The inflation/deflation debate is hot… It crackles and pops like a pine fire. But it gives off little helpful light. Abe Lincoln may have read by the light of an open fire. But when we tried it, we singed our eyebrows. It made us suspicious of Old Abe; maybe he wasn’t quite as truthful as he pretended to be. Later, we realized he was a mountebank. But that’s another story…

Oil Rises on China Demand, Slowing U.S. Recession; Homebuilder Shares Surge After Order Increase; Natural Gas ETF to Suspend New Share Offers; Microsoft to Bring Office to Nokia Smartphones; J.D. Power: Auto Sales to Surge Next Year; WTO: China Violated Trade Rules on Books and Movies; Despite Shrinking Sales, Macy’s Beats the Street

Government budget hits all-time insanity… record monthly, year-to-date deficits… “Cash for clunkers” helps GM, but not economy… July retail sales stage surprise fall… Fed plans exit strategy, ends bond buys… why the FOMC is still not helping you… Byron King’s crude reality: How Canada could be the next Saudi Arabia…

China has once again snatched the leadoff spot in our daily lineup. And once again, they’ve knocked the cover off the ball. The Chinese economy expanded at a dizzying 7.9%, their government announced yesterday. That far exceeds analyst expectations and China’s still-impressive 6.1% first-quarter growth.

Here we go again…The market had its best week since November. And just like that, there is chatter of light at the end of the tunnel.

While American stocks stumble, Shanghai soars… why Chinese equities are bucking the global trend… More data disasters… ADP jobs report, auto sales register scary declines…Tired of shaking down U.S. taxpayers, GM aims abroad… EU begged for Detroit dollars…Obama, Bernanke talk up Uncle Sam’s book… Eric Fry on how rampant inflation still seems inevitable…Chuck Butler takes a stab at the $10 trillion question: “How long will this dollar strength last?”

Toyota’s Announces 2008 Sales, New Prez; Constellation Unloads London Unit to Goldman; China Urban Unemployment Rises; Kingdom Holding Posts Massive 4Q Loss; WB Cuts 800 Jobs; JNJ Profit Up 14%; Rohm and Haas Sheds 900 Jobs; Google Shelves Print Ads Program

The fact that after over 30 years of consistent mismanagement and decline, there is still any discussion on whether or not we should allow the now significantly smaller “Big Three” automakers to fail is clear evidence that Washington has lost all common sense.

Buy gold, silver and oil as fast as you can, you morons, or die a horrible death by inflation like the people of Zimbabwe!