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As last week ended, one might have believed Wall Street investors had just about everything wrong.  Stocks were up sharply on bullish payroll news that flatly contradicted something every American knows – i.e., that the Great Recession is still very much with us; T-bonds were getting whacked on the flimsy assumption that the economy is picking up strength; and gold and silver were under attack because, well, because all was right with the world.  Even the hacks and scribblers who bring us the news did their bit to feed Friday’s feel-good binge.  For one, there was nary a discouraging word on the Web’s main news pages about Greece and its slow-motion bankruptcy – only a story about how Europeans were working diligently to protect the homeless from a cold snap.  And the left-tilting L.A. Times, thinking wishfully, weighed in with the most fatuous story of the day:  an analysis piece saying that the payroll numbers could prove to be a turning point in Obama’s reelection year -- the day when he shifted from slight underdog to favorite. All of which led us to post a link at Rick’s Picks to some sobering counterpoint in the form of an essay, Peak Money Arrives. Here’s an excerpt to ponder lest you grow giddy over Friday’s silly headlines: “The world is running out of money. If money is credit, and credit relies on confidence, there is not enough confidence in the financial system to supply the world with the money it needs. Since the initial credit crisis struck in 2008, credit and money have been withdrawn from the system in such staggering amounts that international trade can no longer grow. The world’s central banks are playing a rear guard action by acting as lender of last resort to banks that no longer trust

Stocks are sharply higher today on the supposed news that job growth surged, pushing unemployment down to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent.  In contrast to this absolutely meaningless, Goebbelsian statistic is the inescapable reality of a U.S. economy that is not only not recovering but which is virtually incapable of doing so. So strong is the evidence of this that anyone who believes otherwise should be presumed deranged. As for a mainstream news media that would have us believe the recession ended in 2009, their contemptible laziness, stupidity and dishonesty in failing to recognize the economy's steepening descent into Depression ranks with their obliviousness to the Holocaust and Stalin's purge. For bracing counterpoint to this morning's grotesque hubris on Wall Street, I suggest reading the excellent essay Peak Money Arrives at the Economic Populist web site. Here's an excerpt: "The world is running out of money. If money is credit, and credit relies on confidence, there is not enough confidence in the financial system to supply the world with the money it needs. Since the initial credit crisis struck in 2008, credit and money have been withdrawn from the system in such staggering amounts that international trade can no longer grow. The world’s central banks are playing a rear guard action by acting as lender of last resort to banks that no longer trust each other and have stopped lending in the interbank market. As liquidity flows out from the system, the rottenness that has corrupted the foundations of global finance is now exposed for all to see."

Click here for a link to a lengthy technical report sent out over the weekend.  It comes courtesy of our friend Jonathan Auerbach.

[There was some discussion in the chat room this morning concerning Hecla's steep plunge.  The closure of the firm's Lucky Friday mine by regulators has created an excellent buying opportunity, says our friend Phil Calderone.  He spells out the reasons below. Please note that from a Hidden Pivot standpoint, the stock looks like it has further to fall.  The low so far on this morning's nasty gap was 4.25, but HL could fall to as low as 3.72 before reaching hidden support. RA] The oft quoted saying, referring to the Chinese symbol being the same for crises and opportunity, has indeed provided such an opportunity. The single biggest fear for investors in legitimate mining companies (i.e., where the mineral actually exists) is an accident that temporarily halts production. Such an occurrence happened to HL's Lucky Friday mine in December. Today, the company announced that the government regulators are making them keep the mine closed for the rest of this year to repair the damage and make the facility safe to reopen. Naturally, the stock is getting crushed. This is one of the major reasons why I have repeatedly recommended 90% of one's assets be invested in CEF (no mining risk) and only the rest be considered for a speculative trade in HL. The opportunity is that HL still expects to produce 7 million ounces of silver in 2012 versus its earlier projections of 9 to 9.5 million ounces before this development. The silver in the ground doesn't disappear like an oil spill. It is still there. It will cost more to bring out with the added expense of cleaning up and repairing the facility, but their production cost of about one dollar an ounce is insignificant to the price of silver. So, anyone who hasn't bought HL before, gets a

Here's the latest Auerbach & Grayson report from our globetrotting friend Jonathan Auerbach, who searches the world for ground-floor investment opportunities that his colleagues have largely shunned or overlooked: As of January 1, Nigeria has abolished their long-standing fuel subsidies with the result that gas at the pump immediately costs N138-43/liter (~$3.32/gal) from N65/liter (~$1.54/gal). While your evening news may show massive protests along with other local hysteria, take a walk here with us to assess the bottom-line of this critical free-market transformation which will be highly beneficial economically to sub-Sahara's largest economy to be. Just let this sink in...the value of the fuel subsidy was equal to 25% of the annual Nigerian Federal Budget! Its removal now provides significant private-sector incentives to develop up and down stream projects in the energy sector. It clearly will provide reallocation of government revenues to massive infrastructure and residential shortages. Our local partner CSL (soon to release a comprehensive impact piece on this event) see the event as currently FX neutral but later strengthening based on experiences from similar events in other emerging markets (Indonesia and Iran) where the balance of payments was positively impacted by the removal of incentives to import dodgy products in order to collect subsidies. Bottom line: This is going to have magnificent impact on a country where government is truly making great strides on empowering the private sector. You had better have Nigeria on your radar screen and do not lose sight of their impact on the rest of the continent. Yes, that includes Egypt.

I hadn't intended to do a "Rick's Picks Predictions for 2012" because I'm skeptical that anyone could get it right. So many things could go wrong next year that it's difficult for me to imagine the world muddling through the month of February, let alone muddling along for another twelve months. Still, I'll give it my best shot in Friday's edition, since I've already skirted the topic in an interview yesterday morning with radio host Al Korelin. It's tempting to try to stand out from the pack, predicting things that few of my guru peers expect. However, I'll go out on a limb with this one here and now:  I expect Apple shares to be trading no higher than they are trading now, and perhaps significantly lower.  See you Friday!

Our good friends at Auerbach & Grayson are out with a storm warning for stocks and other risky assets in the first quarter.  The dollar, on the other hand, is in a strong primary bull trend that should see significantly higher valuations in the months ahead, according to Richard Ross, A&G's global technical strategist.  Click here for the full 27-page report.

With the eyes of the world on Europe's slow-motion train wreck, is it possible that MF Global, whose troubles were initially spun as an eentsy-weentsy $4B fender-bender, will turn out to be the Black Swan?  The bankrupt broker's saga has taken a fascinating new turn with news this weekend that the trustee plans to seize -- and liquidate -- gold and silver held for customers by MF Global.  Click here for the full story at Jesse's Cafe Americain.

Here's a funny YouTube that puts the Occupy Wall Street movement in perspective.  Click here.