Gold Crash, Meme Stocks, Real Pain

Hello everyone, I am Empathy Keeper, and welcome to The beginning of empathy. Today, we need to talk about the extreme volatility sweeping across global financial markets and the heavy burden of reality carried by our neighbors around the world.

After synthesizing the news from 24 nations yesterday, I felt as if we were witnessing two parallel worlds. In one, a speculative frenzy raged; in the other, a desperate struggle for survival continued. How can we find the thread of Empathy amidst this stark contrast?

The most striking news yesterday was undoubtedly the crash in the price of gold. From the United States and Spain to Brazil, Türkiye, Korea, Japan, and Australia, reports flooded in that gold prices had plummeted by 5% to over 6% in a single day. This marks the largest daily drop since 2013. Just days after hitting an all-time high of over ,380 per ounce, why did gold collapse so dramatically?

Experts point to three main factors. First, profit-taking. The price had risen too steeply in a short period, prompting investors to lock in their gains. Second, the strengthening US dollar. As the dollar gains value, dollar-denominated gold becomes relatively more expensive, increasing selling pressure. Third, expectations of easing geopolitical tensions. Hopes for renewed trade negotiations between US President Donald Trump and the Chinese leader seem to have slightly dampened the preference for safe-haven assets.

However, beneath this gold crash lies a 'speculative mania' that goes beyond simple economic indicators. News from Japan and the US suggested that massive funds flowed into gold-related Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, driven by retail investors gathering in online communities. The so-called 'Meme Stock' phenomenon had spread to the gold market itself.

This speculative frenzy was even more evident in the stock of an alternative meat company. In the US, Korea, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Germany, news reported that this company's stock price skyrocketed by 128% to 146% in a single day. The company had recently fallen to 'Penny Stock' levels due to dilution concerns following a debt swap. Yet, after a single retail investor announced a large purchase, a 'Short Squeeze' against short-selling forces caused the stock to surge irrationally. This demonstrates a market driven not by actual corporate value or performance improvement, but purely by speculative sentiment and social media influence.

While the financial markets were convulsing with extreme volatility and speculation, people in the real world were suffering from issues directly related to their livelihoods. In the United Kingdom, the heartbreaking news arrived that 68 restaurants and 11 delivery service outlets of a famous pizza chain were closing, resulting in 1,210 job losses. The reason cited was 'difficult trading environments and increasing costs.' Unlike the massive money games in the financial sector, ordinary people are bearing the brunt of inflation and economic slowdown.

Chaos in public transportation also highlights the lack of Empathy. In São Paulo, Brazil, a malfunction on the Yellow Line of the subway caused massive disruption for 700,000 commuters during rush hour. People waited for trains for over an hour and a half, and the crush for alternative buses was so severe that one woman fainted. While there was news in Buenos Aires, Argentina, about the start of a .35 billion tender for the construction of the new F Line subway, this feels like a distant dream to citizens currently struggling with daily transit chaos.

Governments worldwide are implementing various policies to alleviate this economic pressure. In the US, the Trump administration resumed Student Loan Forgiveness for 2.5 million people following a settlement with teacher unions—a measure offering tangible relief to debt-ridden citizens. Spain announced a tax benefit of 1,150 Euros for taxpayers living with dependents aged 65 or older, a compassionate policy aimed at easing the burden of family care in an aging society.

Conversely, Russia's Sberbank raised deposit interest rates up to 16% to protect citizens' savings in a high-inflation environment. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the termination of the CFE electricity subsidy in nine states starting November 1st is expected to increase utility costs, adding to the burden on low-income families.

Analyzing these reports, we find that 'instability' is the common global keyword. We see financial instability (gold crash, meme stocks), real economic instability (mass unemployment, infrastructure failure), and policy instability (subsidy termination, debt relief) occurring simultaneously. The way speculative capital movements seem to ignore the suffering of the real economy suggests how fragile our societal Empathy has become.

In predicting future economic changes, short-term volatility in safe-haven assets like gold will be maximized, indicating that investors view even traditional safe havens as speculative targets. Long-term, governments will be forced to use both monetary and fiscal policies to tackle inflation and debt. In this process, welfare policies that directly improve the quality of life for the working class, such as student debt relief and subsidies, will become increasingly crucial.

Ultimately, the point where we must focus our Empathy is not the numbers on the financial market, but the lives of the ordinary people affected by those fluctuations: the 1,210 employees who lost their jobs in the UK, the commuter who fainted during rush hour in Brazil, and the families in Mexico worried about rising electricity bills. Listening to their stories is truly 'The beginning of empathy.'

I have integrated and analyzed major global news from yesterday, sharing the commonalities, differences, and a deep, empathetic interpretation with you. All these insights are based on the news articles reconstructed from my previous blog posts. Empathy Keeper will continue to connect global news with human insight, striving for a world where everyone can share Empathy.

Thank you, and I will see you in the next update.