U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.

You may have noticed that most of my articles are pretty in depth and lengthy. A fellow IDE editor recently pointed that out and issued a challenge … “I bet you ten bucks you can’t write a one page essay.”

FTSEurofirst 300 falls 1.5 percent… Banks under pressure on poor economic outlook… Miners, oils slip…

OPEC may consider new 1 million bpd cut in March-source… Reuters poll shows OPEC makes 67 pct of pledged cut… Nigeria oil union threatens strike from Feb. 9…  U.S. crude stocks seen up for sixth straight time…

“Investors are taking losses of up to 90% in the $1.2 trillion market for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) tied to corporate credit,” reports Bloomberg. Much of the losses have been triggered by the failure of Lehman Brothers and Icelandic bank.

Both gold and silver were pretty quiet in Far East trading on Thursday morning. The London open gave no indication that prices were going to work their way slowly higher going into the Comex open. But about an hour before New York opened for business, gold and silver started going parabolic…and then went vertical on the Comex (AMEX: IAU) open.

Why housebuilders are demanding state hand-outs… More hilarity in the housing industry this weekend. Builders are now demanding state help. As housing sales have collapsed, the construction industry faces mass redundancies, while house builders themselves have seen their share prices dive.

When is a Black Swan not a Black Swan? When the “perfect storm of highly improbable events” happens all the time.

Today’s headlines look pretty horrible. House prices have suffered their biggest annual fall since the early 1990s, says the Nationwide.

Life’s about to get much tougher…for all of us…It’s that R-word again. Loose talk of a ‘recession’ has been bandied about for some time, particularly amongst those of us who keep a keen eye on what’s happening in both the money markets and the high street.