Peter's Blog

Alabama and Virginia Extend Sales Tax Exemptions on Gold and Silver Bullion

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.

Industrial Demand for Gold Continued to Rebound in Q1

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.

The Fed Takes a Weak Swing at Inflation

The Federal Reserve came through with the second rate hike of this tightening cycle, bumping up the Fed Funds rate by 0.5%. It was the biggest interest rate boost by the Fed since 2000. But given the extent of the inflation fight, this hardly seems like a bold, aggressive move. In fact, it was a […]

Has the Fed Already Pricked the Housing Bubble?

The Federal Reserve has raised rates once – a mere 25 basis points (with another hike on the table today). So, it’s just getting started, but has it already popped the housing bubble? It sure looks that way. The question is how long will it take for the air to really start coming out. As […]

Central Banks Added Nearly 84 Tons of Gold to Reserves in Q1

Despite a number of big sales, global central bank gold demand remained brisk as net holdings increased by 83.8 tons in the first quarter of 2022. That more than doubled the 41.2-ton expansion of central bank gold reserves in the last quarter of 2021 but was 29% lower than the first quarter of last year.

Wages Are Up But You’re Worse Off

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Personal Income and Outlays data for March last week. Incomes and consumer spending were both up. The data had mainstream analysts crowing about a strong economy and good news for American consumers. But digging into the data reveals a very different picture.

Silver News: 2021 Silver Demand Explosion and Technical Innovations

Total global silver demand reached its highest level since 2015 last year, surging 19% to 1.05 billion ounces (Boz). There were increases in every key silver demand category. It was the first time since 1997 that all key sectors rose together. This is one of several silver-related stories in the latest edition of Silver News published by the […]

Gold Demand Surges in First Quarter

Gold demand surged to kick off the year, up 34% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. Total demand came in at 1,234 tons in Q1. That was the highest quarterly demand since Q4 2018, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report. Demand in the first quarter of this year was 19% […]

Silver Demand Hit 6-Year High in 2021; Growth Expected to Continue Despite Headwinds

The Silver Institute has released its World Silver Survey 2022 report, providing an overview of what happened in the silver market in 2021 and looking ahead to this year. Even with geopolitical and economic headwinds, the report anticipates further growth in the silver market in 2022.

Americans Spending More, Getting Less and Borrowing More to Pay for It

American consumers are spending more, getting less, and borrowing more to fund this involuntary spending spree. Retail sales in March were 7% higher than they were in the stimulus-fueled March of 2021, but thanks to inflation, they didn’t get as much bang for their buck.