(I wrote the following early this morning (European time) but had to take a break before posting.)
MaxValueHolder nailed it with the following comment which needs to be repeated a tousand times:

"Everything is one Big Circus and we are one small part of it..."

I would qualify that statement that not everything, BUT everything comming out of the western economies. That goes double for the good OLD USofA. China and many countries near it are ok.

I have heard comments (depending on whom) that the US $ is going to be half it's current value in two to five years. So in reaction I hold no US $s, stocks that are priced in US $s or anything connected with that $.
Most of my stocks are Canadian because I was living full time in southern Ontario. However recently I have decided to spend part of my time in Europe and be also more Euro funded.
Yes there is a lot of talk about Greece and a few other European countris BUT I believe that is not as big a problem as it is hyped up to be.

Many US states are is as bad a state and I believe some of them to be worse. At least 33 of them are in survivor mode and little is being said about them. If anything, they are being swept under a rug and European problems are talked about in US media as a distraction ( actually in Europe also).
However the Europeans are honest enough to talk about it though and to take counter measures. Where is the US with theirs?

QE3 is inevitable and so is increased debt for the US and the government is loath to bite the bullet and cease the credit card mentality.

US banks such as JP Morgan are fairly confident that the paper money mountain will continue to grow so they are safe to continue current practices of shorting anything that threatens the dollar and their derivative type plays.
Besides the bullion prices, all stocks that hold substantial metal are to be kept low so that there is no flocking of investors to them. Hence maintain the illusion of the $ as a safe haven.
That dam of illusion is sure to break, question is when. We are seeing increasing indications of the dam being strained and ever larger cracks are appearing.

Just look at our ECU. More and in some cases ever more valuable veins are being discovered. The known metal hold is increasing in a world of increasing metal prices. ECU is growing in real value but the perceived value is held low to keep people from placing their money in them. Only the knowlegable and stalwart are in.
I am using ECU as an example because this is the appropriate forum, but that is happening to many stocks.
Yes there are the few who are the exceptions, but they are exceptions because the powers can not plug all the holes. Their pluging resources are being thinned out with time.
They will crash and silver looks like the best place to be.

Ed now some 100 km SE of Frankfurt. AND Cheers to all courageous holders of ECU. The night is darkest just before dawn.