Will Market Turbulence Spread Beyond Metals?

Summary

WSJ “What’s News” – Episode Summary

Episode: Will Market Turbulence Spread Beyond Metals?
Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Luke Vargas (The Wall Street Journal)
Featured Reporter: Chelsea Delaney (WSJ Markets)
Other Contributors: Anat Peled (Middle East reporter), Catherine Sayre (Entertainment reporter)

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Overview

This episode dives into significant market turbulence rooted in a dramatic selloff of precious metals, particularly silver and gold, which expanded to broader risky assets like cryptocurrencies. The discussion also covers the tense U.S. government funding negotiations, the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing under Trump’s peace plan, the revelation of unredacted Jeffrey Epstein victim files, and the fast-evolving AI impact on the music industry.

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Market Selloff: Metals, Cryptos & Safe Havens

Segment: 00:59 – 04:08
Main Discussion:

• After a year-long, extraordinary rally in metals (gold up 60%, silver doubling), the market hit a major correction last Friday.
• Major selloffs in metals led to a cascading effect across global markets, also hitting cryptocurrencies (bitcoin dropping below $77,000).
• Some stability appears as treasury bonds (a “safe haven”) rise, and the U.S. dollar, previously under pressure, steadies.

Key Insights & Quotes:

• “A week ago, this metals rally had seemed practically unstoppable, but we’ve seen a big unwinding, to put it mildly.”
  — Luke Vargas (01:24)
• “Metals…just soaring. And last week it hit the wall…this has been a kind of mind boggling rally.”
  — Chelsea Delaney (01:52)
• Underlying reasons for the metals rally: fears of U.S. dollar debasement and unpredictability in U.S. policy.
• Turning point: President Trump’s nomination of KE as Federal Reserve Chair calmed some investor nerves by signaling potential policy stability (01:59–02:52).
• “Gold, this sort of safe haven, is now trading like a meme stock… So this might just be a positioning washout.”
  — Chelsea Delaney (03:42)

Reassurance for Investors:

• Amid widespread selling, treasuries behaving as a “safe haven” is a positive for panicked retail investors.

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U.S. Government Shutdown Standoff

Segment: 04:12 – 05:42
Summary:

• The U.S. government begins the week partially shut down, with the Senate passing a stopgap funding bill late Friday, but the House remains divided.
• Key sticking points: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding and demands for operational reforms, particularly regarding ICE.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “Body cameras should be mandatory, masks should come off, judicial warrants should absolutely be required… consistent with the Constitution, in our view.”
    — Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader (04:43)
  • “The reason that ICE agents wear masks is to protect their own identities and protect their own families.”
    — Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader (05:21)
• Political tension is high as House leaders face internal divisions, and the Republican majority is shrinking following a recent special election win by Democrat Christian Menefee (05:30).

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Epstein Files Disclosure and Fallout

Segment: 05:42 – 07:58
Details:

• DOJ’s new document release unintentionally exposed the identities of 43 Epstein victims — a violation of federal requirements to redact such information.
• Exposure has led to online harassment of named survivors, raising government accountability questions.
• DOJ’s current process for removing victim names is seen as “re-traumatizing” for many survivors.

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Gaza-Egypt Rafah Crossing Reopens

Segment: 07:58 – 08:54
Key Developments:

• The Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt reopens for the first time since October 2023, fulfilling a major requirement of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
• Only Palestinian residents who left after the outbreak of war are allowed to cross, subject to strict security measures.
• This marks the potential beginning of a new administrative phase in Gaza involving a technocratic Palestinian body.

Memorable Quote:

• "The reopening of the crossing is expected to facilitate the entry of a Palestinian technocratic body that is supposed to oversee day-to-day governance of Gaza as part of the second stage of the truce."
  — Anat Peled (08:37)

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Geopolitics and Investment: Trump, UAE, and Crypto

Segment: 08:54 – 09:40

• A Trump family crypto venture recently received a half-billion-dollar investment from Sheikh Tanun bin Zayed Al Nahyan — the “Spy Sheikh” and UAE’s National Security Advisor.
• The deal, inked before Trump’s return to the White House, included the UAE gaining access to U.S. AI chips.

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AI’s Disruptive Impact on the Music Industry

Segment: 09:40 – 11:34
Main Points:

• Grammy Awards spotlight rapidly changing music industry, with AI-generated tracks a contentious issue.
• Grammy eligibility clarified: “AI does not disqualify you… but eligible music must be based on human artistry.” (Recording Academy CEO, 10:40)
• Explosion of AI-generated music: 50,000 tracks uploaded to Spotify daily.
• Industry confronts copyright, monetization, and artistic authenticity — big labels are both litigating (e.g., against Suno) and partnering with AI startups for fan-made music.

