All That Glitters Is Gold

Good morning! Check out the latest in trending:

Rental losses? Oracle’s (ORCL) cloud business is reportedly facing thin profit margins, but Fox Business called the report “off base.”

Capital raise: Elon Musk-owned xAI’s (X.AI) ongoing funding round has been raised to $20B, which will include up to $2B from Nvidia (NVDA).

Staffing crunch: Air traffic controller staffing shortages have delayed thousands of flights this week at airports across the U.S.

Spot gold (XAUUSD:CUR) prices surged past the $4,000-an-ounce mark for the first time, with safe-haven demand continuing to grow amid rising bets on Federal Reserve easing, and mounting economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The precious metal, which traded below $2,000 just two years ago, is now delivering returns that have far outpaced equities this century.

Big gains: Spot gold rose more than 1% overnight to mark the milestone, while gold futures for December delivery crossed $4,000 on Tuesday. “Gold has staged a historic rally, doubling in less than two years, spurred by central bank buying as it diversifies away from the U.S. dollar, President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine,” ING Economic and Financial Analysis said.

Ray Dalio, famed hedge fund manager, said investors should be allocating as much as 15% of their portfolios to gold. He said the current market environment is “very much like the early 1970s,” when inflation, high government spending, and high debt damaged the U.S. dollar and other assets. “Gold is the only asset that somebody can hold, and you don’t have to depend on somebody else to pay your money for,” he added.

SA commentary: According to SA analyst Jim Barista, gold is the most attractive savings vehicle and is outperforming the S&P 500 (SP500) over a three- and five-year time horizon. “It is not a speculative asset, nor a trade; I hold gold to preserve my wealth. If one relies solely on fiat currency to preserve wealth, they’re likely to lose significant purchasing power over time,” he said. Gold And Silver Mining Stocks – Potential Winners

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What else is happening…

Tesla (TSLA) slides after unveiling cheaper Model Y, Model 3.

Archer Aviation (ACHR) retreats as Tesla rumors turn out wrong.

Nvidia (NVDA) to continue to sponsor H-1Bs and cover costs.

Salesforce (CRM) stands up to extortion attempt by hackers.

Confluent (CFLT) explores sale after drawing buyer interest.

Pentagon said to near decision on Navy’s next stealth fighter.

U.S. officials weigh selling parts of $1.6T student loan portfolio.

Trump said to mull deeper funding cuts for clean energy projects.

Filling the gap: Carlyle (CG) releases its own economic indicators.

Vietnam set to be upgraded to emerging market status in 2026.

Today’s Markets

In Asia, Japan -0.5%. Hong Kong -0.5%. China closed. India -0.2%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.8%. Paris +0.9%. Frankfurt +0.8%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude +1.1% to $62.38. Gold +1.3% to $4,057.70. Bitcoin -1.1% to $122,967.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 4.11%.

On The Calendar

Companies reporting today include AZZ (AZZ).

See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today’s economic calendar.