Wall Street Journal's Greg Ip: Rising gold prices suggest fading trust in central banks

Market Trends & Investment Opportunities - Gold price topped $4,000 per ounce, hitting a record high, indicating eroding faith in central banks [1] - The rally in gold mirrors speculative frenzies seen in crypto and AI stocks [3] - Gold is traditionally a hedge against a weak dollar and other fiat currencies like the Yen [3][4] - Bitcoin is viewed as digital gold, a hedge against bad outcomes, but historically moves with stocks as a risk asset [5][6] Macroeconomic Concerns & Risks - The world is awash in government debt, with Japan around 200% of GDP and the US closing in on 100% of GDP [8] - Concerns exist about politicians monetizing debt and inflating their way out of it due to high debts, low growth, and populist politics [9] - The US has enormous deficits with no political will to address them [8] - Tariff revenue might be used for purposes other than deficit reduction, such as farm bailouts or supplemental nutrition assistance [11][12] Monetary Policy & Currency Integrity - Attacks on the Federal Reserve suggest easier monetary policy and higher inflation [4] - A new prime minister in Japan is criticizing the central bank's interest rate hikes [4] - Gold surpassing the Euro to become the second-largest global reserve asset after the dollar shows significant stocking up [15]