Tired of reacting to rumors!  Aussie dollar continues to rally…  More on China…  Bank of England keeps rates unchanged… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

The 31st bank is closed in 2009… China is showing signs of improvement…  The so-called “decoupling” taking place?
Jobs Jamboree ends the week… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

China to grow 8%? An end for Mark-to-markets?  What will the ECB do today?  Gold at a discount…. And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Berkshire’s Armor Cracks; JPMorgan Bags $5 Billion Selling Deriviates; Recordati Proposes Increased Divided; China May Double Stimulus This Week; Homes Sales Continue to Break Down

With the onset of 2009, Beijing is cracking down on web portals and search engines that publish material deemed to be too vulgar or subversive for the nation’s 300 million-plus Internet users. Chinese authorities have reportedly implemented new software that lets them more easily track and counter threats, and have issued stern warnings to industry leaders such as Baidu.com Inc. (ADR: BIDU) and Google Inc. (GOOG).

Commodities will rebound in the New Year, says Martin Hutchinson. Supply and demand fundamentals remain bullish for natural resources. Even more importantly, massive increases in the money supply will create inflation, against which hard assets are an important hedge. Martin gives five ways to play this trend in 2009.

China’s economic rescue programs could be devastating for American investors, says Manraaj Singh. The country is sitting on $2 trillion in US dollar reserves. And it will likely sell a large chunk of this to fund its domestic bailout.  Manraaj says this makes US dollar-denominated investments a ticking time bomb.

While China made headlines with a historic interest rate cut this week, the World Bank weighed in with a gloomy prediction about China that received scant coverage. For emerging-market investors who missed the story, the World Bank’s assessment of China’s economic performance in 2009 could reshape their strategy for portfolio allocation.

Copper prices have fallen off a cliff since June, and not even China’s massive stimulus has bucked the trend. But Sara Nunnally says one Chilean mining firm is still planning a major expansion in production over the coming years. This could mean big profits for the company’s three major financial backers (AAUK, XTA, MITSY)… provided they survive the current commodity slump.

Job losses begin to accelerate…  Currencies inch higher…  News of the weird…  China announces a stimulus plan!