Deep underneath the Bank of England lies a vault that contains the second-largest gold bar repository in the world after the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. As the world’s capital in physical gold trade, London stores gold for over 60 central banks globally.
More and more companies, investors and countries are investing in gold. China now holds the most gold it has ever held, surging 15.7% to $369.6 billion. That’s a 260% increase since Oct 2022. Gold continues to thrive as a safe haven as the demand for the precious metal continues. The softer dollar caused by ongoing certainty around U.S. Policy and Iran/U.S. talks has lifted gold prices.
“Gold is viewed as a flight-to-safety hedge against uncertainty in the state of the world – and that’s been true for quite a long time…In short, much of the recent rise in gold could be put down to the “Trump effect” with investors fretting about his economic policy, his trade war and the pressure he is trying to put on the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.” – BOE Governor Andrew Bailey.
JP Morgan has raised its long-term forecast for gold prices to $4,500 an ounce, and its 2026 year-end forecast to $6,300. Spot gold has risen by around 20% this year alone. This followed a 64% rise in gold last year.
Gold is a safe haven buy and will seemingly continue to soar as long as global market volatility and suspect US policy remains.
European markets experience strong rebounds thanks mostly to Europe’s robust banking sector. Stock markets in the UK, Germany, France, and Italy saw significant growth. HSBC, Europe’s largest lender, saw a 5% increase after publishing its full-year earnings. European sentiment improved significantly after Anthropic announced its partnership with several firms to launch new enterprise plug-ins. This comes after the concerns that AI would destroy some industry workforces and make them obsolete.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has proven that the fast food confectionery industry is unstoppable. Despite rising inflation, consumers can’t get enough of doughnuts.
The doughnut king saw its shares jump more than 34% after reporting Q4 earnings. Earnings delivered $392.4 million above the predicted $389.5 million. This is also due to an increase in digital sales.
They plan on opening 100 new stores and expect $65 million in 2026 from its Japanese refranchising.
Who would have thought that there would be so much money in doughnuts?
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