Peter’s Blog

Demand for American Gold Eagles exploded in May according to the latest data from the US Mint.

Consumer confidence hit a 10-year low earlier this year and continues to sag as inflation squeezes wallets. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for May slipped to 106.4. That was down from 108.6 in April.

Last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill repealing the sales tax on the sale of precious metal bullion. Ending the sales tax will relieve some of the tax burdens on investors, and take a step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of as commodities.

The Fed has barely started raising interest rates but the air is already seeping out of the housing bubble. New single-family home sales plunged by 16.6% from March and were down 26.9% year on year. New home sales dropped to the lowest level since the lockdown in April 2020.

Retail sales have spiked over the last few months. You would think that would be great news for retailers, right? Not so fast.

With a surge in April tax receipts, the federal government ran a record budget surplus last month. This seems like good news. And the mainstream spun it as such. But record government revenue is papering over a spending problem that isn’t going away.

Gold-backed ETFs saw net inflows of gold for the fourth straight month in April. ETFs globally added 42.8 tons of gold to their holding, with Europe-based funds leading the way.

Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation. Wages are up but consumers are worse off. Average hourly earnings have risen by 5.5% over the last year. But factoring in rising costs, real earnings are down 2.6%. So, how are Americans making ends meet? They’re charging it.

Virginia and Alabama both extended their sales tax exemptions on precious metal bullion this year, relieving some of the tax burdens on investors, and taking a step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of as commodities.

Back in 2019, CNBC commentator Jim Leventhal said he had no interest in gold because it has no uses as a metal. This comment was a real head-scratcher because, besides its extensive use in jewelry, gold is an increasingly important industrial input, particularly in the technology sector.