After an astonishing run-up last year, the price of gold is moving sideways.

Why it matters: It undercuts the idea that the precious metal is a safe-haven investment during risky times.

State of play: Since the start of the war, gold has behaved less like a safe space and more like a so-called risk asset, rising on hopes that the conflict would end — and falling when fears intensify.

Zoom out: After jumping to more than $5,000 an ounce in mid-March, gold futures are now trading below $4,500.

The big picture: There's lots of talk about how foreign countries are buying gold in an effort to move away from the dollar and U.S. Treasurys, as worries grow that Washington is increasingly weaponizing its currency.

Flashback: This was definitely happening from 2022-2024, as central banks were buying more than 1,000 tonnes of gold per year, up from around 600 or less in the preceding years, a report released from the European Central Bank this week shows.

• That's because countries got spooked when the U.S. and allies froze Russian foreign exchange assets after the invasion of Ukraine — a sign that the dollar had become weaponized in a way that freaked governments out.

Reality check: But by 2025, investors started buying too — and prices soared. The price of gold surged by around 60% last year, after a 30% run-up in 2024, the ECB points out.

• Central banks dialed it back. Gold buying dipped back down in 2025, falling below 1,000 tonnes.

Where it stands: Gold has overtaken U.S. Treasurys in central bank reserves.

• Gold accounted for 27% of global reserves at the end of 2025 (up from 20% a year earlier).
• US Treasurys fell to 22% from 25%.

Yes, but: Dollar-denominated assets still represented the largest share of global reserves at 42%.

Between the lines: Before you mark the demise of America or something, keep in mind one thing: This apparent shift happened mostly because of that price surge — even though countries were buying less, the gold they already held became worth more.

• If you strip out rising prices and recalculate these numbers using the 2023 price of gold, reserves of gold were just 16%, per the ECB.

What they're saying: "It's the safe haven status of gold that's suffered," Robin Brooks of the Brookings Institution noted yesterday.

• "Gold has behaved like a high-beta asset since the war with Iran began, falling when risk aversion spikes and rallying back when it looks like there'll be a peace deal."

The bottom line: All that glitters, etc.

South Korea's wild markets are shaking the country's currency.

Why it matters: The swings in the South Korean currency, the won, illustrate how financial markets can create issues for the real economy.

Context: South Korea's stock market has exploded in recent months, thanks to AI-driven demand for chips made by the country's semiconductor makers.

• Through Thursday, the country's benchmark KOSPI index was up 105% since the start of the year, in local currency terms. (Roughly 90% in dollars.)
• Chip giant Samsung Electronics has nearly tripled over that period, and memory chipmaker SK Hynix is up over 250%.

Yes, but: That run-up attracted inflows from investors worldwide. Now, some foreigners appear to be taking their profits, or at least rebalancing their portfolios to avoid becoming too heavily concentrated in South Korea's highly concentrated market.

How it works: As those investors liquidate their holdings and move their money out of the country, they sell South Korean won and buy other currencies, putting downward pressure on the currency.

The latest: South Korea's currency and government bonds have tumbled in recent days, with the government vowing action to curb "excessive volatility." On Friday, the stock market plunged too, adding to the pressure.

• Essentially, it's telling speculators that the government could intervene in markets to shore up the currency.
• That's an attempt to warn off investors tempted to jump on the bandwagon and bet on the currency falling further.

The bottom line: The plunge in the currency sits uncomfortably with South Korea's struggles to sustain its energy imports amid the Iran war, in an interesting illustration of how shifts in somewhat abstract investing sentiment can translate into the real world of commodities, energy costs and imports.

The S&P is not changing its rules to fast-track mega-cap IPOs onto its marquee stock index, the S&P 500.

Why it matters: S&P's decision doesn't mention SpaceX, but it means that Elon Musk's company — as well as Anthropic and OpenAI, if they go public as expected — won't be making it into the index for at least a year.

• And it's a surprise, coming after other major indexes drew fire for changing their rules to more quickly accommodate Musk's company.

The big picture: Millions of passive investors won't be forced to own SpaceX quickly — a move many had criticized.

Between the lines: If the SpaceX IPO, coming next week, pops — that may set the S&P up for criticism. If it flops, the index will look smart.

Zoom in: Under the rules, companies must wait a 12-month seasoning period before being included in the cap-weighted S&P 500 index.

• The group considered changing that to six months, as well as updating other requirements.
• It also considered adjusting the so-called "float requirement," which held that a company must offer at least 10% of its overall shares to be considered for inclusion. SpaceX is planning to offer fewer than 5% of its shares.

What they're saying: In a statement, S&P said the decision "preserves core index principles."