Here’s an interesting credit crisis byproduct: The 50 million current Social Security recipients probably won’t see any extra SS income until 2012. In fact, millions on the government dime might see their monthly checks shrink.

There is suddenly a lot of interest in the idea that the federal government will make holding gold illegal, an example of which is “Is the Confiscation of Gold by Certain Central Banks Likely?” by Julian D. W. Phillips of GoldForecaster.com.

Upbeat headlines have been everywhere in recent weeks, and they all seem to point to a single conclusion: The U.S. economy is in the early stages of a very rapid recovery.

Ireland is nearly broke. Its debt was downgraded a couple weeks ago. Unemployment is near 14%. Deflation is at 5.4% — the highest since the Great Depression of the ‘30s.

Just because I am safely and securely locked inside the Fabulous Mogambo Bunker (FMB) doesn’t mean that I am unaware of things, especially those things concerning inflation in consumer prices, which is the One Big Thing (OBT) to be feared above all others, even more than that paralyzing fear of someone seeing you doing you-know-what, especially when they see you doing you-know-what with you-know-who and the can of whipped cream, which you never did use, which is the one saving grace about the whole thing.

Deflation takes root from Fareast Asia to Western Europe, The pitfalls of trying to defy the laws of nature, Lost in translation in Japan, “Q.E. kindling” and plenty more…

Rice rationing redux?  Chris Mayer on the return of rising food prices… Dan Amoss on what the Fed says versus what the Fed does… Russia sings dollar’s praises, dollar bulls stampede… Chuck Butler looks past the rhetoric… China’s latest resource grab… Iraqi oil… America’s best-selling car… with an MSRP of $60…

What if deflation wins?   While we think the odds are strongly stacked against it, particularly given the government’s furious pace of money printing, the prudent investor understands – and respects – the time-tested adage, “Nothing is guaranteed.” So while our chips sit squarely on the spot marked “inflation,” what will happen to gold stocks if we’re wrong?

Stock Market Rally in Financial Horror Movie. Drag Me to Hell! That’s the title of the first horror movie with a credit crunch theme. No kidding. We just read about it in the Financial Times.

Ten years ago, Asian equities paid pitifully low dividends following the bull market in the late 1990s. But that’s all starting to change as many markets in the region now offer higher dividend payouts than the S&P 500 and many European equity markets…