Peter's Blog

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.

The Tax Man Cometh — Again

Today is tax day. I’m not pleased. I don’t know about you, but that means my bank account balance will be significantly smaller later this evening. I’m going to have to write a big check. But hey, this is the price I pay for a more civilized society.

Joe Biden Is Mucking Up the “Inflation Fight”

By hiking interest rates, the Federal Reserve has pulled some of the monetary stimulus out of the economy. While the Fed hasn’t done nearly enough to put the inflationary fire it lit with more than a decade of easy money, the cooling consumer price index (CPI) indicates that this has put a modest dent in […]

Is the Pivot in Play? SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap April 14, 2023

With the CPI coming in slightly cooler than expected and producer prices unexpectedly falling, a lot of people think the Fed pivot is now in play and we will soon see an end to monetary tightening. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about the possibility of a pivot, […]

The CPI Mirage

Price inflation continued to cool with March headline annual CPI coming in at 5%. This was lower than expected and may give the Federal Reserve some wiggle room to slow down or even end rate hikes. But it’s a mirage. Despite the cooling trend, price inflation remains well above the Fed’s target and victory in […]

Could the Commercial Real Estate Market Be the Next Thing to Break?

Could the commercial real estate market be the next thing to break in this bubble economy? The rampant money creation and zero percent interest rates during the COVID pandemic on top of three rounds of quantitative easing and more than a decade of artificially low interest rates in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis […]

Fed Adds Another $94 Billion to Its Balance Sheet in Week Two of Bailout

In the week before it raised interest rates another 25 basis points to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve added more than $94 billion to its balance sheet. This was on top of the nearly $300 billion it piled onto the balance sheet in the first week of its bank bailout. The balance sheet reveals that […]