Tuesday's Scoop: Flying ☀️

Hey friend - welcome back to your daily scoops on the economy and companies impacting your life.

We just hit 80 degrees in NYC. Summer is coming! Can’t wait to be back behind a grill this weekend.

Here’s what you need to know today to inform your work, spending, and investments…

1. The stock market keeps breaking record highs.

2. Gold is more valuable than ever.

3. Ethereum is surging amid anticipation for its stock market debut.

The Market: ⬆️ +0.3%
S&P 500: 5,321.41
1Mo: +6% | 1Yr: +27% | 5Yr: +83%

The market climbed to a new record high on Tuesday as investors continued the positive momentum of the past month. While clear red flags are popping up across the economy, the consensus feels like the prevailing trend is just slow enough economic growth to sustain strong corporate profits without accelerating inflation. Investors still expect policymakers to reduce interest rates this year, fueling both the stocks and gold rally.

Gold keeps getting more valuable. The yellow metal reached a record high of $2,449.89 per ounce on Monday as investors prepared for the prospect of lower interest rates later this year. Gold competes with cash for investors’ attention. While both are safe assets, gold doesn’t earn interest like cash in a savings account can. However, if interest rates fall, cash earns less, and gold gets more attractive. Investors typically see gold as a safer asset and store of value, so an increase in global demand during a stock market rally could also signal underlying economic uncertainty. China's ongoing efforts to stabilize its property sector have increased demand for gold as a safe haven.

The crypto world is going wild for Ethereum this week. The price of Ethereum’s cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), jumped over 20% on Tuesday before settling down. This spike is due to growing optimism that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon approve exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Ether. An ETF allows regular investors to buy and trade a cryptocurrency like a stock, making it more accessible and attracting more money into the market. This follows the success of Bitcoin ETFs approved earlier this year, which significantly boosted Bitcoin’s price. Major financial firm Fidelity also changed its application to address SEC concerns, further fueling investor confidence in an impending Ethereum ETF approval and driving up Ether’s price.