Hi Cockerel:

I imagine that most here share your frustration. We seem to be in a situation where markets are manipulated with the consent and encouragement of the related governments and regulators. "The market" is powerless to intervene. We see this in the pricing of precious metals and crude oil. A pure market would not tolerate continued selling below the cost of production. Zero or negative interest rates seem to be telling us that access to someone else's cash money has no commercial value. We constantly read predictions that the paper markets will soon give way to demands for actual commodities and the resulting market reality will drive prices up, but it doesn't seem to be happening. All very frustrating and discouraging. We seem to be forced to stay in the market because there is no viable alternative, particularly for someone like me who is retired without a pension and living on investment income. We just have to hang on and hope for the best.

I place no faith in those who tell us daily what the future price of oil will be. The guy I would like to talk to is the one who predicted $50 oil a year ago. So far I haven't been able to identify him.

Cheers!