"did you know gold did very well in the deflationary 1930s, even whilst it was backing the $USD?" Tonoos
Yeap. Of course it didn't hurt that the govment had absconded with folks gold first and then shortly afterwards raised its price by 50%. I believe that the Homestead Mining stock was the best stock to own during this period.

"it appears to me CB are selling gold". Tonoos
Don't discount the actions of the "three wisemen from the East" who have finally arrived in the Occident to load up their camels. They intend to help relieve us of the barbaric metal. Naturally, this crew seems to have taken to heart that old saying that the dip can be your friend. It has really helped them from forcing the price higher for the metal that they crave.

"Friday's surge is gambling on more free money, and none of that appears to be imminent. There is no more can to kick." Tonoos
Just imagine what a mere 2% raise in our interest rate will do to the $14,000,000,000,000 debt load that we carry. The administration is forced to buy our bonds by a stealth QE 3 to avoid triggering an increase of at least $280 billion in interest payments a year. Wait until the unfunded mandates girilla enters the room. Party over.

"If market doesn't bounce next week as expected, God help us all." Tonoos
Don't discount that the bounce could be J.P.Morgue hitting the pavement as it goes the other way. It could be that Morgan is about to teach Lehman Bro. how a real pro can do a black swan dive. My take is that you don't get 4 major investigative agencies to swarm all over the place for a mere $2 to even $7 billion loss from the likes of the biggest bank in the world. It's a good thing that we have been trained over the last 4 years in the art of observing slow motion train wrecks or we might miss something here.