U.S. dollar

A billion dollars in unwanted American dollar coins sits in specially-made vaults the size of soccer fields in Texas and Baltimore and other undisclosed locations. They're heavily guarded -- according to NPR's Planet Money team, even journalists must be watched carefully as they check out the...

Earlier this year, the Utah state legislature passed a law making gold and silver coins legal tender. Now, a Salt Lake City-area numismatist hopes to set up a depository system that will allow Utahans to use gold and silver to pay for anything they want.

The economy has had more than its share of trouble lately: Japan's earthquake comes on top of rising oil and food prices, political turmoil in the Middle East and a crop of government austerity measures. But investing opportunities lie hidden behind the bad news.

One would think that with the Mideast crisis, oil prices skyrocketing and U.S. manufacturing rebounding smartly, the buck would be flying high. But no. Why that's so may lie in international perceptions about where interest rates are heading.

With Mideast turmoil chasing oil higher and stocks lower, it's a good time to check the charts and see what price levels seem to be key "lines in the sand." Some indicators have been warning for months that the steep rally was preparing to reverse.

For a host of reasons, when the dollar spikes, stocks drop, and when the dollar falls, stocks soar. Right now, with dollar sentiment reaching maximum bearishness, contrarians are preparing for the next shift. If the dollar rises again, stocks could reverse.

The U.S. dollar and U.S. stocks have a see-saw relationship: When one is up, the other is down. If the dollar is now bottoming out and ending its long decline, that could spell bad news for equities going forward.

With its economy growing rapidly even as much of the developed world struggles, tensions are mounting. China has recently crossed Japan and India, in addition to ongoing conflicts with the U.S. Fairly or not, China is being singled out as currency manipulator.

For years, a clear correlation existed between gold and the U.S. dollar: When the dollar dropped, the price of gold rose, and vice versa. But in recent months, they've both been moving up together. And more gains may be coming.

With the markets off their recent highs and volatility picking up, investors have to ask: Is this just a brief dip in the uptrend, or a more ominous change of trend? Many analysts are emphasizing the bullish case, based on the gathering global economic recovery. But some of the key indicators suggest a different story.