Question of the Week: Investors Seek Metals To Soften Blow of Global Currency War

he housing market remains in the dumper. U.S. stocks - despite a rally - are still 22% below their record highs of two years ago. And the "official" unemployment rate remains at a heart-stopping 9.6%. Question of the Week With their knees almost ready to buckle under such burdens already, how will American consumers respond when clothes, computer accessories and other key consumer staples at their neighborhood Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) undergo an overnight price hike of 30% to 60%? As the United States aims to increase exports by debasing the dollar, a global currency war is underway that could swallow consumers and investors if they don't prepare for the likelihood of a weaker dollar. The United States, China, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Japan have all entered the war, trying to bring down their currencies to boost exports and fuel growth.