Transcript
A (0:00)
Hey, this is Jessica Mendoza, host of the Journal Podcast, our show about money, business and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com TheJournal all lowercase to subscribe now.
B (0:23)
FBI agents search a Georgia election office, part of a push to re examine Trump's 2020 laws plus the backstory metals rally that just won't quit and investors reward Meta for growing its digital ad revenue as big tech's AI costs.
C (0:40)
Pile up, the market is getting increasingly worried that this massive spending is needing to deliver results now, and advertising is one of the easiest and quickest ways to monetize that, with the promise of more to come.
B (0:52)
It's Thursday, January 29th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories moving your world. Today, Gold has hit another record high, topping the $5,500 mark for the first time as the rush to precious metals continues after recording its strongest annual performance since 1979. Last year the World Gold Council said that global demand for the safe haven asset is expected to remain strong this year, driven by lower interest rates and persistent geopolitical risks. Deputy Finance editor Quentin Webb says the run up in prices means a lot of different investors are trying to get in on the trade.
D (1:37)
We've had this long spate of elevated buying by global central banks because in many cases they would like to reduce their dollar dependence and put more of their reserves into another alternative asset. So these things are all together combining to help support gold and to create this upward push in gold prices. In the last few years we've seen the emergence of gold ETFs which now manage many billions of dollars, and you can effectively buy those at the click of a button in your brokerage app. So certainly people just buying gold bars and stashing them in vaults. People are increasingly buying gold ETFs or alternatives such as buying shares in gold miners, of course, but that's a less pure exposure to the gold price.
B (2:17)
And Quinton says that an unlikely crossover with crypto is adding to gold's luster too.
D (2:23)
Tether has emerged as a significant buyer of gold, partly for a recently launched gold backed stablecoin that it has. But also, don't forget that Tether commands a huge sum of assets because of its major stablecoin, which is tied to the dollar. So that extra buying in the past month is probably another Reason that's helping sustain the gold price.