Economies: Before we cheer the record German unemployent rate of 10.5%, consider that people without money can't buy things. Our things. As an aside comment here, if we had 10% unemployment there would be riots in the streets, in Europe they just mope along. Why? It's the Welfare State. If you are taken care of anyway, why be upset? Margaret Thatcher turned a ruinous unemployment rate around by chopping apart the Welfare State's endless benefits and allowing the economy to flower. Reagan was able to do a lot of the same thing here, but it was painful as hell when interest rates rose to 12% in order to choke runaway inflation. In this country the people force the leadership to solve things like unemployment and inflation, in Europe the people keep collecting welfare.

BTW: While the week is almost over it still looks like I was right on gold and the markets, but perhaps the dollar isn't going to explode to the upside. We'll see. Late add: This AM the dollar has broken out of a pennant formation on the daily charts, big time.