Gold and gold mining stocks are outperforming the market due to increased investor concern over inflation and weakening economic growth. The price of gold is near $3,700 per ounce, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is leading the S&P 500 sectors year-to-date. This surge is likened to the stagflationary behavior of the 1970s, where hard assets outperform financial assets in times of sticky inflation and stalled growth. Analysts attribute this paradigm shift to gold becoming an ultimate stagflation hedge, as equities and bonds struggle with margin pressures and inflation. The full story is available on Benzinga.com.