It has become a tradition for families from across America to come back to celebrate the New Year here in Gatlinburg.

Nice way to start a new year, don't you think.

New York is the one place in America where discount retailing is really underdeveloped. The major chains have only really gotten there in the last four to five years.

Prices have fallen 25 percent since their record highs in September. After the New Year, motorists can expect prices to begin rising as refineries cut back production to conduct their annual maintenance and begin the process of producing the summer blend of gas, which must be completed by the end of February.

The Russian New Year exploit is by far the most serious of the increasing number of mobile code exploits appearing in the last six months. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is for anyone conducting electronic commerce to inspect all information coming into their company to look for these types of attacks before they cause damage.

Demand has been affected, but not very significantly, mainly due to the approach of the New Year. I expect high gold prices will have a more serious impact on consumption after the holidays.