The banking sector has problems - but we have to take on board the idea that the market rises and falls on emotion. So when emotion has over taken everyone to a degree that all stocks everywhere fall regardless of their individual situation, (because everyone has suddenly become extremely bearish), any news that the situation isnt quite that bearish (even with undercurrent problems) will tend to move the market up again. Gold has risen by % far more than the USD has fallen over the same period of time. Vis if the idea that the banks are all falling over hasnt created a gold rush on a par with physical silver- what does that say exactly?.

Also we are reminded that all paper based assets will rise with inflation, and everything including gold is priced in paper. So the notion 'we shouldnt be in gold/silver stocks now' is equally innacurate. The long term Barrons chart suggests this is the beginning of the biggest run up in pm stocks that we are likely to see in our lifetime (personally speaking- definately). PM stocks are very liquid, easily convertible to paper money and tradeable. They offer leverage to the metal, with a US capital gains rate a lot less that gold coins/bullion, (so I understand).

I posted an article weeks ago on sentiment, along with a link to a web site that monitors it. The gold market is likely to run its course over 20 years or more, so people who think the dollar is doomed to ride itself into the ground this year (because they've already gone all out in physical gold now), are also 'possibly' emotionally tied to the 'greedy' gold camp. That isnt to say there are not long term problems, only that there are other global parties out there holding a lot of USD that might not want to see it plunge because other very small dot on the world speculators would make a million of it now - if it did. Slower rises in the price of gold are more likely to be the order of the day

Investors in mining majors are used to an expectation that their shares will automatically rise or decline in value with metal prices, assuming that they continually take on new resources. Juniors are more risky because there's the potential for dilution and lower share prices result from problems as they expand and develop. However its only the juniors that can deliver additional value from start-up to becoming a profit making venture, so we should expect an improvement in share value that isnt 'just' tied to the price of the metal.