Bill Bonner, President of Agora Publishing and writing for The Daily Reckoning, UK Edition, takes advantage of the holiday lull to examine the current state of gold – amidst all its ups and downs.

The U.S. Postal Service is on track for a record $7 billion deficit this year. That’s more than double last year’s loss.

The common adage has most every rally climbing a wall of worry. “If I buy now, I might get crushed for the fifth or sixth or seventh time in the past 10 years… but if I wait, the market might run on me, and I won’t see a decent entry price like this for years to come…”

After a pro-labor Congress took over Washington and the fall of Detroit, the nation’s largest employers are doing all they can to keep unions at bay. FedEx (NYSE:FDX) has unveiled a campaign like no other.

V-Shaped Bottom or Second Valley? The truth can earn you 79%.  Watching economists attempt to find consensus can be like watching a burlap sack full of cats – lots of sound and apparent action, but precious little benefit.

Only one of the 19 financial institutions that received a bank stress test would require additional capital, the controversial government initiative has reportedly concluded.

As the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression continues to worsen, decades of deregulation and the growing independence at the state level are being reversed as a deteriorating national economy forces the federal government to increasingly take on responsibilities that no other institution has the power or resources to handle.

If you still look at Amazon Inc. (AMZN) as just an Internet retailing giant, you’re not just missing the point – you are also missing one of the really great long-term profit plays in the market today.

DHL Withdraws From U.S.; China ‘Stimulates’ Railway and Steel Industries; YouTube to Show Full-Length Flicks; McDonald’s October Sales Solid; DB Analysts Says GM Stock Worthless; Fannie Mae to Tap Fed Fund; Starbucks Profit Down 97%; U.S. Cotton Production Declines by a Third

Taipain Publishing’s Adam Lass says investors should be wary of luxury retailers that claim they will emerge unscathed from the current economic downturn.

Real incomes and real private spending are falling, inflation is ticking upwards and consumer confidence is in the gutter.

This makes Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) – with its overly optimistic earnings expectations for Christmas spending – ripe for shorting.