Peter's Blog

Where Does the Gold Go?

A few years ago, CNBC commentator Jim Leventhal made a pretty astounding comment. When asked about gold, he said he had no interest in it because gold has no uses as a metal. This is a pretty absurd statement. Gold has multiple uses. And it would probably have even more if it wasn’t so rare […]

Retail Sales Unexpectedly Dropped in May

Retail sales unexpectedly dropped in May, casting doubt on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s “the American consumer is healthy” narrative.

Producer Prices Continue to Rise at Near-Record Pace

Producer prices continue to rise at a near-record pace, further undercutting the notion that we’ve reached “peak inflation.”

Consumer Sentiment at Record Lows as Inflation Empties Wallets

Consumer sentiment plunged to record lows in June. The plummeting consumer sentiment numbers surprised mainstream analysts but they shouldn’t have given Americans are taking a pay cut month after month thanks to red-hot inflation.

Back to Budget Deficits Despite Surging Government Revenue

After running a budget surplus in April thanks to an influx of tax-day tax receipts, the federal government reverted back to running a deficit in May. The budget deficit was $66.22 billion last month, according to the monthly Treasury statement. That raises the current fiscal year deficit to $426.2 billion with four months left to […]

Czech Central Bank Plans to Buy A Lot of Gold

The Czech National Bank is about to go on a gold-buying spree. Incoming CNB Governor Ales Michl said he plans to increase the bank’s gold holdings nearly 10-fold during a recent magazine interview.

Consumer Debt Breaks Record as Americans Up Borrowing to Cope With Inflation

Consumer debt climbed to a new all-time record in April as Americans continue to cope with rapidly rising prices. Total outstanding consumer debt rose by $38 billion in April, reaching a new record of $4.57 trillion, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. Total consumer debt was up 10.1% in April. It was […]

Central Bank Gold Buying Continued in April

After increasing gold holdings by 84 tons in the first quarter of this year, central banks continued to be net gold buyers in April. Globally, central banks added a net 19.4 tons of gold to their holdings in April.

Demand for American Gold Eagles Explodes

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

Consumer Confidence Drops Again

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.