In spite of the positive change of behavior we have seen in gold and silver this past week with strong closes and increased volume - both attributes of buyers in more control than sellers - the weekly trend remains down. While we now see some steps in the right direction - a higher swing high - the market needs to prove itself and once that happens there will be ample opportunities to participate in the paper market.

The warning signs are not all flashing red just yet but investors would do well to head these 10 signs that suggest that the markets may drop further and prepare their portfolio before the crowd flocks to the exit.

The Mayans R us. One year, they were cavorting bloodthirstily atop their garish painted pyramids and a generation later the jungle was stealing back over the temple steps and the population was a tenth of its former size. The same thing is going to happen to us, except there will be a hell of a lot more worthless, toxic debris left on the landscape. We enter 2015 with greater tensions than ever before and therefore the likelihood is that the inevitable breakdown will release more destructive energy and be that much harder to recover from.

It seems logical that a scary, destructive terrorist attack, particularly one that implies more attacks to come, would be bearish for stock prices - but has that actually been the case?

For relevant analysis of gold prices, the so-called "fundamentals" provide scant help. What is required is an understanding of the macroeconomic drivers at play. This article addresses 9 such factors.

As a gold bull I want to believe that gold is going to start moving higher from here, but unfortunately I think the odds remain stacked against this, and that we will see further downside before the bull market resumes. I will first go through the reasons why I think this is the case and I will then discuss how to play this.

We do not engage in any “predictions” of what the market will do as it is an exercise in ego and folly, and a waste of time. One need only go back to those who are making predictions for 2015 and read what was predicted for 2014 for proof. All we can say is that little can be added to what has already been said and that is that the trend remains down in gold, and until there is evidence of a strong reversal, this market continues to move along the Right Hand Side of a weak Trading Range.

We choose to focus on the charts because a reflection of developing market activity tells the most accurate and current story. It is not a promising one heading into 2015, however, but it is reality, and to expect anything else will lead to the same disappointments of 2013 and 2014. Forget the ego-driven predictions that have all proven wrong again and again, and deal with what is - and this article deals with what is by looking at the charts.

There is compelling evidence that the gold mining sector is either at, or very close to, a major bottom, and the chances are high that the sector will rally strongly this year. Here's why.

The movie Goldfinger, in which James Bond stops a plot to radiate the U.S. gold at Fort Knox, may actually turn out to be more truth than fiction. Why? Because there is speculation that some radioactive gold made its way into U.S. Treasury Gold Reserve. Let me explain.