Will this summer be another tough one on equities? Will good news be enough to hold SP's in cos like SAN even where they are if markets tumble on imminent bad news? Bankrupcies, forclosures, unemployment all trending up.

As Figure 4 shows, gold increased by 31% in Canadian dollars during 2008, while the TSX declined by 35%, the Dow by 34% and the S&P 500 by 38%. When the broad-based equity markets decline, they tend to impact all sectors, including the mining sector, regardless of the fundamentals. Because the commodity sectors are small in terms of market capitalization, any sell-off often can result in much higher declines.