Concerns about Spain’s banking system appear to arise from a handful of regional banks — which amount to less than 25% of the country’s banking system. Still, Spain, and the Eurozone as a whole, may have to successfully endure a further market shock before investor confidence is ultimately restored.

The money-for-sovereignty case — or how a mix of German-style fiscal policies and US-style monetary policies might save the European Union.

The next decade may see an increased number of threats to freedom of trade. Interpretations of acute movements in price (as in the rare earths commodities case) will have to examine the possibility of trade “guerrillas” hiding in the equation.

Is a double-dip recession unavoidable? Since the current US economic expansion began, some people have been insisting that the US economy will fall back into recession in light of the hurdles it faces after enduring one of its most acute financial crises. However, the likelihood of a double-dip recession is very low and, even if it can’t be completely discarded, none of the indicators that normally support such a conclusion are present: no interest rate rise, no yield curve inversion, no oil price increase, and no decay in corporate profits.

From 1980 to 2005 commodity prices remained rangebound. Thirty years earlier, from 1952 to 1972, something similar had happened. However, two different and distinct price jumps occurred between and after those two periods. The symmetry of these four periods is not, curiously enough, mirrored by economic growth. Is the pattern set to repeat?

Based on a gold price behavior pattern that can be traced back to 1968, the price of gold may appear headed for a significant correction, potentially opening the door for a strong dollar period and concomitant commodity price stagnation or decline.