579,

Butch has a very valid point: if the US share market has improved by around 100 %, while the Australian market has risen by only about 40 %, and the US is seen as some sort of basket-case, then why do people think Australia is doing so wonderfully well ? To the extent that share market ups-and-downs signify economic health, of course.

I am hesitant to call you an idiot, given that you might call me sexist, even though you appear to be male like me, or elitist. Words mean something, you can't throw them around like confetti, or unless you are a caterpillar.

Caterpillar ? Never mind.

579 you will make no impact on Rechtub.
He is not setting out to be nasty, bank on it, he may well be a good bloke.
I like to think he is,but his threads title sits best on him, he has little understanding.
Snake, even arjay at times,is not far wrong about America.
I love the place! its history, it deeds in rebuilding Europe twice.
The part it played in the Colombo plan.
But I see a different America, the old one lives, but is not being heard or seen.
America is broke, it bought about the GFC.
And it prints phony money to stall its fate.
I saw the what if Greece thread? what if the first domino falls?
We can only hope it does not.
Hard times ahead for me, I suspect you too, Labor today, no way round it.
Turned its back on us.
Claims may say I am wrong but no.
Look at NSW yesterday a festering heap of filth, future win a long way off ,but on the right track reformed and wiser.
Our fire is ahead a Liberal Government not avoidable.
Hope 579, hope they are as bad as they look, in power, and hope the faceless men and women who installed Gillard/will remove her, with one of their own, grow to understand, power is a gift taken not given, from the numbers who they serve.

The USA back to where they started from?

Yeah sure, with US unemployment at around 3% higher than pre-GFC figures plus homelessness and poverty rates "skyrocketing".

Some recovery. Obama must be thrilled.

Why not use the current price of olives in Greece as a measure of their overall economic prosperity too?

I suppose every silver lining must have a cloud.

I'm not sure you are being entirely consistent in your arguments, snake.

>>One of the reasons why the US market has risen is because of the money supply that has increased... the main reason why gold has risen because [is] people regard it as a store of value<<

While I agree with you that the increase in money supply has had an impact on share prices, I'm mystified why you don't apply the same logic to the gold price. The stark reality is that people regard shares as "a store of value" - just think of the trillion-plus dollars we Australians have invested in Super Funds, and where those dollars find a home.

This is also supported by another statement of yours:

>>the value in purchasing power of gold largely remains the same and has for the last few hundred years<<

Which clearly demonstrates what a lousy investment gold can be. Using your own scenario, in which the "purchasing power of gold largely remains the same", if you "stored" a gold piece in 1810, and sold it in 2010, it would buy the same amount of stuff, right? In between times, you'd have nothing to invest, nothing with which to build a business - just an inert piece of rock.

Here's some detail on the daily musings in gold-land.

http://www.caseyresearch.com/gsd/home

It's just a metal, whose price responds to physical demand. Just like iron ore. Or copper. Or Palladium. Apart from its history as a trading currency, what is so special about gold anyway?

But the part I cannot understand in all this weird fascination with the gold standard, is why on earth would anyone hand over control over our currency to a bunch of miners? Like, they're a whole lot nicer than bankers, and wouldn't dream of manipulating the supply of gold to their own advantage. As well as OPEC, we'd have OGEC, the Organization of the Gold Exporting Countries. Just think who would belong to it...

Nope. I'll take my chances with horrid old fiat currency, the stuff that goes into my bank account, and is stored there.

Considering that the American property market has tanked and their interest rates are at near-zero levels, it's no wonder that the stock market is attracting money.

Here in Oz, although the property market is falling in some areas, most investors are happy to stay with moderate but safe cash investments while the Euro sorts itself - out so the fact that our sharemarket is increasing at all during these globally volatile times can be seen as a vote of confidence in our economy.

This crisis has been caused by the US Federal Res and the criminals in Wall St.Our banks have now been down graded and the RBA will continue to let the international banks milk us dry and cause a depression here too.

When people are too scared to borrow there quickly arises a money shortage especially with pop increases.We need once again to let our Govts create the new money for increases in our productivity.
In any productive economy there should never be money shortages as there should never be an oil shortage to lubricate an engine.

There are $35 trillion in credit default swaps in the West.This casino economy of derivatives must be separated from the real economy otherwise you will lose the rest of your super.