Rare earths...the latest investment fad sure to make you money in the short term in my get in, get out philosophy.

REE, SHZ, XING. You want to make money. There: that's how you do it. I'd get out of commodities and especially metals, that's a dangerous game there now with ll these asset purchases taking place. I've never seen bond move like this before. Phew. Mortage rates jump a percent in month. Ouch, homeowners, sorry you just 10 percent of your ass--et.

The Irish aren't going gentle into that goodnight, they are going to rage, rage against the IMF plight

The much maligned bailout package forced on the now vassal state of Ireland by the EU and IMF may not come to fruition, sources say. And by sources I mean the Irish Times. The Labour Party is in staunch opposition to the package which will force draconian cuts in spending and lower the minimum wage to what amounts to $10.13/hr, which is still $3 more than here. Hmmm. That's, uh, something to ponder in and of itself. Anyhoo, if Labour gets its way the Irish may remain independent just yet. And if you think I'm being hyperbolic, go ask an Argentinian what he or she thinks of the IMF. You may want to learn some Spanish first and practice your running as you're going to need to get out of there faster then Speedy Gonzalez can say, rápido (run).

The Silver Brick Road

Silver has been shining as an investment opportunity as of late haveing risen as high as $31 from its $18 an ounce price a couple months ago. The historical ratio for an ounce of silver to and ounce of gold is 15-1, which is glaring different from now: the ratio is about 60-1. So, this make it potentially a huge investment and everyone is talking about it. With good reason: its risen 67.6 % this year. But, I wouldn't go investing just yet. I'm no expert; I'm just a journalist who reads a lot and finds economics fascinating.

But, there is one metal that is going under the radar: palladium. It's risen nearly 90 % this year and its only going further up, up and away. Why you ask? Simple. In those far off lands of India and China, who have booming middle classes, women don't want silver and they don't want no gold; they want palladium jewelry. And, it's alos cheaper to use then platinum in catalytic converters, and we're going to need a lot more of that car part thanks to the huge destruction of used cars in the cash for clunkers program last year. Thousands of cars were destroyed. New ones and new converters will be needed. Hey, this is just one man's view. Don't shoot the messenger.

The Part-time recovery

It seems the unemployed, who are constantly berated as being pretty lazy people who hate work, are leading the trend in actual job growth cause it's all part-time, baby. Well, not all. Two-thirds of job growth since 2008 is part-time and those part-timers, just like the unemployed, must be living a life of lazy luxury with their annual $20,000 income. (Source: BLS) In other news, the economy netted a whopping 39,000 jobs in Novmebr; at that rate we will see employment back at its 2007 level sometime between 2039 and never.