"Gold rises with inflation and in times of crisis, like we have today; and, as a result, many countries are buying gold," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

The long-standing resource sector expert and co-editors of The Aden Forecast explain, "They know it's the ultimate currency and gold is again taking its place in the global monetary system, as it has for thousands of years.

"The actions of the world's central banks tell the story. At the very least, this is going to keep upward pressure on gold in the years ahead.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is recently down 34 cents to 17.67, to mid-April lows, as stocks rise after President Barack Obama reached a compromise with Republicans to extend Bush-era tax breaks for two years.

ISHARES COMEX GOLD (IAU) is recently down 11 cents to $13.82. Gold rallied to record high for a second successive day on Tuesday, on fund buying ahead of the end of the year, the prospect of more U.S. monetary easing and investor nervousness over the European debt crisis. Overall option implied volatility of 21 is near its 26-week average, according to Track Data, suggesting nondirectional price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) have become the new fad for 401k plans and individual investors. Folks have been flocking to the key gold ETFs via SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) and even the ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL). In fact, the SPDR Gold Trust would be one of the top five or six central government banks in the world if measured solely in gold holdings.

Anytime you get a hot market, as we can see now with gold, you can bet more investment vehicles pop up to capitalize on the fad. Enter leveraged gold ETFs and ETNs, which add another layer to playing the gold market right now.

"Gold surged to a record high; and it's not just gold; silver, the other precious metals, and the resource currencies have all been swept up in the bubbling rise," note resource sector specialists Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

The sisters and co-editors of The Aden Forecast explains, "The gold price is now very strong in a renewed leg up in the bull market by staying above $1240.

"Gold's next target is the $1300-$1350 level. Silver is impressive; its jump up in the last three weeks may be the start of a super rise.

In their The Aden Forecast, they explain, "Gold's bull market is solid, a new phase has begun and it's currently declining in a sharp, yet normal downward correction. Corrections tend to cause fear. And considering the volatility we've seen in recent years, the fear level rises fast.

"Gold and silver have taken the limelight," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, adding "Gold looks ready for take off and silver is poised to outperform gold."

In addition, Doug Fabian is a fan of silver. In Making Money, he suggests, "When inflation threatens, silver offers a safe haven; even when inflation worries subside, silver still retains appeal due to its many uses."

We begin with the Adens; in their The Aden Forecast, they explain, "Technically, gold's 'C rise' is off and running and the triangle it's formed has clearly broken to the upside, with gold recently closing at a three month high today.

Using a proprietary "volume reversal" trading strategy, Mark Leibovit has been consistently ranked among the top newsletter timers. In his VRTrader, he looks at the outlook for stocks, oil, gold & silver -- and offers his choice for exchange-traded funds for traders to play these markets.

Leibovit explains, "The stock market's decline, besides being huge, is relentless. Every rally was met with selling and fresh lows were soon hit. The Dow crashed through the March and January lows and is now trading at its lowest level since September 2006.

"Apparently, that 1500 point rally off the March low was just a giant head fake. The Dow is now down 19% since last October and the S&P is down 18%, approaching bear market territory."

"Breadth is dismal, and down volume is ten times greater than up volume. Sector action is terrible. Seven of the nine market sectors are down more than 2.5%. Ouch! Financials have done it again and have set a new five-year low. Oil spiked through previous records setting a new record high.

"The precious metals also showed strong gains today with gold up 32.80 to 915.10. We cleared the June 9th high of 907.20 touching 909.50 opening up potential to 931.00 (May 21 high).

"Keep your gold for the long-term; it's today's best investment," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden in The Aden Forecast. "Despite normal ups and downs, we strongly believe you'll be glad that you held hold onto your gold."

"Gold, silver and most of the gold shares are about the only markets to show gains so far this year. Everything else is down, and in many cases down sharply. Gold has recently been hitting new, or multi-year highs against the euro, the Dow Industrials, bonds and oil.

"In other words, it's stronger than these other markets. Gold is outperforming them and the percentage gains are greater in gold compared to all of the other markets.

"Simply put, gold is where you want to be. Silver is good too. These are the best markets. That's why we've consistently stressed keeping a large part of your investments in gold, silver and their shares.