Top Stories This Week: Fed Anticipation Builds, Saxo's "Outrageous" US$3,000 Gold Prediction

Could gold hit US$3,000 in 2023?

On a lighter note, gold put in an appearance on Saxo's list of "outrageous predictions" for 2023. Ole Hansen, the firm's head of commodity strategy, lays out a scenario where the yellow metal hits US$3,000 as central banks fail on their inflation mandates.

Acknowledging the frustration gold has caused this year by not rallying in the face of elevated prices, Hansen posits that 2023 could be "the year that the market finally discovers that inflation is set to remain ablaze for the foreseeable future."

Aside from that, he outlines three other possible areas of support for gold:

1. Governments favoring gold over foreign exchange reserves.
2. Investment in new national security priorities.
3. Rising global liquidity as policy makers move to avoid a debacle in debt markets.

Hansen has said that his US$3,000 call is more of a thought exercise than a serious prediction, but some people believe it could happen — when we asked our Twitter followers their thoughts, about 60 percent said they think it's a possibility.

SAFE Banking Act stokes cannabis excitement

The cannabis industry has faced difficulties in recent years, and it's not a sector we usually cover in these updates. But with US market speculation heating up as the year draws to a close, it's an interesting area to watch.

As a reminder, cannabis remains federally illegal in the US, although many states have established medical and recreational programs. While these state-level programs have seen success, market watchers desperately want to see progress at the country level, and are hoping policies like the SAFE Banking Act can finally make it through the Senate.

Democrats are angling to include SAFE and other acts in must-pass legislation, and cannabis stocks rose at the beginning of the week as investors crossed their fingers that the National Defense Authorization Act could carry them through. Ultimately that didn't pan out, and experts are now setting their sights on an omnibus bill funding package.

Whether any progress is made remains to be seen, but SAFE in particular has ignited excitement. If it passes, companies working in states that have legalized cannabis would no longer face banking restrictions and could move beyond cash-only models.