While gold had a big run-up in price during the three-month stretch that ended in late February, the yellow metal has subsequently dropped back a bit, as have the prices of the leading mining shares. If anything, however, the reasons for gold bullishness have intensified.

Here we go again…The market had its best week since November. And just like that, there is chatter of light at the end of the tunnel.

The calendar is noticeably lighter this week, but after all the critical reports last week, it is a nice breather.

Gold booms after global strife, Byron King on whether the precious metal is still a buy… Stimulus bill a done deal, details of the final 1,073-page fiasco… States in peril, revenue crash causes budget crisis from California to New Jersey… Wal-Mart surprises Street, Rob Parenteau on retail’s sudden comeback… Stocks dive toward new crisis lows, equity advice from Mayer and Buffett… Plus, have you noticed? One major index quietly up 30% YTD…

Pending Home Sales surprise!  Eurozone Retail Sales slump!  Tax cuts don’t create jobs…  Failure to follow through for the A$ And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Ghosts of the fourth quarter haunt global financials… so begins the second act of the credit saga… Even the IMF needs a loan… $150 billion to back up struggling emerging markets… Not so fast, says Mayer… emerging markets will remain drivers of global growth… Jim Nelson with an industry likely to boom in 2009… Wayne Burritt’s short-term trading advice… with S&P 500 price targets… Plus, Russia-Ukraine gas dispute not yet over… a reader provides firsthand account.

Another dollar rally….  Rumors in Ireland…  Trade Deficit narrows…  Retail Sales to disappoint?  And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Home prices fall… again. The latest record-setting swan dives… Chris Mayer on how to spot the bottom… and what to buy when it comes… World’s biggest companies hold shockingly little cash… global market in the hands of Buffett, China… But can China capitalize? Byron King on how China has “reached its pinnacle”… Russian professor predicts end of U.S. by 2010… will Houston be taking orders from Mexico City? Plus, your prophecies for 2009… and The 5’s editors issue a forecasting challenge

Profit in 2009:  Think like a Fed governor… A “mere” 25 banks failed in 2008… proof that the FDIC expects many more next year… Retail on the brink… preliminary reports suggest holiday consumption even lower than anticipated… So who will thrive in 2009? An unsavory list of stocks prime to benefit from a lousy economy… Middle East moving markets… why news from Kuwait and Gaza is affecting your portfolio today… Byron King on the $200 billion consumer bailout Congress never passed

If there’s a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it’s the one that says: “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”