I don't want to be a wet blanket, and I certainly greet the surprising drop in unemployment
from 10.2% to 10% as good news, but wait before celebrating.  Here's why:  First of all, there
was still a drop of 11,000 jobs in the government report.  That means that the lower percentage
is entirely due to a lot of people just giving up looking.  This, by the way, is the inevitable
side effect of extending unemployment benefits as it kills the incentive for some people to
continue their job search.  Second, the number is way out of agreement with all the other jobs
data released up until this point.  Since government numbers are revised downward all the time from their initial reports, look for a revision here as well.  It is probably too good to be
true.  Third, there is little to no evidence in the private business world of any hiring taking
place which casts further doubt on the number's accuracy.  And finally, throw a few trillion
at anything and you are going to have an affect for at least a little while.

Now as a result of this news, gold dropped below $1200 and pundits were saying that this is
the possible beginning of the end of the gold bubble.  Folks, this is NOT a bubble.  Gold as
well as other commodities are accurately reflecting the continuing long term erosion of the
dollar.  There is no government effort to curb this decline, so you should consider every
little drop in the price of gold due to some isolated piece of good news as a chance to buy
more cheaper.  I believe gold will at least double over the next year or so from the current
price point.

Finally, let's hope that I am wrong!  I never want to be the guy who wants to be right at the
expense of others.  A bad unemployment rate means pain for those affected.  Keep your fingers
crossed and hope that things really are getting better, even if they're probably not.  Stranger
things could happen!