992. A similar loss in our current bear would yield a USDX level of 57.5! Ouch. This is another 22% lower from today’s all-time dollar lows! So in light of historical precedent, there is plenty of room for the USDX to continue falling even from here.
http://news.goldseek.com/Zealllc/1204907400.php

U.S. Consumer Borrowing Rose, Led by Credit Cards

Consumer credit increased by $6.9 billion to $2.52 trillion, the Fed said today in Washington. In December, credit gained $3.7 billion, less than a previously reported increase of $4.5 billion. The figures don't include borrowing secured by real estate, such as home-equity loans.

People once dependent on home-equity financing are turning to other forms of short-term financing after the collapse in subprime mortgages made it harder to qualify for loans. Personal income in January rose at a slower pace than inflation, and credit card usage in January rose for a second straight month.

``There's not much gas left in the tank,'' said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. ``In the early stage of a recession, consumers tend to rely on credit cards to see them through the hard times.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJCsK7w8YlGk&refer=home

The biggest challenge for both the Fed and the economy
The weak jobs report was widely seen as indicating the Federal Reserve will have to continue cutting rates to stimulate the economy.

The central bank has cut the overnight fed funds rate to 3 percent. Before the credit crisis began last fall, it had remained at 5.25 percent for many months. The Fed will hold its next monetary policy meeting on March 18.

On Friday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, who has voted against recent rate cuts, warned that the markets shouldn't expect more. Still, fed funds futures contracts on Friday showed investors are betting on a rate cut of up to 0.75 percentage point.

The biggest challenge for both the Fed and the economy is that inflation is rising although the economy is wobbly. Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn on Friday acknowledged that rising commodities prices have taken the Fed by surprise. If prices do not level out, as the central bank has projected, there will be "important implications" for monetary policy, he said.
http://www.fxstreet.com/futures/news/article.aspx?StoryId=c1b476e7-953b-4c1b-8ab4-91d8e95af998

Shockingly, following Friday's absolutely dismal jobs report, Gold and Silver failed to vault higher. Even more shocking, after plummeting to a new all-time low, the Dollar rebounded and actually closed higher on the day. Fundamentally, nothing has changed for the better for the US Dollar. Not one dollar of the BILLIONS the Fed has manufactured and thrown at the crumbling financial system has resolved a damn thing. What's another $100BILLION supposed to do? The Dollars "bounce" was most likely the result of investors rush to cash as paper assets got whacked, and will shortly be redeployed into commodities and the Precious Metals. A tsunami of increasingly worthless US Dollars is about to flood the Precious Metals and their mining stocks, and carry them to heights well beyond those forecast or imagined.

The inevitable "profit taking" as Gold nears the millennium mark, the margin calls on the permabulls in general equities as the markets plummet, and the endless efforts of the NY COMEX CROOKS to hold Gold down are but noise. "Investors" have barely made their presence felt in the Precious Metal markets. They'll be knocking on our door any day now.

To Infinity And Beyond

Silver's recent performance is proof positive that being out of Silver is much riskier than being in today. The path of least resistance is clearly up. Trading this Precious Metal is not for the feint of heart. If you do insist on trading, it is clear that you should always keep a core position in Silver to take advantage of it's power price appreciation potential. It could be summed up easily, trading Silver now could be very costly, profit wise, versus just sitting tight in your positions, and being right.

Volatility will now become the word of the day in the Precious Metals markets. The past 48 hours are just a small example. Look no further than Platinum to see the potential price swings Gold will experience as it moves to "Infinity And Beyond". Platinum was down almost $100 in this just passed commodities reaction. And then bounced hard and fast.

Oil. Oil obviously was the catalyst to yesterdays mega bounce that hammered the shorts further as they stuck their heads up for air. In Ted Butlers recent essay: http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1204651474.php he has surmised that NY COMEX shorts are short more than 395 million ounces, or more than 225 days equivalent production.

The shorts in silver and gold, as well as in many other commodities are in a very difficult position; they are, quite literally, up against the wall. Their collective open losses are of a magnitude many times greater than anything they have ever experienced in the past. In fact, it is my observation that these concentrated shorts have actually lost (on paper and in meeting resultant margin calls) more than they made in total over the past five or ten years. The shorts have gotten absolutely hammered.

