The Federal Reserve and Treasury Secretary Paulson are doing everything possible to try to lead the US dollar to strengthen. Indeed, FOMC members such as Chairman Bernanke and Vice Chairman Kohn have harped upon inflation pressures, suggesting that the central bank my raise interest rates.

US Advance Retail Sales are expected to jump 0.5 percent in May after slipping 0.2 percent during the month prior, and excluding autos, the figure should be even stronger at a robust 0.7 percent pace. Since this index is not adjusted for inflation, rocketing food and oil prices are likely to be the primary driver for the increase.

The tug of war between Bernanke and Trichet is now very apparent with the Wall Street Journal talking about how these two men are competing for the title of the most hawkish central banker.

US retail sales are due for release on Thursday and the degree of consumer spending could play a big role in determining where the US dollar may head next.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for June 11.

Fortune magazine reports that Warren Buffett has bet a hedge fund management business that it will not outperform the S&P 500 over the next 10 years.

So far it has been a very good week for the US dollar, which has seen its biggest two day rise in 3 years.

There has been a lot of speculation about the possibility of currency intervention in the US dollar. In the past year alone, the US dollar has fallen 15 percent in value against the euro, 18 percent against the Swiss franc and 13 percent against the Japanese yen.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for June 10.

In the war between inflation and deflation, Friday was a bloody day.