Peter's Blog

No Easy Fix for Gas Prices

This month, as unleaded gasoline prices increased for 17 consecutive days (to a national average of $3.647 per gallon – up 11% thus far this year) and West Texas Intermediate crude joined Brent crude in breaking through a $100 per barrel level, energy prices emerged as a full blown political issue. While President Obama conveniently […]

Keynesians Jump The Gun on Inflation

Advocates of government stimulus are running victory laps on recent developments that appear to vindicate their strategy. In particular, Paul Krugman compares the sluggish growth in Europe to the somewhat-less-sluggish growth in the US to prove that stimulus was more effective than austerity. Other economists are using government inflation measures to defend Fed Chairman Bernanke’s […]

The Currency Wars Interview

Though much has happened in the gold market this month – notably, a Fed pledge that has awakened the sleeping bull – we wanted to take a step back and shed some light on what is fundamentally driving the precious metals market today. A Wall Street pro named James Rickards recently released his first book, […]

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

With its announcement this week that it will keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014, the Federal Reserve has put another large crack into the foundations underlying the US dollar. In a misguided attempt to provide clarity and transparency, Ben Bernanke has instead laid out a simple road map for economists and […]

The Dollar’s Lucky Streak

Recent U.S. economic data, such as the modest drop in the unemployment rate and the massive expansion of consumer credit, have suggested that the American economy is finally recovering. Opposite conclusions are being thrown at Europe, where many are convinced that recession is returning. Not surprisingly then, the dollar is currently hitting a multi-year high […]

The End of the Gold Rush?

By Peter Schiff For such a wonderful year for precious metals investors, the final calendar quarter left little to celebrate. Just as people now take for granted that their phones will also take pictures, play music, and surf the internet, many investors have come to expect gold and silver to move up in a straight […]

2011: Dud or Springboard?

Casey Research’s Gold Commentary 2011 was remarkable in many ways for the precious metals markets. Gold soared to new highs in early September, hitting at an intraday record of $1,920/ounce on the 5th. Silver screamed to within a hair of $50 on April 28. Corrections ensued, and the metals ended the year on a disappointing […]

Obama Gets Real

For most of his time as a national political figure, Barack Obama has been careful to cloak his core socialist leanings behind a veil of pro-capitalist rhetoric. This makes strategic sense, as Americans still largely identify as pro-capitalist. However, based on his recent speech in Osawatomie, Kansas, the President appears to have reassessed the political […]

The Great Western Crackup

By Peter Schiff From World War II until very recently, the West – specifically Europe and the United States – was on a course for greater centralization, greater integration, and greater economic intervention. But this consensus is breaking down. In Europe, the euro has gone from steadily adding new members to now facing the prospect […]

The 2011 Gold Price: What Correction?

I’ve told more than one concerned investor that when the gold price falls, they should “come back in three months” and see if they’re still worried. The idea is that the daily and monthly gyrations are nothing to fret over, that the price will recover and, in time, fetch new highs. That advice has worked […]