To all; Ben Bernanke is testifying before Congress today regarding BofA and Merrill Lynch. This has become very intriguing, somebody is definitely lying. Ken Lewis and Hank Paulson have similar recollections while Mr. Bernanke denies any pressure or threats to fire management and the board if they didn't consummate the deal. Mr. Bernanke also is invoking that time tested response quite often of "I don't recall".

This has ramifications far beyond somebody doing jail time for perjury, we could be witnessing a very Dollar negative saga because the Dollar is the "common stock" of the United States. If I were a foreigner who decided years ago to invest in the US because of its perceived "safety" from a political and "fair and transparent" standpoint, I would probably be voting now with my feet and exiting the now dirty den of thieves. I don't know how this will end, maybe they end up making Ken Lewis the scapegoat and both Paulson and Bernanke get a free pass. Maybe Mr. Bernanke gets caught up in perjury charges. The one certainty is that this is very embarrassing and will become more Dollar negative as time passes.

On a more pleasant note, the long beleaguered junior mining shares are showing some life. The key "tell" is that 6 months ago if a junior announced a hot hole or big discovery their stock would either sit dead in the water or be sold off on the good news. This is not so now! Over the last month many juniors have announced increases in reserves or good drilling results and their shares have been rewarded as they should be. What we witnessed late last year was an algorithmic operation to shake as many shares loose from investors hands as possible. This was computer generated and involved the use of massive "naked" shorting to create panic.

We are now at the point where these shorts are, and need to be covered pronto because the wind has changed and there are no weak hands left to sell. Anyone still holding juniors and those who are buying now are true believers that will not provide supply for these shorts to make cover. Because the float in many of these juniors is so small, the percentage moves ahead of us will be unlike anything ever witnessed and will make the dot-com bubble look like a calm and steady move. The market caps and shares available to trade are so small that any move by the shorts to cover while new money tries to enter will create 25%, 50% and doubles in a days time.

I think we are very very close to all hell breaking loose. The perfect storm of a collapsing Dollar, failed auctions, bank holidays, Gold and Silver custodian scandals amongst many others are now all aligned simultaneously to create the most dangerous investment environment in all of history bar none. As I have written before, I don't believe that once this blows up you will have any time nor ability to change your positions until everything "reopens" at new and reality based valuation levels. It is for this reason that you must have whatever positions desired before the music stops because you will "sit" frozen like a still photo while all assets globally get revalued while nothing trades. Be prepared, the positions you have now will determine the wealth or lack thereof for several generations that follow. Regards, Bill H.