Adrian Ash, regular contributor to The Daily Reckoning, UK and head of research at BullionVault, analyzes the future of gold, as told by Chinese buying trends.

Baltimore — (TFN): I stuck to my word and bought gold. If you follow the markets long enough, you earn a full grasp of the psychology behind it all. After a while, you notice the tiny quivers and false starts that signify a move in either direction.

I used this insight and logic to warn investors about an imminent downturn in gold prices earlier this month. I got a lot of “feedback” from disappointed gold bugs. But it didn’t take long for them to eat their words as the price of an ounce of gold fell by nearly 10% in the last month.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Down in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a four-year-old boy managed to grab a beer, walk out his front door and break into a neighboring house to steal Christmas gifts.

True story. But it gets better.

Bill Bonner, daily columnist for The Daily Reckoning, UK Edition, turns his attention today to the latested antics of the U.S. Fed Chairman and the ten year rolling trends in the U.S. stock market.

Steve Sjuggerund, writing for The Right Side, analyzes the nature of bubbles, the trend in gold prices, and how trailing stops can be used to protect healthy gains.

The price of gold has surged this year, taking gold shares upwards with it. Readers of my Xcelerated Profits Report have rung the register with 45% profits on Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) and a triple-digit winner on Golden Star Resources (NYSE: GSS). We’re also up big on Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) at the moment.

All is good, right?

On the surface, perhaps. But not if you believe what the options market is saying…

Are you sold on gold? The precious metal outperformed every major equity index in the world in 2008. The question is, can gold—and other precious metals—keep on flying? Or would buying today be buying high and selling low?

Precious metals have always been intriguing to investors because they tend to hold their value. In times of geopolitical crisis or currency devaluation, for example, the value of paper money might fluctuate, but a hard asset will always be worth something. As a result, historically, precious metals have been considered a “safe haven” in times of economic and financial instability.

That brings us to why gold is on a tear today. It declined in 2008 and early 2009 as panicked investors rushed into cash…

Let’s take a quick look at what’s happening in Brazil, over and above the 2016 Olympics being awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

I confess… I got it wrong with gold.

“Gold continues to climb…stoked by inflation worries,” says a headline in the International Herald Tribune.