great chart - The Rise And Fall Of The US Dollar - Submitted by Tyler Durden - hat tip John Cervarich - Zero Hedge  - original hi-res chart at mises.org

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BATTERY SECTION:

How PHEVs and EVs Will Sabotage America's Drive For Energy Independence - John Petersen - Yesterday I asked a frequent commenter and staunch electric vehicle advocate whether he ever questioned the ethics of building an EV that can save one owner 400 gallons of gas per year while using enough batteries to build ten Prius-class hybrids that could save their owners a combined total of 1,600 gallons of gas per year. I then spent an hour in stunned silence as the critical importance of that question crystallized in my mind. I didn't get a responsive answer from the commenter, but I did get one of those rare moments of clarity when everything suddenly falls into place. ... - Alt Energy Stocks

Vinod Khsola -- Lithium Ion Batteries are a Waste of Time - If you were to draw a graph with energy density of various methods in nature as well as man made, lithium batteries is far and away the most inefficient compared to gasoline, diesel, or even body fat....  Basically says it's time for something completely different. He may be right. See below.   Vinod Khosla emphasized several times Thursday that costs – and not idealogy - will drive the clean technology industry, and said that much of the hype around cleantech is fueled by misunderstood information - BlindReason.org
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Chart of the Day - For some perspective on the current stock market rally and how it compares the 1929-1932 bear market (which also included bank failures, bankruptcies, severe stock market declines, etc.), today's chart illustrates the duration (calendar days) and magnitude (percent gain) of all significant Dow rallies that occurred during the 1929-1932 bear market (solid blue dots). -  Chart of the Day

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Cap and Trade- A Danger on the Home Front - Mark Shoffner - ... A study by CRA International, has determined that consumer spending over the next 40 years, will drop by $940 annually per each American household.  This will cause a massive decline in the Gross National Product. Predicted estimates have the GDP dropping by 1.5% ($730 billion) by 2050 ... - Huntington County Political Buzz Examiner
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  and 

Monoline Mania: MBIA and Ambac and the Dash to Trash by Tom Armistead - Seeking Alpha
and
Investors Trading 3 Stocks That May Be Doomed - By DANIEL WAGNER AP  - Investors still trading Fannie, Freddie, AIG shares, even though prices are likely to hit zero - ABC News

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Repudiation of US Financial Engineering - ... First off, the relevant chart (via Housing Doom August 21, 2009): ... - Economic Disconnect Blog

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Doug Kass: Sooner or Later, the Piper Must Be Paid - ... My view is that investors will shortly see through the current sugar high and the better-than-expected earnings cycle and will begin to look over the valley at the chronic and secular issues that have emerged from the past cycle and from policy decisions aimed at returning the domestic economy toward self-sustaining growth.... -  TheStreet.com

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Leverage Rising on Wall Street at Fastest Pace Since ‘07 Freeze - By Kristen Haunss and Jody Shenn - ... Federal Reserve data show the 18 primary dealers required to bid at Treasury auctions held $27.6 billion of securities as collateral for financings lasting more than one day as of Aug. 12, up 75 percent from May 6.  The increase suggests money is being used for riskier home- loan, corporate and asset-backed securities because it excludes Treasuries, agency debt and mortgage bonds guaranteed by Washington-based Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia or Ginnie Mae in Washington. Broader data on loans for investments isn’t available. ... - Bloomberg

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Thoughts from the Frontline Weekly Newsletter - An Uncomfortable Choice - by John Mauldin
In this issue:
An Uncomfortable Choice
What Were We Thinking?
Frugality is the New Normal
And Then We Face the Real Problem
The Teenagers Are in Control
Choose Wisely
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Housing bottoming but recovery still uncertain - Bloomberg recent reported that Homebuilders are buying land after years of inventory cuts. Coupled with a buoyant new home sales report, some investors have concluded that housing has bottomed and is poised to rebound  - HUMBLE STUDENT OF THE MARKETS  

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Japan? - Peering into our future… - posted by: Rolfe Winkler - A WSJ article on Japanese elections comes with the following table.  Japan has spent 20 years fighting deflation with loose monetary policy and deficit spending. To what end? - Reuters Blogs