(The negative influence of rising commodities on stocks holds true during inflationary and disinflationary periods—but not necessarily during a deflation. In a deflation, rising commodity prices are generally positive for stocks.)

(Recall that a falling dollar only hurts bonds and stocks when commodities are rising.)

That carried good news for the market. That’s because leadership by small caps and technology is a sign of market strength.

in deflationary times is the Federal Reserve’s attempt to reflate the economy. It does this by weakening the dollar in an attempt to create a little inflation, which in turn boosts the price of gold.

And also to improve the timeliness of their signals. This is done by a closer monitoring of commodity prices more directly tied to the economy.

This means that the continuation of the current housing boom may be heavily dependent on interest rates staying low.

Ratio analysis provides a useful technical tool for spotting trend changes in these intermarket relationships.

(Commodity prices usually turn up before bond prices turn down.)

Because gold is bought mainly during times of crisis,