rough ride

As Fed chief Ben Bernanke, who seems to be panicking, told markets that he is prepared to lower interest rates even further to cope with the subprime lending crisis and the prospects of a deep recession, the dollar fell yesterday for the first time below 1.50 against the euro and is now at 1.51. The greenback seems now set for a very rough ride, indeed.

.

Update at 8:00 PM:

At the close today - gold: US$974.40 per ounce;

crude oil: US$102.70 per barrel;

Euro: US$1.52.