Are you sold on gold? The precious metal outperformed every major equity index in the world in 2008. The question is, can gold—and other precious metals—keep on flying? Or would buying today be buying high and selling low?

Precious metals have always been intriguing to investors because they tend to hold their value. In times of geopolitical crisis or currency devaluation, for example, the value of paper money might fluctuate, but a hard asset will always be worth something. As a result, historically, precious metals have been considered a “safe haven” in times of economic and financial instability.

That brings us to why gold is on a tear today. It declined in 2008 and early 2009 as panicked investors rushed into cash…

China walks the walk… red nation agrees to major shift away from dollar reserves… Gold soars… Frank Holmes with a historic reason gold should keep rising… You know Peak Oil, but Peak Stimulus? Chris Mayer offers a compelling chart on government intervention… Dark data: Service sector, retail, jobs all disappoint, plus a shocking stat on student debt…

The yen and dollar rose on Tuesday as fears of further U.S. bank failures overshadowed unexpectedly strong U.S. manufacturing data, boosting the two currencies’ safe-haven appeal.

CIT dodges bullet, others report super-sized earnings… are banks really on the mend? Greg Guenther with a safe way to play the volatile biotech sector… California finally plugs its budget gap… with taxes, debt and accounting fraud… Chris Mayer on a rising dilemma for miners of the world… Plus, even the dead can’t dodge the recession… backyard burials booming…

Currencies rebound…  G-8 has no fireworks…  Aussie / China and coal… Entitlements… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

The yen rose today as uncertainty about the global economic outlook and forthcoming U.S. corporate earnings increased the safe-haven appeal of the Japanese currency.

The dollar was slightly higher on Monday, supported as investors shied away from taking new positions before key U.S. jobs data due this week, while gains were kept in check as rising stocks stoked slight demand for risk.

Dollar rallies on N. Korea warning…  Emerging Markets decouple…  A debt upgrade for New Zealand…  Swiss francs rise despite SNB warnings… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

U.S. stocks and oil prices turned south on Friday as investors questioned recent rallies in the face of economic data that still shows a mixed picture of when economies will rise from a deep global recession.

Bad news for car makers rallies the US$…  Yen comes back strong…  Singapore to devalue?…  German Chancellor Merkel gives warning… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!