This is a big reporting week, with earnings, consumer confidence, and preliminary growth numbers all being reported. We also have an important announcement by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday regarding interest rates, which we will be updating you on soon.

Besides all this, we have a new definition of “recession” being bandied about Washington, not defining what a recession is but changing what a recession traditionally was. We have seen this type of thing tried in the past with the definition of inflation, and know how that has turned out. Today the rate of inflation is approximately half the amount it would be using the 1980 definition and calculations. This week's growth numbers may tell us why they want to change what “recession” means.

Another thing to keep an eye on is friendly non-dollar transactions occurring on an increasing basis, this time by 5 of the largest friendly economies in the Pacific region. The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia are beginning a coordinated effort to transact business electronically without using dollars as an intermediary currency, with plans to expand the transactions to other regions. Dollar negative, gold positive.