When prices are high and global conflicts destabilize the world, some investors start looking backwards—away from an uncertain future and toward the predictability of the past. And what’s older and more dependable than gold?

Gold offers investors a hedge against an uneasy financial environment as policymakers weather the uncertain environment, analysts said. Stress in long-term bond markets and a devaluation of the U.S. dollar have unsettled alternative assets typically viewed as low-risk investments, they added.

The trend for gold remains “unambiguously bullish” from a technical standpoint, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and Forex.com. Prices for the precious metal on Comex were on track to settle at another record high,

Italy, whose sovereign assets from bonds to banks have so often been the subject of market crises in recent years, is currently enjoying a windfall as the central bank's vast gold reserves track record-high prices.

Gold is surging to records this year. With prices above $4,000 an ounce, how much should you have in your portfolio? We asked the pros to weigh in.

Follow all the latest U.S. market action for Thursday here as stocks strive to rally after some choppy sessions and as earnings season provides impetus.

The 27-year-old from the Munduruku tribe in the Brazilian Amazon suffered a miscarriage at three months, which she believes was triggered by mercury leached into rivers from illegal mining. Her small,

Gold prices are on a historic rally but a business professor from Tulane University isn't convinced that the precious metal is a smart investment.