Barrick Gold profit triples
The company, Canada's biggest gold producer, said it remains on track to meet its full-year guidance. It is forecasting production of between 5.4 million and 5.5 million ounces of gold, at total cash costs of about $225 per ounce.

Bernanke Appointment Significant for Gold
Lassonde predicted that there will be a slowdown in the U.S. economy, which will motivate the Fed to become "commodative," which will be good for gold. Meanwhile, he noted, "China continues to defy expectation" in terms of demand.
Gold "supply continues to be challenged," Lassonde forecast as the production of Newmont and other international gold mining companies is down. As a result, he predicted the gold price will reach $525 an ounce before the beginning of next year.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that durable goods orders were down 2.1% in September, weaker than expected. Excluding transportation, orders were down 1.0% on the month.
  

• U.S. new home sales rose 2.1% in September (an annual rate of 1.222 million units) , turning around a decline the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. So far this year, new home sales are up 6.4% YoY.
  

• U.S. jobless claims were down 28,000 last week to 328,000.
  

• U.S. monthly retail sales of Class 8 trucks rose by 16.3% over last September’s level to 21,677 units, YoY the 23rd straight monthly increase.
  

• Exxon Mobil earned a record high $9.92 billion in the third quarter, this is up $5.68 billion YoY.
  

• Soaring oil prices and downstream divestments propelled Royal Dutch Shell’s earnings up 68% in the third quarter to $7.37bn, ahead of expectations.

• The U.S. Census Bureau said that 133.2 million bushels of soybeans were crushed in September, 2% more than last month. Soybean oil stocks totaled 1.69 billion pounds, down 2% from last month.
  

• French President Jacques Chirac threatened to derail international trade talks by ruling out further cuts in European Union farm subsidies and tariffs.
  

• U.S. cotton mill use dropped from an annual rate of 6.00 to 5.73 million bales in September.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 77 billion cubic feet last week to 3.139 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down 3% YoY.
  

• New Zealand increased its key interest rate from 6.75% to 7.00%.
  

• Brazil's central bank on Thursday said it saw a benign inflation scenario with only 'transitory' price pressures and raised market expectations it would continue its current pace of interest rate cuts.

Forget Oil -- India's Bigger Problem Is Water
India produces 15 percent of its food and meets 80 percent of its household needs by ``mining'' its fast-depleting groundwater. By 2025, three out of five aquifers in India will be in critical condition, the World Bank said in a recent study.

US nuke policy rethink prompts physicist protest
The underlying principle of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is that in exchange for other countries forgoing the development of nuclear weapons, the nuclear weapon states will pursue nuclear disarmament. Instead, this new U.S. policy conveys a clear message to the 182 non-nuclear weapon states that the United States is moving strongly away from disarmament, and is in fact prepared to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear adversaries.

Uranium price renews interest in Ariz. mines
After languishing at less than $10 per pound for almost 20 years, the price of uranium has jumped to $33 per pound and some predict it will reach $40.
The price is being boosted by a renewed interest in nuclear power, particularly in India and China, where more than a dozen new nuclear power plants are planned.

Quick Overview

• The amount of goods transported across U.S. borders in trade with North American Free Trade partners Canada and Mexico set a new record in 2004, exceeding a previous high set in 2000, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
  
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Crude oil supplies were up 4.4 million barrels to 316.4 million barrels.
• Unleaded gasoline supplies were up 200,000 barrels
  Heating oil supplies were down 900,000 barrels.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in Australia were up 3.0% in the third quarter. The core rate was up 2.0% YoY
  

• Japan's exports improved 8.8% in September to a new record high, while imports rose 17%.
  

Quick Overview

• UPS Inc. plans to stop shipping cigarettes to U.S. consumers on Nov. 21 after state attorneys general said the delivery may aid illegal sales, news services reported Tuesday.
  
  

• The Conference Board said the consumer confidence index dropped from 87.5 to 85.0 in October, more than expected.
  
  
  

• U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 7.28 million units in September, unchanged from August's pace.
  
  

• YoY Consumer prices in Canada were up 3.4% in September, up from a 2.6% gain in August and the largest increase in over two years. Excluding energy, consumer prices were up 1.6% YoY.
  
  

• Business confidence in Germany increased from 96.0 to 98.7 in October, the highest in five years.
  
  

• YoY South Korea's GDP was up 4.4% in the third quarter, stronger than expected.
  
  

• The Bank of India increased its key interest rate from 5.00% to 5.25%, they expect the economy to grow 7.5% in the current fiscal year.
  

• YoY Mexico's economy grew by 4.5 percent in August.

We have added a new page covering International stock recommendations

Quick Overview

• Wall Street made strong gains today as Ben Bernanke was selected as new chairman of the US Federal Reserve. The market also rose because of solid earnings and a continuing softening in oil prices.
  
  
  

• Mexican consumer prices rose 0.19 percent in the first half of October, much less than expected, giving the central bank more room to cut interest rates when it meets at the end of this week.
  
  
  

• An influential economist and adviser to China's central bank said on Monday that an appreciation in the yuan was unavoidable and that he expected further changes in the country's currency policy.

Quick Overview

• Yield curve analysis shows the likelihood of a U.S. recession is greater than it was a year ago but remains low, a senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Friday.
  

