Peter's Blog

Nixon Closed the Gold Window and All I Got Was This Lousy National Debt

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon severing America – and the world – from its last tie to the gold standard. The rapid devaluing of the dollar is the most obvious result. But another consequence has been an enormous national debt that continues to grow at a staggering pace. Most […]

Janet Yellen Talking Out of Both Sides of Her Mouth

During testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Treasury Secretary-nominee Janet Yellen talked out of both sides of her mouth. She acknowledged that too much debt is problematic, but in the same sentence, insisted we need to “act big” to rescue the economy.

Three Records Broken in 2020 That Were Less Than Ideal

With the coronavirus pandemic serving as a backdrop, 2020 was a record-breaking year in many ways. And some of the economic records that fell were, shall we say, less than ideal. In fact, the impacts of these records will almost certainly ripple through the economy as we move into 2021. Here are three records that […]

How Will the Next President Impact Gold?

How will the outcome of the US election impact the price of gold moving forward? Of course, there is no way to know for sure. US politics is just one of the myriad factors that influence the gold market and you never know how things will play out. But there are reasons to believe the […]

A Black Swan With Teeth

For years, I have been warning that during the age of permanent stimulus (which began in earnest with the Federal Reserve’s reaction to the dotcom crash of 2000), each successive economic contraction would have to be met with ever larger, increasingly ineffective, doses of monetary and fiscal stimulus to keep the economy from spiraling into […]

Fed Chair Powell’s Solution Is the Root of the Problem

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell went negative in a webcast speech on Wednesday, May 13. I’m not talking about negative interest rates, although that could be coming down the pike as well. Powell went negative on the prospects of a quick economic recovery. He’s right about the prospects for the economy, but he’s wrong about the […]

Are Negative Interest Rates in Our Future?

Are negative interest rates in our future? The markets are starting to think so. On Thursday, Fed fund futures contracts began pricing in negative interest rates. They were initially priced in for December but then shifted to early 2021. This doesn’t guarantee negative rates, but it does indicate markets are beginning to expect them.

What Is the NFL Telling Us About the Economy?

What is the NFL telling us about the economy? The conventional wisdom seems to be that the economy will quickly recover once governments open things up again. But recent moves by the National Football League indicate its leadership isn’t so confident.

They’re All High on Fed Fairy Dust

Everybody realizes the US economy is in a bad spot. But most people still seem to believe it will bounce right back once we deal with the coronavirus. They’re all high on Federal Reserve fairy dust.

Gold Is Set to Crash? No Way!

The mainstream is a fickle place. On the one hand, we had Bank of America raising its 18-month price projection for gold to $3,000. On the other hand, some people argue the price of gold could crash later in the year.