There is an initiative underway in Switzerland to once again increase the gold backing of the Swiss Franc. Readers may remember that the Swiss Franc was the currency that held out the longest with an almost 100% gold backing.

Let us look at the economic side of things first: for one thing, the law of supply and demand is not magically suspended when it comes to the price of labor. Price it too high, and not the entire supply will be taken up. Rising unemployment inevitably results.

Today's publication of two contrasting purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) may mark a major market shift. On the one hand, the HSBC March 'flash' survey of Chinese manufacturing outlook came up with a prediction of further decline.

Meanwhile stocks around the world are down. Gold and the dollar are up. This creates opportunities and risks for the global investing community discussed below, along with trading alerts.