• Technology shares rose on Friday, helped by better-than-expected earnings from Google Inc., while the blue-chip Dow fell, after Caterpillar Inc. cut its profit outlook.
  

• The USDA said that on September 30, there were 1.24 billion pounds of frozen orange juice in U.S. cold storage, down 24% from a year ago.
  

• The USDA said that on September 30th, there were 13.99 million pounds of frozen bellies in storage, up 23% YoY. Frozen pork totaled 427 million pounds, up 3% YoY.
  

• The Chocolate Manufacturers Association said that U.S. cocoa grindings totaled 104,470 tons in the third quarter, up slightly YoY.
  

• Mexican retail sales rose 5.6 percent in August, the government said on Friday, as consumers breathed some life into an otherwise tepid economy.
  

• GDP in the U.K. was up 0 .4% in the third quarter and up 1.6% YoY.
  

• Canada's retail sales were down 0.3% in August. YoY retail sales were up 7.3%.
  

• Japan's service industries picked up 1.7% in August, more than expected. Suggesting that consumer spending remained a strong driver of economic growth thanks to higher incomes and better employment conditions.
  

• Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $6.61 billion in the latest week to $828.28 billion, the Investment Company Institute said.

Quick Overview

• The index of U.S. leading economic indicators fell 0.7% in September for a third straight month on aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina and continued high fuel costs, the Conference Board reported Thursday.
  
  

• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region increased from 2.2 to 17.3 in September, more than expected. Inflation watchers were worried about the prices paid index which advanced to its highest level in almost 25 years.
  
  

• The U.S. DoE said that underground natural gas supplies were up 75 billion cubic feet last week to 3.062 trillion cubic feet, assisted by mild temperatures across the U.S. Supplies are down 5% YoY.
  
  

• Retail sales in the U.K. were up 0.7% in September and also up 0.7% from a year ago, stronger than expected.

• Argentina's economy grew 8.9 percent in August compared with a year earlier, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday, pointing to a third straight year of vigorous growth after a deep recession.
  
  

• Google Inc. Posted a third-quarter profit seven times higher than a year ago, driven by the moneymaking competence of its Internet-leading search engine.

Waiting for the lights to go out
We've taken the past 200 years of prosperity for granted. Humanity's progress is stalling, we are facing a new era of decay, and nobody is clever enough to fix it. Is the future really that black, asks Bryan Appleyard

Bush tax commission prepares largest tax overhaul since 1986

China tightens stranglehold on Tibet's monasteries: report

Beijing began "patriotic education" in Tibet's monasteries and nunneries from 1996 in an effort to make Tibetans renounce their allegiance to the Dalai Lama, whom the Tibetans regard as a god.

Quick Overview

• Stocks soared Wednesday, after results from banking companies including Dow component JP Morgan Chase & Co. signaled a strong quarterly earnings period. The Dow-Jones industrials gained 128 points and the S&P 500 had its largest point gain in almost six months. A sharp drop in oil prices and a reassuring assessment of the economy helped investors overcome their disappointment over Intel Corp.'s earnings and troubling sales forecasts.
  

• U.S. Housing starts rose 3.4% in September, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
  

• The U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book said that most districts were reporting their economic activity as being "moderate or gradual."
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said its index of mortgage loan application volume for the week ended Oct. 14 increased 6.1 percent to 737.5, reversing direction after falling for three successive weeks.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Crude oil supplies were up 5.6 million barrels last week to 312.0 million barrels.
  Unleaded gasoline supplies were up 2.9 million barrels
  Heating oil supplies were down 600,000 barrels.
  

• Thailand's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, more than predicted.
  

• Wholesale sales in Canada were up 0.7% in August, excluding autos sales declined 0.6%.
  

• Japanese stocks fell for a sixth day as investors took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the third-quarter earnings season.

• Orange juice jumps as Wilma appears to be on track for Florida.

U.S. Labor Is in Retreat as Global Forces Squeeze Pay and Benefits
Workers at auto parts maker Delphi Corp. will be asked this week to take a two-thirds pay cut. It's one of the most drastic wage concessions ever sought from unionized employees

Producer Prices Rise By Most in 15 Yrs

Quick Overview

• Core U.S. inflation has been well contained despite sharp rises in energy prices but the Federal Reserve must ensure that price pressures do not get out of control, Fed officials said on Tuesday.
  
  

• Bush Tax Panel Says It Will Recommend Simplified Income Tax
  
  

• The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate to 3% and said more increases will be needed to control inflation. Canada's composite index of leading indicators was up 0.3% in September and sales at large retailers were down 0.5% in August.
  
  

• U.K. annual rate of consumer-price increases rose to 2.5 percent from August's 2.4%, the fourth straight increase.

• The U.S. Minerals Management Service said that 65% of oil production and 54% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains closed.

• The U.S. Treasury said that net foreign purchases of long-term securities totalled $91.3 billion in August, better than expected.

• China could become the world leader in wind power, generating up to 1,000 GW (1m MW), according to a Greenpeace report released in Hong Kong this week.

Chart of the day

The Percent of ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds) on our list of 317 funds that are up in the last 20 weeks.