World Indeces Down Last Week - Dow is Now in Bear Territory

MWF (Monday) Briefing: 

Oil has continued its ascent and OPEC ministers have blamed the U.S. Fed for causing this by lowering the value of the dollar to help the economy and the ever present credit crunch in the U.S. and pushing pricing pressures outside its borders.  Numbers on the Countryside Foreclosure blog show that many home prices have dropped by half from their peak in 2006.  OPEC might be pointing the finger the way some U.S. politicians pointed the finger at oil speculators in the U.S. causing prices to rise to nosebleed levels. Other energy has jumped as well including natural gas making once costly extraction techniques now affordable and viable.

• "As reported over at Real Time Economics, the Fed basically outsources the global inflation fight. The Fed, whose monetary policy applies to all those countries who peg their currencies to the dollar, is unwilling to sacrifice domestic economic goals in order to stabilize global inflationary pressures. While this stance makes domestic political sense, it ignores the monetary hegemon status of the Fed and its role in creating the global inflationary pressures in the first place." MacroMarket Musings

• Country Wide Foreclosures Blog shows that there are homes in Florida and California that have dropped 50% from their 2006 highs. 

• Natural Gas 75% Gain Speeds Horizontal Drilling at Devon Energy , Range Resources (RRC). iStockAnalyst