Gold’s Stealthy Bull Market

Good morning, Nerders. It’s Wednesday, July 10th. In today’s newsletter, we cover:

• Why gold prices are at all-time highs

• Amazon Prime Day is just a week away — here’s a look at the numbers behind the event and why it matters

• Southwest has a significant problem

TODAY’S STORY

Gold prices are surging, hitting a record $2,449.89 per ounce in May 2024.

Historically, one thing has been true about gold: 1) gold price spikes coinciding with periods of economic weakness.

But the U.S. economy is doing pretty well by many measures (besides *cough* inflation). GDP is up, unemployment is down, S&P 500 is up. 

Many retail investors are buying gold following the lead of foreign governments, who have turned to gold due to its ability to store value at a time when geopolitical tensions have increased the risk of government-sanctioned asset freezes:

1. Russia invaded Ukraine

2. The U.S. and its allies froze $300Bn in Russian assets, the majority of which is held by European banks

3. This spooked China, which holds $775Bn worth of U.S. treasuries, and other governments into selling dollars for physical gold

4. Retail investors, especially the Chinese, are following the activity of central banks

Could it last? Central banks gold-buying momentum continued into 2024.

DATA BYTES

Amazon Prime Day & Consumer Confidence

• Amazon Prime Day 2024 is scheduled for July 16th to July 17th

• Prime Day 2023 generated $12.9Bn in top-line revenue for Amazon, accounting for ~2% of the company’s annual revenue

• Prime Day is an excellent additional data point to gauge U.S. consumer confidence, which dipped in June to 100.4

OUR PICKS

Here are today’s recs to help you live a smarter life…

1. Track your workouts and sleep with ease.

Your essential companion for a healthy life is now even more powerful. $100 off for a limited time.*

2. Calling all sunscreen haters.

The top-rated oil-free sunscreen that fights acne and leaves no white cast.*

3. Summer without the mosquito bites.

Traps flies, moths, fruit flies, gnats, and more.*

#SHORTS

Southwest’s Conundrum

@boringbusinesskieran

Southwest in trouble? #business #southwest #airlines #stocks

TikTok, YouTube, Instagram

PREVIOUS STORIES

• Joining a startup early — An interview with Charley Ma on his experience joining early-stage startups. He was the first business hire at Plaid and an early member of the Ramp team.

• Panera Bread and Sweetgreen partner with Zipline to start delivering meals via drone.

• Starbucks is the latest restaurant chain to roll out its version of boba drinks.

• Robinhood for startup investing — An interview with Steph Mui about her company PIN.

• Luxury real estate is thriving while the overall market is down.

To read the web version of previous stories, click here

ADVERTISE WITH US

If your company is interested in reaching an audience of ambitious professionals and decision-makers, you may want to advertise with us. Please submit this interest form.

If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email!

Thanks for reading,
Kieran & Justin Ryan