London, United Kingdom

A glance at London’s busiest streets might reveal that everything is fine in this pristine European capital. But dig deeper into the malaise that continues to challenge this leveraged economy and you see things are not as they first seem.

England is still trying to recuperate from the credit crisis and the resultant shock of economic output. Despite austerity measures by the new Cameron government, the central bank is ramping up the production of paper obligations, a.k.a the pound, to meet this nation’s ongoing debt commitments.

En Route to London, Heathrow

I’m en route to London tonight on the World’s Favorite Airline. As we cruise across the sky at 39,000 feet on this giant Boeing 777-200, I wonder how the airline industry survives at all amid relentless increases in jet fuel, tiring labor disputes and the worst decade in the history of commercial airlines following September 11, 2001.

If there’s one business that truly stinks, it’s the airline industry.

Montreal, Canada

The Reuters-CRB Index, one of the most widely followed commodities benchmarks, is now just 2.3% from its 2010 high after posting big gains in July and September.

During a volatile 3rd quarter that saw stocks and bonds rally, the CRB Index surged 11% and has broken above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages – a bullish signal.

Montreal, Canada

The bears are sweating in the oil pits…

U.S. crude oil reserves are sitting at a 27-year high this week. Despite soaring inventories, which would normally depress prices, West Texas crude oil opens the day at $78.91 a barrel. That’s a price level that’s certainly not consistent with bulging supplies of the stuff.

Oil has declined about 2% in 2010 while most other raw materials are heading through the roof. That includes the metals – both industrial and precious – as the dollar has corrected heavily recently.

Montreal, Canada

Is the global exchange rate system as we know coming to an end? The events in the United States and Europe recently suggest the next global crisis will be a currency-based fiasco.

I remember vividly interviewing my mentor in this business, Jim Rogers, back in the spring of 1995 when I asked him about the global exchange rate mechanism and the future of the dollar.

Montreal, Canada

Since the emergence of the credit crisis and resultant global crash two years ago, pundits have endlessly debated about whether gold can perform in an environment of falling prices or deflation. I believe it can. Indeed, gold continues to safeguard portfolios from economic uncertainty and the growing threat of currency wars among the world’s largest trading partners.

Montreal, Canada

Though I’d wait before going whole-hog at these levels, gold mining stocks are heading much higher before this historical bull market is over.

If you’re contemplating a mining portfolio then look no further than to the best-managed gold mutual funds. I like these funds better than indexing. Yeah, they’re more expensive but so what? Check-out the performance.

Montreal, Canada

Just a few months ago, the world’s most widely followed industrial metal was turning over, suggesting a new global bear market was approaching. Dr. Copper is often regarded as a leading global economic indicator as the metal is among the most sensitive demand component tied to any cyclical recovery or decline.

China is the world’s leading importer of copper and consumes almost 40% of total supply.

- Dugald Malcolm, Montreal, Canada

OIL

The price of oil trades at not far from where it did at this time last year. In fact, aside from a slight pop in prices during the spring, oil prices have been trading sideways. A trading range of $77 +/- 9% , as shown on the chart below, has been in place over the last 12 month period.

Montreal, Canada

One of the worst managed economies since the onset of the credit crisis more than three years ago is Ukraine. More than any other Eastern European economy – Hungary places a distant second – Ukraine was the closest to financial obliteration in late 2008 as credit markets came undone.

The breadbasket of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine is a formidable agricultural producer – especially abundant in grain production. In late 2008, the government scrambled to avoid defaulting, courtesy of the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.