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Nuclear power is coming back into style, and perhaps just in time for the climate, and for the United States.

Environmental groups, previously opposed to nuclear power, are starting to support the technology, as it represents the lesser of two evils compared to coal-fired electric power generation plants, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. And the choice is obvious enough: faced with either processing nuclear waste or seeing the atmosphere heat up to irreversible levels, via coal-producing climate change, nuclear technology wins.

We all got used to hearing about peak oil, especially after a whistleblower recently alleged that the International Energy Agency has downplayed a looming oil shortage to appease the U.S. and prevent panic buying. What we haven't heard much about is the looming uranium shortage. Last week, Michael Dittmar, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, said that the world is running out of uranium and nobody seems to have noticed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency forecast last year said that power generated from nuclear plants could double by 2030 as governments look to alternative energy sources. So while there is great investment in nuclear power, uranium is not plentiful.

It's Monday morning and it's the same old, same old: gold surges to a new high; commodities rally; stocks rally; and the dollar is weaker. Traders see this as a no brainer.

Spot gold is strong today, reaching a new high of $1165.45 per ounce, up from Friday's close of $1148.20. On the COMEX, gold traded at $1,165.90, up $19.10 per ounce (each $1.00 equals $100.00). Gold has been spurred higher by central bank and fund buying.

Options traders are betting on gold rising to $1,200 per ounce. That's only $35 away. We could see that in another day of two if current trend continues.

U.S. stock futures rose Monday morning as investors reacted to rising commodity prices, including a new record for gold, and the dollar's retreat. Further, economists expect job losses to peak in the first quarter. It seems Wall Street is about to join the world markets rally.

The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and the yen Monday, following some escalating tensions with Iran and after Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank should continue its asset-buying program beyond its current cut-off date. The Dollar Index fell for the first time in three days. What's more, forecasters predict that it will continue sliding, even when the Fed begins to raise interest rates based on supply and demand forces.

U.S. stock futures fell Friday morning, indicating continued weakness in the stock market. Dell's worse-than-expected earnings reported late Thursday are putting pressure on equities as a whole and technology shares in particular. Investors may be moving toward safer securities in the absence of confidence in the strength of the sector, which has already stumbled the last couple of days.

On Thursday, stocks fell across the board: the Dow industrials were down 0.9%, the S&P 500 declined 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite skidded 1.7%, following an analyst downgrade of semiconductors. This put further pressure on a sector that was already reeling from earnings the day before. Economic reports didn't help to increase investors' confidence Thursday.

"The uncertain market has changed our risk appetite and shifted our focus to stocks deemed safe enough for even the most conservative investors," says Jonas Elmerraji.

The editor of The Rhino Stock Report suggests, "Among them are regulated utilities, including our latest recommendation -- NRG Energy (NRG), which is involved in wholesale power generation.

"Investors have long favored utilities for a few very good reasons: predictable, recession-resistant revenues; steady streams of dividends; and government-sanctioned monopolies. They're a safe haven for stressed investors in the midst of a recession.

U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning, a little above the 13-month highs they reached Tuesday, as investors await key data figures, including consumer prices and housing starts. As traders take a breather from the recent runup in stocks, the same trends that pushed markets higher on Tuesday remain: the dollar dropped and commodities soared, driving mining stocks higher in overseas markets.

[Update 8:30 a.m.: October housing starts were down 30% from last year, the weakest since April. CPI rose 0.3% in October on higher energy, car prices. At first glance, these figures may affect the mood negatively. 8:35 a.m.: Stock market futures are declining, indicating a lower start.]

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.

"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.

It's Monday morning. Looking at the boards, the dollar is weaker and gold climbs to another record high. Spot gold in London traded at $1,133.07 per ounce. The December gold futures contract traded at $1,133.50 per ounce.

Again today, the dollar traded down, with the December dollar contract trading at 75.105, down 32 (prices as of 8:39 EDT). The other precious metals followed gold higher. December silver traded at $17.815 per ounce up 43.5 cents. Platinum was at $1,428.90 per ounce, up $41.20. Palladium traded at $365.15, up $8.40

Late in the evening of November 11, The Daily Telegraph reported that Barrick Gold (ABX) has shut its hedge book because the world gold supply is running out. Barrick Gold's president, Aaron Regent, told the periodical that global output has been shrinking at a pace for nearly 1 million ounces a year since the start of the decade.

At RBC's annual gold conference in London, Regent noted that "There is a strong case to be made that we are already at 'peak gold.'" Regent believes that production peaked around 2000 and has dropped ever since, he adds that Barrick Gold believes the decline will continue because "It is increasingly difficult to find ore."

A wise trader once told me: "It's all in the price. All the thoughts, ideas and emotions of all the traders throughout the world are in that one number."

Gold is trading at $1,118.00 per ounce. What is that number telling us? Pure and simple, the market is telling us that inflation is on the way. The Indian government just bought 200 tons of gold valued at over $7 trillion dollars. In other words they exchanged $7 trillion US dollars for the 200 tons of gold.

At the same time the December US dollar contract traded below 75.00 on a trade-weighted basis. What is that number telling us? Traders are turning in dollars for other investments, mainly stocks and commodities.

There are only seven weeks left in the year, so it is time to start thinking about 2010. If you have been keeping up with my 2009 picks (see: Chasing Value: 2009 blazing picks -- Q3 review ) than you would be aware that the group is up 40% through the third quarter.

This year I bought all of my picks so that I would be riding in the same ship as anyone that might have considered my suggestions.

I will be breaking up my potential picks into three categories; contender, on the fence, and out of the running, until I finalize the list in the last week of the year.

U.S. stock futures were higher Wednesday morning, indicating stocks will open on an upbeat note after investors expectation that interest rates will remain low for some time increased following speeches from Federal Reserve officials. As the dollar further fell, investors turned to asset buying, pushing stocks higher.

Stocks looked for direction Tuesday, finishing the day mixed and not much changed, as Wall Street took a break from a 6-day rally. Today, U.S. bond markets are closed for Veteran's Day.

The stock market is rallying. Commodities are on a tear. Yet the dollar is falling. Why?

There are several reasons for the drop in the dollar, but the most obvious and simple answer is that investors around the world are selling dollars and using the money to buy stocks and commodities, particularly oil and gold.

Last week India announced that it had bought 200 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF.) At an average of say $1000.00 per ounce, the transaction amounted to about $7 trillion dollars. Chances are that India sold dollars from their sovereign fund to buy the gold.