Gold stocks

A rapidly growing list of reports shows a U.S. economic recovery that's far stronger than most had anticipated just months ago. And both deflation and inflation seem less likely to explode. All this is boosting the dollar -- and could soon dim the gold bugs' argument.

A good deal of gold's meteoric gains over the last five years can be attributed to the gargantuan success of an exchange-traded fund that made it easy for investors to pile into the precious metal. If the tide turns, though, they could easily pile out.

IBISWorld Research has uncovered five industries that managed to stay extremely profitable during 2010 -- and these industries are their picks to be the most profitable for the next three years. Investors could boost their portfolios by focusing on them.

Countries from Japan to Brazil and Mexico to Malaysia are trying to intervene in currency markets to alter the value of their currency. The widespread dependence on exports is the prime reason for these moves, which can be tricky and even backfire.

With gold prices going gangbusters, there's no shortage of ways to play the precious metal. But if you're really looking for some action (as well as some potential downside protection), individual gold-mining picks have the best shot to outperform.

Thanks to the Greek debt crisis and other economic shocks, investors have been rushing into gold all year. Is this just a herd mentality at work, or is it a wise assessment of the economic road that lies ahead?

Still smarting from last week's drubbing and unsure that the crisis overseas is truly over, investors keep looking for a modicum of safety. And they're turning to gold, catapulting the price of the precious metal to an all-time high Tuesday.

While gold bugs believe the world's central banks will rush into gold, central bankers haven't gotten the memo. The Bank of Korea becomes the latest to downplay the notion that it will buy gold to diversify out of the dollar.

Rattled by concerns about Dubai's debt, investors fled gold for the safety of the U.S. dollar during early trading on Friday. The move comes as the booming appetite for the precious metal among smaller investors has led to near record prices and shortages of American Eagle gold coins at the U.S....