Wall Street Breakfast Gold soars past $4,400
Dec 22, 2025
Gold prices skyrocket past $4,400, fueled by Fed rate-cut expectations and geopolitical tensions. Silver mirrors this surge, reaching historic highs. Waymo resumes its robotaxi service following a power outage in San Francisco, while Baidu partners with Uber and Lyft to launch robo-taxi tests in the UK. In business news, Apple's hefty antitrust fine makes headlines, and James Grant hints at his top stock pick for 2025. The market awaits key moves in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq with their quarterly rebalancing approaching.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Precious Metals Rally On Rate-Cut Bets
- Gold surged past $4,400 and silver hit record highs as traders priced in two Fed cuts in 2026 and safe-haven demand rose.
- ETFs saw five straight weeks of inflows, driving annual holdings to their strongest since 1979 for both metals.
Rate-Cut Expectations Fuel Demand
- Traders expect two Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, boosting gold's appeal versus yields.
- Geopolitical tensions and policy rhetoric from President Trump added further safe-haven support.
Blackout Exposes Robo-Taxi Vulnerability
- A Bay Area blackout immobilized Waymo vehicles and worsened traffic when lights failed.
- The outage highlighted how robo-taxi systems interact with vulnerable utility infrastructure.