INVESTMENT WATCH

So much for hedge potential: Gold-mining stock mutual funds fell more than any other fund category in the week ended Thursday, fund-tracker Lipper Analytical said. The average gold fund lost 4.3%, while the average stock fund was off minimally, despite the near-panic early in the week. Gold itself was up only slightly, to $385 an ounce by Friday. Gold owners may have expected Wall Street’s bad mood swing last week to send more people running for the “safety” of gold. But the metal has its own problems, including the International Monetary Fund’s plans to dump some of its gold reserves. Gold stocks, meanwhile, may have been hammered simply because of their year-to-date gains, as investors decided to take profits wherever they had them.