The market hasn’t yet opened, but already the signs are bad: futures on the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 227 points early Monday morning, presumably in reaction to S&P’s U.S. credit downgrade last week. (Futures don't always accurately predict stock-market moves.) The value of gold, meanwhile, hit records in Asia as investors fled to safety. Gold futures topped $1,700, and the price of gold has now risen 21 percent on the year.
