With consumer confidence now testing generational lows, our politicians are, nevertheless, continuously assuring us that the economy is strong and that there is no cause for worry.

Gold was steady to higher through the far East and most of London trading yesterday, but at about 9:30 of the New York session it plunged, bottoming at $877 before it climbed through the NYMEX, only to sag again in the Globex and finish at $881.30/oz., down $9.00. Overnight, gold has fallen off.

Has Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke suddenly turned into an inflation fighter? To my knowledge, Bernanke has never before stressed the dollar’s decline, the inflationary dangers it poses and his intention to guard against these as much as he did yesterday.

If the Aussie market follows the U.S. lead today, look out. Before we break for lunch here in Colorado, stocks in New York are taking a beating. The Dow Jones Industrials are down nearly 200 points. And it’s such a nice day out, too.

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!

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched a witch hunt to slake the blood-thirst of Congresscritters and their constituents looking for someone to blame for high oil prices.

We’ve got a lot to remember and a lot to reckon with on this Memorial Day…the richest man in the world travels to Europe to seek out better investments…The Oracle of Omaha could write for The Daily Reckoning…putting the squeeze on the American family… Checking in on Cuba…and more!

In the currency market, the dollar slipped against the euro. Late Monday, the euro was trading at $1.5491 vs. $1.5424 on Friday.

The mood seems to be lifting. A more optimistic tone in the Sunday papers…a prod of encouragement from the Bank of England…and now global equities are surging.

Back in December, my friend Steve Sjuggerud described a British spending spree taking place in America. At the time, the pound was worth about $1.95, and Brits were enjoying a 50% discount on their Christmas shopping across the pond.