As expected, stocks are charging higher since Wednesday following weeks of protracted selling. That’s not a surprise. I’ve been saying we could see a big rally because the VIX was heavily overbought.

I’m reading a strange little book this week. It is called The Fall of Northern Rock and is written by an ex-employee of the now nationalised bank called Brian Walters. I’m not quite sure why Walters was the one commissioned to write the book, for the simple reason that he doesn’t seem to have any more inside knowledge into the affair than the rest of us.

You could say the Canadian financial services sector has weathered the sub-prime crisis better than most…at least compared to the U.S. and Europe.

So far, the Fed’s magic is working: Sub-prime is leaving primetime.

Yes, I’ll admit it: I’m bearish on the stock market. I’m still concerned about sending more funds out into the market for one fundamental reason: Rampant energy inflation.

Gold was very rangebound from the foreign markets through the New York session on Monday, with buyers emerging when it dropped below $880 and sellers equally present when it topped $885, and it stumbled into a finish at $882.20, down $1.80.

Last week we concentrated on the outlook for domestic UK economic activity ahead of the release of the first stab at UK real gross domestic product (GDP).

Financial commentators around the world keep asking, they want to know if we’ve finally hit rock bottom, after more than $300 billion in losses. In fact, CNBC asks this question so often that it’s starting to sound like bored kids on a long road trip… “Are we there yet?”

Who’s this menacing figure storming out of 11 Downing Street? Why, if it isn’t scary Alistair Darling, who’s been up all night practicing Chinese burns in preparation for today’s Big Meeting with the Council of Mortgage Lenders.