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

Rare earth elements (REEs) have been the mystery metals of the mining world for years. Now, suddenly, everyone’s heard about them.

David Rosenberg, chief economist for Gluskin-Sheff, is a contrarian with a superior intellect than our own. That’s why we hang on most every word he says.

That’s a question that Westerners have been asking for, oh, several millennia now. Or at least since Marco Polo aimed his ponies down the old Silk Road in 1271.

In the spirit of not suffering from confirmation bias, in today’s Notes we will try to make the bearish case against gold. So before you storm Notes HQ in Buenos Aires craving blood, hear us out. Many of our staff here love gold and have long term holdings.

Gold prices extended gains above $1,010 an ounce in Europe on Friday as the dollar index’s <.DXY> tumble to one-year lows fuelled interest in the precious metal as an alternative asset.

As the equities market gyrates, gold bugs are getting their vindication. Better late then never, I suppose.

Gold prices rallied today, Thursday, to their highest level since February on strong investment demand amid caution ahead of key U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday (London GMT).

Gold climbed on Tuesday after data showed the U.S. manufacturing sector grew more than expected in August, lifting appetite for assets seen as higher risk, such as commodities, and boosting inflation fears.

Where are we now? Still in the Twilight Zone economy as far as we’re concerned. US stocks ended strongly on Friday. And they’re set to rise again today if Europe’s strong morning performance is anything to go by. Commodities are up too. Nymex crude oil futures are at $74.24 a barrel at writing. Gold is trading at $953.50 an ounce – not far off Friday’s one-week high.