Notable Quote:

• “It’s going to be a huge year for AI in the music industry.”
  — Catherine Sayre (11:26)

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Notable Timestamps and Segments

• 01:49–04:08: Chelsea Delaney on metals selloff, investor psychology
• 04:12–05:18: Partisan wrangling over DHS funding and the government shutdown
• 07:58–08:54: Anat Peled in Israel, live update on Rafah crossing and stakes for Gaza
• 09:40–11:34: Catherine Sayre on AI’s music industry disruption, Grammy policy

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Conclusion

This episode offers a brisk yet comprehensive rundown of global markets shaken by rapid reversals in precious metals and cryptocurrencies, political gridlock in Washington, Middle East geopolitical shifts, legal and ethical fallout from DOJ missteps, and the evolution of the music industry under an AI deluge. Throughout, reporters maintain a clear-eyed, analytical tone, noting that volatility in one asset class can rapidly echo across economies and societies, while policy and technology debates continue to reshape the business and cultural landscape.

Transcript

[A]

Every day, the people of Meta work.

[B]

To protect over 3 billion users around the world.

[A]

It's more than just a job for me because I so deeply believe in the outcomes here that I'm trying to drive. I am Abhishek and I work on risk and compliance at Meta. It's top of mind for me as a parent, what that experience will look like for my own kids. You want to get these decisions right, get the facts. At Meta, me risk volatility grips global markets as jittery investors sell off everything from gold to bitcoin. Plus the latest from Washington as Congress's bid to end a partial government shutdown gets tougher. And Israel reconnects Gaza to Egypt in a major test of President Trump's peace plan.

[B]

This is a very long awaited moment for Gazans. So Gazans have not been able to have a crossing that allows them to leave and enter since the start of the war.

[A]

It's Monday, February 2nd. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall street journal. It's Monday, February 2nd. 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. A market sell off that began on Friday is continuing this morning with US Stock futures tracking a drop in global stocks. Cryptocurrencies are also selling off with bitcoin trading below $77,000. But in a sign of potential stabilization, silver prices have halted a slide that had gained steam over the weekend. Here with more is Wall Street Journal markets reporter Chelsea Delaney. Chelsea, bring us up to speed here. A week ago, this metals rally had seemed practically unstoppable, but we've seen a big unwinding, to put it mildly. What's going on?

[B]

Yeah, this is really all about metals. So over the past year we've seen this incredible run up in metals prices. Gold, silver just soaring. And last week it hit the wall. So we saw a huge drop off in silver prices. We tumbling and it looked like it was going to continue this morning, but it does seem to be stabilizing a bit. I think for investors this has been a kind of mind boggling rally. And there's a lot of reasons that people will give you for why gold was up over 60% in the past year, why silver has doubled in price. And a lot of that has to do with concerns around the U.S. so debasement, whether the unpredictability of U.S. policy was going to erode the value of the dollar. And you know, one of the reasons why this might be turning around now is because last week Trump nominated KE as chair of the Federal Reserve. He's seen by investors as kind of a safe hand. He was a Fed governor. He has helped sort of ease some of those concerns about the independence of the Fed and whether the Fed is going to pursue lower interest rates because Trump wants them to.

[A]

As you mentioned at the top, this is really about metals. Friday, truly a bloodbath for silver and gold, posting their worst one day sell off since the 1980s. Though this seems to be affecting a lot of assets beyond silver and gold. I mean, is there anything that's not selling off right now and why you.

[B]

Have to look pretty far to find something that isn't selling off right now? It is such a widespread route across global markets. But you know, we are seeing treasury bonds rise today, so yields are going down as well. The dollar, which had been getting hit really hard over the past year and in particular over the past couple of weeks, has sort of stabilized and risen a little bit. So that actually should ease some concerns about the Sell America trade. Treasuries are acting as they should. They're acting as a safe haven. Right.

[A]

Is that kind of the reassurance probably many retail investors are looking for? If they're worried, listening to all this, that a major correction is beginning to take shape.

[B]

How far this goes is up in the air. We've just seen such an incredible rush into metals over the past year and it shifted from being something that was thought to be central bank driven and now it's retail investors and these things. Gold, this sort of safe haven is now trading like a meme stock. So this might just be a positioning washout. This bet got so crowded we've had a trigger and so now it comes back a bit bigger.

[A]

That was Journal Markets reporter Chelsea Delaney. Chelsea, thank you so much.

[B]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

The US Government is beginning the week partially shut down. The Senate passed a funding package to keep the lights on late Friday, but the House still needs to approve it. And its success there is far from given. House Minority Leader Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called the Senate deal, which extends Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks in order to allow for talks on reining in enforcement operations. A step in the right direction. However, he said that many House Democrats believe that even two weeks of DHS funding is too much and are demanding a series of changes to DHS operations. As he explained on ABC's this Week with George Stephanopoulos, body cameras should be mandatory, masks should come off, judicial warrants should absolutely be required. Consistent with the Constitution in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or speaking on NBC News Meet the Press, Republican House Majority Leader Mike Johnson called some of those requests reasonable, but pushed back on the requirement for judicial warrants as well as calls for no masks.

