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As economic uncertainty deepens, the rush for gold continueswith prices for the precious metal topping $4,300 for the first time this week. The going price for New York spot closed at a record $4,326 per troy ounce on Thursday. Futures also traded as high at more than $4,344 per troy ounce Thursday, before falling below the $4,300 mark Friday morning. Still, gold is up significantly over the last week, marking one of its best weeks to date. Gold sales can rise sharply when anxious investors seek a safe haven for their money. For the U.S., the latest gains arrive amid the now weekslong government shutdown and ongoing trade wars abroadwith President Donald Trump most recently threatening to place much higher tariffs on China, before appearing to walk back those potential new levies as unsustainable. Still, his barrage of other import taxes has already strained economies worldwide. Meanwhile, the prospect of lower interest rates is also making gold a more attractive investment. Why are gold prices going up? Gold futures are up nearly 60% since the start of 2025trading at about $4,268 per troy ounce, the standard for measuring precious metals, as of around 11:45 a.m. Friday. Thats up from around $2,670 at the beginning of January. Silver has seen an even bigger percentage jump year to date. Silver futures are up about 70%, trading at over $50 per troy ounce Friday morning. A lot of the rise boils down to uncertainty. Interest in buying metals like gold typically spikes when investors become anxious. Much of this year’s economic turmoil has spanned from Trumps trade wars. Since the start of 2025, steep new tariffs the president has imposed on goods coming into the U.S. from around the world have strained businesses and consumers alikepushing costs higher and helping to weaken the job market. As a result, hiring has plunged while inflation has inched back up. And more and more consumers are expressing pessimism about the road ahead. The U.S. government shutdown adds to those anxieties. Key economic data has been delayedand scores of federal employees are already feeling the effects of furloughs and working without pay as long as the shutdown lasts, which has no immediate end in sight. The Trump administration also moved to use the shutdown to conduct mass firings, although a judge temporarily blocked such action. Separately, analysts have pointed to continued weakness of the U.S. dollar and renewed rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Last month, the Fed cut its key interest rate by a quarter-pointand projected it would do so twice more this year. Investments in gold have also been driven by other factors over time. Over recent years, there’s been strong gold demand from central banks around the worldparticularly amid heightened geopolitical tensions, such as the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine. And on Wall Street this week, several regional banks saw sharp losses amid scrunity over quality of loans, although recovery seemed to be steadying the market on Friday. Meanwhile, investors appeared to be distancing themselves from riskier assets like cryptocurrencywith bitcoin, for example, down 2.67%. Will rising gold prices make jewelry more expensive? Many jewelry merchants and dealers have increasingly reported surges in customers looking to check the value of gold they ownsometimes opting to melt or sell family heirlooms to cash in on the precious metal’s rising price. At the same time, those in the market for gold jewelry may be feeling sticker shock if they cant afford certain products anymoreparticularly if it’s something impacted by both rising material costs and tariffs. Larger retailers like Pandora and Signet have acknowledged these headwinds in recent earnings calls. Is gold worth the investment? Advocates of investing in gold call it a safe havenarguing that the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road as a hedge against rising inflation. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time. Still, experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. And not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isnt always the inflation hedge many claimand that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as derivative-based investments. The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has also previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, and prices rise as demand goes upmeaning when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers,” the commission noted. Gold demand escalates mercury poisoning warnings The frenzy for gold has also resulted in health and environmental consequences with officials pointing to riing demand for mercury, a toxic metal that is key in illegal gold mining worldwide. Mercury is widely used to separate gold during artisanal or small-scale mining. But it pollutes water, accumulates in fish, makes its way into food and builds up in peoples bodies, leading to neurological and developmental harm. Even small-scale exposure can carry serious risks putting in danger workers who rely on the industry, as well as residents in affected areas more broadly. The Associated Press has reported about the effects of mercury poisoning tied to gold mining in countries like Senegal, Mexico and Peru, among other parts of the world. By Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
