Peter's Blog

President Biden Misrepresenting Wage Gains

President Joe Biden claims wages are rising faster than prices. It might be unfair to say he’s lying, but he’s certainly misrepresenting the facts. The fact is price inflation continues to eat away at your wages.

US Government Runs Another Massive Budget Deficit; This Is Bad News for the Fed Inflation Fight

The US government ran a massive $248.5 billion deficit in November, according to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement. There was only one month in fiscal 2022 with a bigger budget shortfall. This is bad news for the Federal Reserve as it tries to raise interest rates and shrink its balance sheet to fight price inflation.

Producer Prices Rise More Than Expected in November

When the October CPI came out, the mainstream spin was that inflation had peaked. But they might have gotten a little ahead of themselves. The Producer Price Index (PPI) data for November indicates that we may well see more consumer price inflation down the road.

American Consumer Debt Continues Its Relentless Climb

After household debt grew by the largest amount since 2007 in the third quarter, American consumers kicked off the fourth quarter by piling on even more debt. Consumer debt grew by another $27 billion in October, a 6.9% year-on-year increase. Americans now owe $4.73 trillion in consumer debt, according to the latest data released by the […]

Trade Deficit Grows for Second Straight Month as Dollar Weakens

A shrinking trade deficit was the primary reason GDP jumped in the third quarter. But that trade deficit relief is already reversing. The October trade deficit swelled to $78.2 billion, a 5.4% increase. It was the second straight month of trade deficit growth.

Central Banks Start Q4 Buying More Gold

After adding a historically high amount of gold to reserves in the third quarter, central banks kicked off Q4 buying more gold. According to data compiled by the World Gold Council, central banks globally added another 31 tons of gold to official reserves in October.

Investors Fleeing Housing Market as Bubble Deflates

In another bad sign for a housing bubble that is quickly deflating, investor purchases of single-family homes tanked in the third quarter. Meanwhile, overall home sales continue to tumble and prices are falling.

Consumer Confidence Declines for Second Straight Month

The powers that be keep telling you that the economy is fine and inflation has likely peaked. But you’re not buying the story. Consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November as worries about inflation and the trajectory of the economy persist.

Recession Warning: US Small Businesses Struggling to Pay Rent

In another sign of a struggling economy, small businesses are having an increasingly hard time paying rent. According to Alignable’s November Rent Poll, 41% of US small businesses reported they couldn’t pay their rent in full and on time in November. That was a 4 percentage-point increase from the previous month.

War on Cash: India Rolling Out Retail Pilot Program for Digital Rupee

We recently reported that the Federal Reserve plans to launch a 12-week pilot program in partnership with several large commercial banks to test the feasibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The US isn’t alone in experimenting with digital currency. India is working on developing a digital rupee and recently announced the second phase […]