Gold did the deed. The precious metal closed over the psychological barrier of US$1,000 last week as the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd sideswiped the dollar.

The US dollar surprised many by breaking out of its six-year downtrend in 2008. Currency expert Jack Crooks says the global economy will get a lot worse before it gets better. And the euro will come under severe pressure as individual members of the union crumble. Jack says this all poins to further greenback strength in 2009.

In the currency market, the dollar plunged against the euro. Late Tuesday, the euro was trading at $1.3002 vs. $1.2641 on Monday.

Currency expert Jack Crooks says South Africa risks becoming the most notorious failed state in the troubled continent. Falling commodity prices are hurting the mining industry. And social tensions continue to destabilize the political climate. Jack says the rand is hugely overvalued right now, making it a “currency crisis in the making”.

Another mouth-watering currency play from Jack Crooks. Of the Asian states, Thailand’s export-based economy is most exposed to a US recession. And political instability could accelerate capital flight. Jack says this means the Thai baht will likely drop like a stone.

Currency expert Jack Crooks says this crisis is creating great trading opportunities in emerging markets. The Czech koruna soared 250% against the US dollar in the last seven years. But the greenback has found a bottom. And Jack says the reverse trend will be just as “earth shattering”. This is why shorting the koruna is a sure way to bag huge profits.

Currency expert Jack Crooks says traditional “safe haven” currency the Swiss franc looks set to benefit from a slump in Europe.

Yesterday, Hank Paulson’s colossal plan to intervene in the free market failed. Today, there is talk of another version of the bailout being pushed through Congress.

What most people just don’t get, says Chuck Butler is that the bailout “constitutes the single greatest case of ignoring the free market in modern history.” And there is actually little justification for it.

“On a historical basis, many parts of the US economy are in awfully good shape,” according to Chuck

If you were lucky enough to make it through last week without any major losses, then I congratulate you. Last week was a street fight in the markets, and I personally know plenty of traders who came out bloodied and bruised. Thanks to the active participation of central banks and the U.S. Treasury, it’s now almost impossible to find your footing and stick to an investment strategy without being broadsided.

Editor of World Currency Options and Money Trader Jack Crooks says the vast majority of consumers see ‘inflation’ as what we’re paying for groceries, gas, a Starbucks coffee and electricity. But when it comes to Europe, wage push inflation plays a crucial role. Rising wages there are keeping prices unnaturally high. This means when the ECB decides to cut rates it will do so substantially and quickly to give it more firepower for the next inflation shootout…