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A blood test for more than 50 types of cancer could significantly boost early detection and speed up diagnosis, according to a new study. Made by U.S. pharmaceutical company Grail, the Galleri test aims to find fragments of DNA in a persons blood that can indicate the presence of a cancerous tumor. Among the cancers that the test can detect, many have no current screening programs. The PATHFINDER 2 study included more than 36,000 people aged 50 and older who had no cancer symptoms. In participants who were followed for more than a year, the test caught some 40.4% of cancer cases. For those who got a positive result on the Galleri test, 61.6% of them went on to be diagnosed with canceran improvement over previous trials of the test. The results were presented on Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Berlin, and have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Boosting cancer diagnosis In the study, the Galleri test, when combined with already existing screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, yielded a more than seven-fold increase in the cancer detection rate, according to Grails president Josh Ofman in a press release. Galleri also detected many cancers which dont have standard screening tests, including notoriously hard to diagnose forms of the disease, such as ovarian and pancreatic cancer. More than half (53.5%) of the cancers detected by the test were stage I or II, according to Grail. And the test was also able to predict the origin of the cancer accurately 92% of the time, according to the study. Promising results Grail says the blood test could save lives through early detection. The companys president of biopharma, Sir Harpal Kumar, told the BBC that the results were compelling. “The vast majority of people who die from cancer do so because we find their cancers too late, he said. But other experts cautioned that more research is needed before the test is ready for primetime, Sky News and the BBC reported, with one expert telling the BBC more work would be required to “avoid overdiagnosing cancers that may have caused harm.” The test is currently being trialed in England in 140,000 people, with results expected next year, according to the BBC.
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The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect in December. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Friday that information on her agency’s website, esafety.gov.au, explained the new laws and how to navigate them. Starting Dec. 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they dont take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts. Messages raising awareness will also be shared starting Sunday across digital channels, television, radio and billboards. We want children to have childhoods. We want parents to have peace of mind and we want young peopleyoung Australiansto have three more years to learn who they are before platforms assume who they are, Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters, referring to the current de facto 13-year age limit for social media accounts based on U.S. privacy legislation. How are Australians reacting to the ban? The Australian age restrictions have already proved polarizing, with some experts warning the changes will harm as well as protect children. More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to the government last year opposing a social media age limit as too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively. Despite that warning, the laws passed with resounding support last year. The platforms had a year to figure out how to comply without foolproof technology available to verify ages. Inman Grant said the social media age restriction would be a very monumental event for a lot of young people. Teens given checklists to prepare Her agency offered checklists and conversation starters about ways to make the transition, such as following an online influencer through a website rather than a social media account, she said. How do we start weaning them from social media now so it isnt a shock on Dec. 10? How do we help them download their archives and their memories and how do we make sure that theyre in touch with friends and are aware of mental health support if theyre feeling down when theyre not tethered to their phones over the holiday period? she added. The agency’s teen “get ready” checklist includes suggestions such as “map your digital world” and to take practical steps like finding other ways to follow their favorite influencers online or scheduling regular phone calls with their friends. The entire list is as follows: Understand what’s changing and why Workout which accounts you’ll lose Map your digital world Explore other ways to connect and belong Build your community Protect your digital memories Avoid last-minute stress Find support Will other countries follow Australia’s lead? Australias move is being watched closely by countries that share concerns about social media impacts on young children. Denmarks Ambassador to Australia Ingrid Dahl-Madsen said her government would use its current presidency of the Council of the European Union to push the agenda of protecting children from social media harms. This is something that is a global challenge and we are all looking at how we can manage it best and we are looking to Australia and we will be looking at what Australia does, Dahl-Madsen told Australian Broadcasting Corp. in Melbourne on Monday. Its so important that Australia and Demark and the EUwe share lessons, we compare experiences and we can push forward hopefully practical progress on this, she added. It was about “protecting our children in this digital world that is increasingly complicated.” The Danish government last week proposed legislating an age limit of 15. But Dahl-Madsen said Denmark would consider letting parents exempt their children who were 13-14. Australia has no similar exemption. By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press
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