Initial Jobless Claims rise…  PPI does too!  Euros get hung out on a line…  Gold makes a comeback! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

In a bid to re-establish itself as the “pharmacy of the world” and narrow the growing gap between itself and the United States and Asia, Europe is launching a $3.1 billion drug-discovery initiative.

Whip Inflation Now…Where Can We Get Help on Inflation?…The Patient Died Anyway…Inflation in Asia and Europe…There Are No Good Solutions

Retail sales actually went up last month – how is that even possible?…The Beige Book says the U.S. economy is ‘generally weak’… The sky’s the limit for electronic money – but not so for real wealth…America’s money is snapping back… Calling into question the U.S.’s car culture…the next big thing in the search for an energy alternative…and more!

In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery recovered its recent losses, closing at its highest level in a week, at $127.79/barrel, up $5.49, or 4.5%. July reformulated gasoline rocketed 13.45 cents higher, to $3.3345/gallon.

There are those who will tell you that oil is a cyclical business and a global fungible commodity. It rises and falls with the business phase. If you look at a hundred-year chart, it is as obvious as a sidewinder on a sand dune. A sine wave through time — up and down in seven-year cycles.

We aren’t scared of the peaks – what we are nervous about are the valleys…all the Fed’s hard work can be undone by a single day of trading… The global oil crunch…consumer confidence is out of gas as well – thank goodness for those rebate checks… The anniversary of the “Esperanto Money”…in central banking, the consequence of inertia and inactivity is almost always salutary…and more!

So, without further ado, let’s jump into the problem with the Euro. Back in May 2007, we wrote a piece entitled “Part 2-So What Should We Worry About“.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) beat estimates up and down Wall Street with a 13% jump in first-quarter profit that was largely driven by booming international sales.

People have been asking me if it’s too late to buy oil. Heck no, not if you think oil is going to $140 or $150 per barrel this year — and I do. But there’s a better bargain in energy, which I recommended that Secret Order of Jurojin subscribers buy this week: natural gas.