The gold market was obviously open in the U.S. on Martin Luther King Day. But not much happened except a continuation of the decline that began at 11:00 a.m. in London on Monday…which lasted until 3:00 a.m. New York time yesterday…shortly before London opened on Tuesday morning. This decline managed to shave about $18 off the gold price during that period of time.

Prices for food in U.S. grocery stores jumped 6.6% last year – the biggest spike since 1980 – underscoring yet again that inflation is a much bigger problem than government officials, or most economists, say it will be.

The base metals were all glowing green on Friday. Copper rose from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open and tailed off from there, but still hung in positive territory to finish at $1.5089/lb., up 3¾ cents.

In mid November, Bank of American Corp. (BAC) ponied up more than $7 billion to nearly double its already existing investment in the state-owned China Construction Bank Corp., a move that gave the biggest U.S. bank a 19% stake in China’s second-largest lender.

The base metals were all shoved back deep into the red on Monday. Copper declined from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning, then traded just off its intraday low for the rest of the day, finishing at $1.4285/lb., down nearly 9 cents.

No one person is responsible for the credit crisis, the failure of investment banks, the insolvency of commercial banks world-wide, the implosion of the world’s stock markets, or for leading us to the precipice of another great depression.

Gold started falling as soon as London opened on Monday, and continued down into the first hour of New York trading, hitting its low for the day at $845, then rallied, sold off to the noon hour, and rallied again through the rest of the Comex and the Globex, finishing at $858.30/oz., down $26.60 from Friday. Overnight, gold is sharply lower.

The dollar continues to rally…  Obama bounce picks up steam…  ECB and BOE meet this week…  Brazilian reals on a roll! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

China Lifts Inflation Controls; Awful Year for India Rupee; 30-year Mortgage Rates Hit Record Low; First Recorded Decline in Online Holiday Shopping; UBS Offloads Bank of China Stake

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