Not so very long ago, I published here a photo of an honest-to-goodness bank run in England, as depositors tapped politely at the door of Northern Rock Bank in the hopes of receiving their money back.

Despite the government’s “best” efforts, most reasonable people realize that there is no amount of legislation that can solve our oil problems. Congress seems only capable of making things worse.

Here at Casey Research we have been on the record as bearish on the outlook for the economy for some years now. Lest you think that is loose boasting, I can offer proof in Doug Casey’s August 2005 article, the dramatically titled “Profiting from the End of Western Civilization”.

For a useful way to think about energy exports and prices, Dallas based geologist Jeffrey Brown points to the current situation with global rice supplies. Brown among others worked on the Export Land Model (ELM), a model that reflects the decline in oil exports as a result of Peak Oil.

Gold may be even more precious than we think. During the last several years, mining companies around the globe have discovered almost no new large-scale gold deposits.

Wonder what’s happening with the gold market lately? So has David Galland, of Casey Research. (publishers of Casey’s International Speculator) Here he offers some insights into the current state of the precious metal… and the companies that mine it.

The current “battle” in the gold market is around the $900 level, a fairly steep retrenchment from the recent highs of $1,011.