Monday Is Chart Day

Let's start with the news everyone is talking about ...

“The Dollar Peg Is Doomed!”

Here’s an update of the story I had on my blog yesterday …

Arabs' Dollar Losses Increase Pressure to Sever Pegs (Update4)
Merrill Lynch & Co. predicts either the United Arab Emirates or Qatar will cut their dollar peg within half a year. Standard Chartered Plc says the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations need to raise the value of their currencies 20 percent. The difference between the price of the Saudi Arabian riyal and the cost of buying it in a year using forward contracts has widened 10-fold since October as traders bet the kingdom will sever its 21-year-old link to the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

``The dollar peg is doomed,'' said Jim Rogers, chairman of New York-based Rogers Holdings and a former partner of hedge fund manager George Soros.

Here are some other news stories of interest ...

Not surprisingly …

OPEC Comment Drives Oil Close to $95
Oil prices rose Monday with more talk among OPEC members about converting their cash reserves to the euro and away from the U.S. dollar. There is also doubt a possible OPEC output hike next month would get more supplies to market in time for the northern winter.

Gold higher on firm oil; capped below $800
Some analysts said turmoil in financial markets caused by problems in the credit sector could have a negative impact on gold, which is sometimes bundled in with other commodities as an investment to be sold when investors trim exposure to risk.

Recession in U.S. Increasingly Likely Next Year, Economists Say in Survey The number of economists forecasting the U.S. will slip into recession almost doubled over the last two months, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

Premier Wen Says `Massive' Foreign Reserves Putting China Under Pressure China's ``massive'' foreign-currency reserves were placing its government under unprecedented policy pressure, Premier Wen Jiabao said.

Global Stocks, U.S. Futures Drop; UBS, Swiss Re, BHP, Newmont Mining Fall Stocks fell in Europe and Asia, led by banks, exporters and mining companies, on concern the U.S. will slip into recession next year and growth in China may slow. U.S. index futures retreated.

Soybeans Advance to 19-Year High on Increasing Demand; Wheat, Corn Rise Soybeans rose to a 19-year high in Chicago on speculation that demand for the oilseed for vegetable oil and biofuels will surpass global supplies. Corn and wheat futures also gained.

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