The trouble with getting older…Big Ben expresses himself…Globalization is no longer a force for good – but a force for evil…the Bear Stearns domino effect…End of the road for Hilary…a new hotline service – made just for central bankers…and more!

Has Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke suddenly turned into an inflation fighter? To my knowledge, Bernanke has never before stressed the dollar’s decline, the inflationary dangers it poses and his intention to guard against these as much as he did yesterday.

Gold hung in at $900 until London opened, then declined modestly until about an hour into the New York session, after which it was hammered, falling as low as $873 before making a small comeback during the Globex to finish at $877.00/oz., down $22.90. Overnight, gold has been flat.

In 2004, then Treasury Secretary John Snow was traipsing about the globe trying to “talk the dollar down.” Why? In a word: debt.

It’s enough to set off one’s contrarian radar. I mean, predictions of $200-a-barrel oil have been everywhere over the last week. CIBC analyst Jeff Rubin, with an eerily accurate track record of previous predictions, kicked it off last week with a forecast of $225 by 2012 with $7 gasoline to match.

In the energy market Wednesday, crude for June delivery plummeted, closing at $116.06/barrel, down $2.24. June reformulated gasoline lost 3.31 cents, to $3.0093/gallon.