[B]

When you're talking about masking, the reason.

[A]

That ICE agents wear masks is to protect their own identities and protect their own families. In some circumstances, they've had a price.

[B]

Put on their heads.

[A]

Johnson will need to keep almost all Republicans on board to end the shutdown in the coming days, no easy task given that some in his party are floating their own demands and are frustrated over being painted into a corner by Democrats. Further complicating matters, Johnson will be swearing in a new House Democrat as early as today, shrinking Republicans majority to 218 to 214 after Christian Menefee won a special election in Texas and the Justice Department's latest release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein exposed the names of 43 of his victims, including many who haven't shared their identities publicly or who were minors when they were abused by the notorious sex offender. That's according to a Journal analysis, which found that several women's full names appeared more than 100 times alongside personally identifying details, including home addresses. The DOJ was required to redact all victims names prior to releasing the files, raising questions about the government's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Yesterday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ would remove victims names if notified, a process some victims told the Journal was re traumatizing. Since Friday's document release, media outlets and influencers have started publishing the women's names, leading some to say they've already begun facing online harassment. For more on the latest trove of documents, including a look at the famous names included in the release, from Elon Musk to Google co founder Sergey Brin, check out the link we've left in our show Notes. Coming up, Israel reopens a key border crossing into Gaza for the first time in two years. And we'll look at the influx of AI in music, those stories and more after the break. This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day, but what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast for investors from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. [e-mail] Washingtonwise the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is reopening today, allowing Palestinians to enter and exit the enclave for the first time since the war between Hamas and Israel began. The Journal's Anat Peled is in Tel.

[B]

Aviv as we're talking now. It's Monday morning local time in Israel. We are hearing that Gazans are lining up at the border and the crossing process is beginning. Those entering Gaza through the crossing have to be residents who left after the outbreak of the war in October 2023, not before the war. That's a restriction that Israel wanted. They're going to undergo security checks both leaving and coming in, and it's only going to be people, so we're not going to see at this point any cargo or aid coming in through the crossing.

[A]

Rafah's reopening marks the final major requirement of the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan, but Anat said that what happens next is far from certain.

[B]

The reopening of the crossing is expected to facilitate the entry of a Palestinian technocratic body that is supposed to oversee day to day governance of Gaza as part of the second stage of the truce, and it's going to be an early test to see how Hamas will respond to what it sees as a rival entity seeking to govern the enclave.

[A]

Thus far, Hamas has also resisted disarming a key demand of the peace plan's second phase. Alongside the withdrawal of Israeli troops from most of Gaza just days before President Trump's inauguration last year, we report that the crypto venture tied to the president's family accepted a half a billion dollar investment backed by member of the United Arab Emirates royal family. Sheikh Tanun bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the UAE's National Security Advisor, sometimes called the Spy Sheikh, and is a brother of the country's president. Prior to Trump moving back to the White House, the sheikh's lieutenants signed a deal with the Trump family to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, which steered around $187 million to Trump family entities. The deal came just months before the UAE won access to American AI chips, something the royal had been pushing the US For. And in a contest of super bowl halftime stars, Kendrick Lamar took home last night's Grammy Award for Record of the Year, while this year's performer, Bad Bunny won Album of the Year. The awards come at a pivotal moment for the music industry as a surge in AI artists sparks fierce debate among fans and creators Al as well as a rush to clarify whether an artificial artist could one day walk away with a Grammy. The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. Said last week on the Rapid Response podcast that using AI is allowed, but that eligible music must be based on human artistry. AI does not disqualify you from being able to submit for a Grammy. There are certain things that you have to abide by and there are certain rules that you have to follow, but it does not disqualify you from entering. However, with an estimated 50,000 AI generated tracks being uploaded to Spotify daily, record labels and artists are being forced to confront AI. As entertainment reporter Catherine Sayre explains how.

[B]

Musicians and how labels can monetize, this is still a big and pretty complicated question. You have record labels that are now partnering with AI companies in search of the best way to do that. The big three labels, Warner, Universal and Sony, they had sued the biggest music AI company, Suno, alleging it essentially stole copyrighted music to train its model. And now Universal has partnered with another AI music company, Udio, and they're working on one of those social type platforms where fans can create this music. 20:26 it's going to be a huge year for AI in the music industry.

[A]

And that's it for what's news for this Monday morning. Today's show was produced by a slate of real humans, Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bok, supervising producer Sandra Kilhoff and me, Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show and until then, thanks for listening.

[B]

Want to break free from the AI frenzy and truly transform your marketing with Adobe? The path to ROI is clear and the opportunity is all around you. Let's turn AI's promise into your marketing reality. It starts with Adobe.