Here’s something the Chinese can celebrate on their National Day, the celebration of the 62nd year of the communist party’s rise to power. These machines are made in Germany and illustrate the growing influence of China as a destination of exports. Gold has been trading sloppy and is probably a reflection of the liquidity squeeze taking place in emerging market currencies. The global monetary base shrinks as hot money comes out of the emerging markets and central banks are forced to intervene to smooth the decline in their currencies. (full story)