As Barney Fife would say: "Boyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy". Do we ever have a humdinger of a week ahead of us. So, to get our heads screwed on straight and prepare, I thought it best to roll out a little Sunday afternoon warm up.

I was recording this week's podcast yesterday when it finally dawned on me. Frankly, I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't figure it out sooner. Take your eye off the ball and get a little distracted and this is what you get. No matter, at least now we know.

Doesn't it seem as if everything is at a bit of a standstill? Sure, the WOPRs are slowly churning away but there doesn't seem to be any real conviction anywhere to drive markets higher or lower. Yes, there's a lot of uncertainty about Europe but, for me, it all comes back to The Pig.

Another series of ruthless attacks have left the precious metals battered and bruised but they are still standing and looking like they want to continue moving higher.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their condolences and well wishes for my pal, Sweetness. He's had a tough go of it recently and every bit of encouragement helps.

With the U.S. markets closed tomorrow, we all have to be on the lookout for some Cartel Craziness between now and Tuesday morning. The Jackals have been utilizing some of these three-day weekends recently to wreak havoc on our precious metals so be on the lookout for all types of shenanigans, especially in light of the European credit downgrades that were announced late Friday.