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The only thing that has been devalued faster than our precious dollar is the perpetual slide in government credibility. Over the years we have heard countless times about the importance of a strong dollar from our leaders.

"Our administration believes in and will do everything in its power to support a strong dollar" or something like this has been spewed out by Republicans and Democrats alike, yet there is little evidence that the policies put in place over the past century have done anything of the sort. Perhaps there was one person that took the heat and did the right thing -- Paul Volcker, during the Carter administration, who had to deal with dizzying inflation.

Daniel Frishberg -- a former Wall Street insider and the current host of BizRadio -- offers an intriguing glimpse behind the scenes of the gold market.

In his The Moneyman.com Gold & Oil Report, he questions the role of not just overall market fundamentals, but short positions held by institutions. He also looks to a new long positions in silver.

Frishberg explains, "There are plenty of reasons to be bullish on the future of gold prices, including a weak US dollar. Further, India's Central Bank recently announced their purchase of gold from the IMF. Russian and Chinese Central Bankers have also expressed an interest in purchasing the remaining IMF gold.

"The hands-down choice for growth in the insurance sector is in China, where the industry is just getting off the ground." says says growth stock expert Timothy Lutts.

In The Cabot Stock of the Month Report, he suggests, "CNinsure (CISG) is the king of the Chinese insurance industry. We believe the stock most attractive insurance industry investment in China today.

"When properly managed, a property and casualty insurance company is an excellent vehicle for participating in a region's growth. However, the average age of top insurance companies in the U.S. is 108 years and their assets of the U.S. are growing slowly.

The rest of the world is going to help U.S. consumer product manufacturers next year. Look for international growth to push the likes of Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Avon (AVP) and Clorox (CLX) higher in 2010, according to Fitch Ratings. In an interview with Reuters, a director gave the Fitch's outlook for consumer goods.

The household and personal care segments increased revenue every year from 2003 to 2008. So, 2009 was but a bump in the road. Even in a recession, you need toilet paper and shampoo, so expect the spending to come back.

Now that it's reached 10.2%, the unemployment rate is higher than it's been in 26 years. That puts plenty of people on the hunt for work, especially since the unemployment rate doesn't reflect everyone who's been affected by the recession, such as those who have been unemployed too long or who are underemployed. Lacking alternatives at home, more Americans are heading overseas to find their fortunes weather the storm.

The number of people looking for international work through Manpower Inc. (MAN), the largest staffing firm in the country, has increased over the past six months. Half a year ago, Jeff Joerres, the company CEO, said that only a few dozen were looking for work outside the U.S. Now, it's up to 500. He tells USA Today, "It is a phenomenon we haven't had before."

"We're finding positive opportunities in Asia," says Richard Schmidt. In his Stellar Stock Alert, he looks to a play on China's infrastructure: Rino International (RINO).

"China is very aware of the need for infrastructure to power economic growth. The better your energy production and transportation systems, the better your economy is going to do.

"As a result, China has made a massive investment into expanding and shoring up its infrastructure. We see this as a major investment opportunity.

The price of oil has risen from about $30 per barrel at the height of the economic recession to the present $77 per barrel. Much of the increase is due to the weakness in the U.S. dollar. Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil (XOM) told CNBC: "If you put the price of oil, which is priced in dollars around the world, and if you look at what some effects are with the weak dollar -- in our view that is contributing $20 to $25 dollars per barrel to the price."

Globally, Tillerson said, oil is well supplied with historic high inventory levels, especially in the U.S. This is causing the market to be a "bit soft," according to Tillerson.

There's always good news, if you're willing to look hard for it. So, even though consumer sentiment dropped as unemployment rose, you can find the seeds of economic recovery in some of the U.S. import and export data reported recently.

Consumer sentiment fell early this month, largely because of the grim outlook for the job market. Consumers don't see a recovery coming anytime soon, with economists saying that unemployment has yet to peak despite having hit 10.2% already. Hopes edged higher in September when imports were seen to be on the rise, but sentiment starts and ends with jobs.

"New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU), which offers English language instruction to Chinese students, recently fell sharply after disappointing the Wall Street crowd," says Tony Sagami.

In his The Asia Stock Alert. the China stock specialist suggests, "This pullback is creating a buying opportunity. Indeed, this is your big chance to buy it on sale.

"Digging deeper, EDU's numbers contain both bad and good news. Among the good news, EDU earned $1.57 per share of profits last quarter, which is exactly what the consensus forecast was and 27% more than the same period last year.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) traded sharply higher Friday in the wake of its third-quarter results. The solar issue reported that its quarterly earnings contracted 18% to $17.7 million, or 12 cents per American depositary share (ADS). Excluding items, such as stock compensation, earnings weighed in at 18 cents per ADS. Revenue for the period edged 0.7% higher to arrive at $325.9 million.

Ahead of the report, analysts were looking for a profit of 16 cents per ADS on $331 million in revenue. Despite the revenue miss, YGE surged into the black right out of the gate. In addition to the stronger-than-expected profit number, traders were no doubt enthused by an 80% jump in shipments from second-quarter levels.

For McDonald's (MCD), 32,000 restaurants in 100 countries isn't enough. The quick service restaurant announced in a meeting with Wall Street analysts that it will open 1,000 new restaurants next year. Most will be in the United States, China, Australia, Russia, Germany and France. Don't expect to see any in Iceland, though, as the company is closing its three restaurants there and has no plans to return in the near future.

The company is also looking to rehabilitate the interiors and exteriors of another 2,300 locations in 2010 – approximately half of them in Europe. In all, this should cost around $2.4 billion. For 2009, McDonald's expects its capital expenditures to reach $2.1 billion on 900 new restaurant openings. The chain is increasing its rate of new restaurant openings by more than 10% from 2009 to 2010.