Central bank

The long term isn't looking good for the greenback: Central bank managers don't see it keeping its status as the world's reserve currency. The short term's not looking so hot for the U.S. economy either: Housing prices are down another 4% year over year, and confidence is falling.

While most of the world's central banks are still fighting the last war, Sweden's Riksbank has moved on to the next one. Rather than looking at conventional inflation gauges, the world's oldest central bank is basing its actions on asset-price growth in an effort to prevent the next bubble.

When the economic gurus at the Fed move the levers of U.S. monetary policy, they do so with two often-conflicting goals in mind: promoting maximum employment and keeping prices stable. Many critics are now arguing that that Fed should focus solely on prices.

Recent reports show that several banks have begun advising their wealthiest individual clients to put as much as 10% of their assets into the precious metal. And some are stocking up by the ton.

Europe's shakiest economies managed to ride out a sovereign debt crisis this spring with a lot of help from their more stable neighbors and the major central banks. But new data suggests we may soon see a replay of the debt default crisis.

As gold surged past $1,200 an ounce in November, gold bugs got a vote of confidence. John Paulson, the billionaire hedge fund manager, launched a gold fund. But Paulson's fund has taken a bruising, and Wall Street's gold fever now shows signs of cooling.

While gold bugs believe the world's central banks will rush into gold, central bankers haven't gotten the memo. The Bank of Korea becomes the latest to downplay the notion that it will buy gold to diversify out of the dollar.

As gold slides on the back of a strong jobs report, some investors may be tempted to pile into the precious metal. After all, a cacophony of pundits are convinced that gold can only head higher since the world's central banks will pile into the precious metal. And a drop like the near 4% slide on...