I got another small surprise Monday night, browsing the major indexes.

As you can see from the chart above, the S&P 500 has broken the accelerated downtrend it’s been in since September.

Now, it’s true that this chart is only current as of Monday’s close. I’m writing you these words early Tuesday morning before hopping on a plane.

Perhaps while I’m up in the air at 35,000 feet, Treasury Secretary Paulson will say or do something alarmingly idiotic and help stocks return to form.

But if not, just imagine! The very idea that stocks don’t always go down and down… who’d have thunk it?

Whisper it Quietly

Okay, that was a wee bit of sarcasm (in case you hadn’t noticed).

If I…

The world is changing. The American consumer has been the backbone of the global economy for the last quarter of a century. But the credit crisis is ushering in a new era of thrift. Is this the end of the world as we know it? Yes, says Justice Litle, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing…

One of the biggest fears today is that the US is entering a Japanese-like slump that could last a decade. But Justice Litle says we have learned the lessons from that crisis. This time, the government fears doing too little, but gives little thought about the risks of doing too much. And this is why we should be more scared of one day ending up like Zimbabwe…

Deflation is every central banker’s worst nightmare, says Justice Litle. That’s why the Fed is pumping huge sums of money into the financial system. But if none of that money moves around the economy, it won’t make much difference. And so more dollars will be printed. Justice says this strategy means either a return to inflation or an all-out collapse of the dollar-based monetary system. Either way, gold will skyrocket.

Forget talk of a slump in gold, says Justice Litle. The precious metal is still on a long-term uptrend that started in 2001. And the “reflate at all costs” strategy of the Fed will eventually send gold soaring again as the world wakes up awash with dollars that it doesn’t want.

Market forecasting can seem like a futile exercise. After all, 95% of the time, predicting what will happen next is impossible. But Justice Litle says its the huge opportunities on offer in the other 5% that make investing worthwhile. Here, he explains how traders can draw inspiration from ice-hockey legend Wayne Gretzky…

China’s stimulus package proves that the global infrastructure boom is not dead, says Justice Litle. And that’s big news for base metals like copper. These are essential for construction, and will soar as the world attempts to rebuild its economy. That makes strong base metal producers a bargain now.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Justice Litle thinks Dickens’ classic line  provides an apt description of today’s markets. Sure, this year has been hell. But it has also created some amazing opportunities for contrarian investors. Justice says this is most apparent in the oil and natural gas market, where irrational risk aversion has made most people forget the fundamentals.

Mainstream media is full of ‘Great Depression’ comparisons to today’s credit crisis. But Justice Litle says there are actually many similarities to be found a decade earlier. In 1919, there was a stock market crash, commodity slump, and a major bank bailout. But there is some hope: out of all that misery, the “roaring twenties” were born.

Taipan daily editor Justice Litle responds to some of his readers’ investment queries below. Is this the perfect time to get into the market, or is the market still a no-go zone?