Look no further than this fact to see why being LONG Silver is the ONLY smart play in this market. The COMEX warehouse stockpile is presently about 134 million ounces. Where are the shorts going to get the Silver to cover 395 million ounces? Silver is lagging the overall global rally in all commodities. Silver has yet to even reach one half of it's all time [nominal] high of $50. Gold has surpassed it's previous "all-time" high. Platinum has not only passed it's "all-time" high, but it's inflation adjusted high as well. The same for Oil. Wheat? Wheat is well on it's way to the "Beyond". Silver is, and remains, the best "value" in the commodities world. That alone makes Silver "the must own" commodity, as the US Dollar unravels. Silver will reward those with the conviction to hold it with huge profits.

Now, considering the volatility. Why all the fireworks? 395 million short ounces underwater versus investors seeking positions in Silver at a value [dip buyers]. The Silver shorts, particularly the weak ones, will be looking to cover their asses on any break in price. Combine the short covering with the dip buyers and you get powerful bounces off any breaks in the market. And these bounces can, and as we saw yesterday and last night, often go to new and higher highs. "Overbought" indicators can become very misleading in a market like this. Case in point, Platinum. This is why I use and post 4 hour charts of Gold and Silver.

Yesterday, as seen on the chart posted above, Silver offered significant value at it's overnight low of 19.37: Trendline support, 40 period moving average, and 38% Fibonacci. The vault in Oil following yesterdays inventories numbers may have been the catalyst to the commodities sector bounce yesterday, but for Silver, buyers were staring value in the face and were beginning to line up before the Oil numbers were made public. That is why it moved so quickly off it's lows yesterday...short covering and dip buying...a volatile stew if ever there was one.

As you can tell by the charts above, a lot occurred just in the time I have been writing this. As a matter of fact the volatility the past 2-3 days is the primary reason I have not been able to sit down and address my blog [which is one year old today, thanks for reading!] Geez, just in the last 15 minutes Silver broke lower to 20.19. Volatility baby! Value is what you seek. Buying "value" limits your downside risk, which should never be ignored even when the path of least resistance is up. At 20.19 Silver clearly shows great value on a one hour chart. On my four hour chart, 20.19 Silver shows good value, but value none the less.

Timid buyers should determine value and the use buy-stops ABOVE the market to catch the bounce higher. It's safer than trying to catch the proverbial "falling knife". Investors, if you think Silver is going to $30, $50, $150, what are you waiting for? ...you should be in Silver now, and not worrying one little bit about any of this volatility.

In Silver, near-term support has firmed around 19.30. Solid intermediate-term support rests near 18.15. Long term support in Silver now rides with it's 50 day moving average.

In Gold near-term support has firmed around 950. Solid intermediate-term support rests near 930. Long-term support in Gold rides with it's 50 day moving average.

Dollar Falls to Record Low Versus Euro as Fed Signals Rate Cuts
March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to the weakest ever against the euro and to a three-year low versus the yen after Federal Reserve officials signaled they will keep cutting interest rates to support the economy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=af8Cqcf10WcY&refer=home

Dollar: It will only get worse

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite all the pain the U.S. dollar has endured in recent days, the greenback may still have further to fall before seeing any sort of relief, according to currency experts.

Driving much of the dollar's decline this week were tepid remarks about the U.S. economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who hinted that the central bank would cut interest rates once again at the Fed's March meeting.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/29/markets/dollar/?postversion=2008030123

No rescue expected for weak dollar

LONDON: Currencies will be in full focus on financial markets this week, following the dollar's drubbing of recent days, yet anyone hoping for help from policy makers to shore up the ailing

U.S. currency is likely to be disappointed.

Crucial meetings of European Union finance ministers and those who set interest rates for the European Central Bank are expected to do little to shift the status quo, while the U.S. Federal Reserve Board appears set on cutting rates again this month.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/02/business/rtrmarkets03.php

The "Dollar Is Doomed side of the boat is filling up fast. This is the first sign that the Dollar's cliff jump from 75 may soon find support. Though fleeting, this support could slow the Precious Metals trip to the Moon and Beyond...but only briefly.