In the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve's QE3, the Bank of Japan is now expanding its asset purchase and loan program by 10 trillion yen to 80 trillion yen -- roughly $1 trillion. (Numbers enthusiasts: Japan's public debt is now 1 quadrillion yen.) Little surprise, then, that gold hit a six-and-a-half-month high earlier today of $1,779.10. Gold ETF holdings hit an all-time high of 73.7 million ounces this week; the largest ETF is the popular SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 0.81%).
Gold's performance is not just about global monetary easing, I suspect. Political risk has made a forceful resurgence in the headlines in the past week, between protests in the Middle East and anti-Japan protests now spreading across China.
Global shipping and logistics giant FedEx (FDX 1.54%) announced yesterday its results for its fiscal first quarter ending in August. The company managed to beat estimates by $0.05, but it took an axe to its full-year guidance, reducing it to between $6.20 and $6.40 from a previous range of $6.90 to $7.40. This is consistent with my thesis that 2013 earnings estimates will need to come down across the board, which will be a headwind to continued gains in the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.60%) and the Dow (^DJI 0.51%).
