MORE QUANTITATIVE EASING AHEAD?

Gold prices are recovering earlier losses, heading higher on the New York Spot Market as of 10:49 a.m. EST. Gold prices had been coming under significant selling pressure Tuesday as investors sold a variety of assets to raise cash, but the news that exisiting-home sales in July fell more than 27.2% spooked investors into bargain- hunting for gold. With more potentially disappointing economic data to come this week, gold could see another safe-haven rally. (The Street, 8/24/10)

Stocks are down on the New York Stock Exchange, with the Dow plunging more than 100 points after the release of a disappointing housing report, which fueled concerns about the pace and stability of the economic recovery. "There's a huge amount of frustration about the speed of the recovery and concerns that it has hit a wall, said Tom Speiss, head of personal wealth advisers at Eisner LLP. "I'm expecting the market to move laterally following downward trends in Asia and Europe." (CNN Money, 8/24/10)

Investors concerned about the strength of the U.S. economy could get a trillion dollar answer from the Fed this week, according to an article on CNBC. Officials are likely disclose the latest in the arsenal of so-called "quantitative easing" measures. The steps that get implemented will likely be a cornerstone of the address Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver Friday. "Traders are going to be paying attention to whether or not he talks about quantitative easing and whether he downgrades the economic projections even more," says Quincy Krosby, strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, N.J. "If he does, it's almost a foregone conclusion that he's setting the stage for major quantitative easing," Krosby adds. "There is growing acceptance that if the data continue to deteriorate, the Fed will embark upon major quantitative easing to the tune of perhaps a trillion dollars." (CNBC, 8/24/10)