Just to be clear, a bear has lots of fur, claws, big teeth and is - well - bearish. A bull has horns, powerful shoulders and delivers a heck of a kick. 

The rising dollar is accounting for 2/3rds of the drop in gold today. Why the dollar has risen in the teeth of bad economic news is always a conundrum, but it seems that the equities like weaker retail sales because it could portend deeper cost cutting by corporations. 

One by one, the unbelievers are coming around to the idea that the Fed is not going to taper come next week. 

The Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. Analysts were anticipating U.S. jobless claims would fall by 22,000 to the 340,000 level last week.

The jobs report issued Tuesday stated that the number of federal workers now is as low as the number was in 1966. 

A new week has begun - fortunately or unfortunately - for the U.S. government. Gold was treading water today, while silver picked up a tidy rise of 1.3%.