RJ and Makay

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Gold futures reached a new record yesterday, topping $1800 for the first time. Gold is seen as a haven from stock market volatility and currency debasement amid escalating U.S. and European debt woes.  The MSCI World Index of shares neared the lowest level since last September as shares tumbled in world markets this past week.  Through Wednesday, gold rose 8%, the biggest three-day rally since November 2008.

Wealthy hedge fund investor John Paulson, who oversees about $35 billion at Paulson & Co, has revealed that his bet on Citigroup generated large profits in 2010. Indeed, the stock rose more than 40%, earning Paulson's hedge fund clients about $1 billion. There are anonymous reports that Citigroup was Paulson's biggest gainer in 2010.

Paulson, who's known for making big contrarian bets, predicted early in 2010 that the economy would recover nicely and the price of gold would jump. He turned out to be right on both counts eventually.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — mutual funds that trade like stocks — continue to be a growing force in the securities industry, a new report by State Street Global Advisors shows.

Holdings in domestic ETFs rose 28% last year to $994.7 billion, says State Street. ETF assets grew as investors flocked to dividend/fundamental ETFs (up 99%), commodity ETFs (up 46%), and emerging markets ETFs (up 43%). In dollar terms, emerging markets ETFs gained $43.9 billion compared with $31 billion for commodity ETFs and $28.8 billion for fixed-income ETFs.