The gold price drop is more a temporary result of the stratospheric rise of the dollar against other currencies rather than a lack of appeal from the yellow metal. But as I warned last week, I have no idea when this will reverse.

Nokia is up smartly after it reported a really significant rise in Q3 earnings, with revenues up 13% to euros 3.32 bn and net earnings up 32% thanks to network deals.

Commodity prices do not move in lockstep with each other. In the olden days, people used the price of copper to forecast economic growth.

The US is better able to live with cheap oil than many OPEC countries and outsiders, above all Putin's Russia, which both Saudi and Yankee oilmen want to hurt.

It is always good to read a guide to the perplexed about buying foreign shares. In general, American Depositary Receipts or ADRs exist to make it easier for individual investors (not necessarily Americans) to buy foreign stocks.

Waiting for Scotland and waiting for Alibaba is something like waiting for Godot. Plus stock news from Switzerland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, China, India, Ireland, Israel, and Jordan. Today's theme is internationalization.