Peter's Blog

Bernanke and Powell: A Lot of Finger-Pointing but No Self-Reflection

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and former chair Ben Bernanke recently fielded questions together at the annual Thomas Laubach Research Conference put on by the central bank. They engaged in a lot of finger-pointing but didn’t offer a hint of self-reflection as they discussed inflation and the state of the economy.

What Are the Markets Getting Wrong?

We’ve talked about the recent selloff in gold. On the other side of the coin, the NASDAQ has made a string of 52-week highs. What is driving these market dynamics? The Fed. The markets generally believe that the Federal Reserve is finished hiking interest rates, or at least close enough to being done that a […]

Household Debt Cracks $17 Trillion for First Time Ever

Total household debt eclipsed $17 trillion for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2023 as Americans wrestle with persistent price inflation. After charting the biggest rise in 20 years during the fourth quarter, household debt climbed again in Q1, rising by $148 billion. The 0.9% increase pushed total household debt to $17.05 […]

Talk Is Cheap; What Will the Fed Actually Do?

Gold had dropped by over $100 in the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the dollar rose to a 7-week high on May 17. If you’re thinking that this looks a lot like how gold and the dollar moved at the height of the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight, you’re right. That’s because the central bankers at the […]

The Inflation Picture Is Even Worse Than Government Numbers Suggest

On an annual basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 4.9% in April. While that’s an improvement over last year, it’s still not good. It’s more than twice the Federal Reserve inflation target. And as Peter Schiff pointed out during a recent interview with Jesse Kelly, the reality is even worse than the numbers […]

Media Bias Fails Investors and the Public

Was the producer price data that came out late last week really more good news on the inflation front? That’s certainly how the mainstream media spun it. But as was the case with the April CPI data, the mainstream spin didn’t necessarily reflect reality. In fact, there is a pro-government, pro-official narrative bias that pervades […]

April CPI: Price Inflation Looks Pretty Sticky

Great news on the inflation front! At least if you believe the headlines. For example, “Consumer Prices in April Rise at the Slowest Annual Rate in Two Years.” But if you read about one inch below the headline, you’ll discover things aren’t so great. In fact, the actual data reveals price inflation is looking pretty […]

Reality Over Rhetoric: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap May 5, 2023

The Federal Reserve raised rates yet again during its May FOMC meeting. Now everybody is trying to decipher the messaging coming out of the Fed to figure out what’s next. But what if the words Powell and Company are saying don’t really matter? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey […]

What the Fed Says Today Really Isn’t Relevant Tomorrow

Is the rate hike pause in play? That question remains up for debate after the May Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting. But when you break it all down, the underlying economic reality is far more important than the messaging coming from Powell and Company. And the underlying economic reality is that inflation isn’t beat […]

The US Banking System Is Sound?

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen keeps insisting that the banking system is “sound.” Is it though? Because it doesn’t look particularly sound. In fact, we just witnessed the second-largest US bank failure ever.