Gold held steady at around $945 in the far East, but started down once London opened, and continued to plummet through the first hour of the New York session on Friday, falling as low as $905 before turning north for the balance of the day and finishing at $916.20, down $18.10. For the week, gold lost 1.3%.

It was here in Manchester, England, that Europeans stole a march on the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution made it possible for people to produce more wealth, more quickly.

Check out a chart showing the Q1 2008 action in the CRB Index, a widely tracked basket of 19 leading commodities, versus the S&P 500 from the beginning of the first quarter through Tuesday. The CRB Index is up 11% during that time frame. Meanwhile, the S&P is down over 7%. OUCH! Which would you rather invest in?