Gold gained yet another powerful ally yesterday — hedge fund icon Paul Tudor Jones. The man who famously called Black Monday in 1987 and the Nikkei crash a few years later now thinks “gold appears to be cheap.” In a note to his investors, Tudor said, “I have never been a gold bug. It is just an asset that, like everything else in life, has its time and place. And now is that time… gold’s value should increase as its scarcity relative to printed currencies increases.”

Both sides of the ship…  Currencies remain well bid…  ECB and Riksbank meet this week…  Baiting the hook for more stimulus? And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Bernard Madoff, former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ), was turned into the authorities by his sons last Thursday after his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC, was declared an insolvent “giant Ponzi scheme,” with estimated losses of $50 billion.

The bear market has taken its toll on hedge funds so far this year. In the first half of ‘08 average hedge fund performance was a negative .75%. This from Bloomberg: