Peter's Blog

War on Cash: Chinese Digital Currency Gets a Boost

Last summer, the Chinese government launched a pilot program for a digital version of the yuan. The virtual currency ups the ante in the war on cash and creates the potential for the government to track and even control consumer spending. Last week, the digital yuan got a boost when China’s biggest online retailer announced […]

Solar Energy Could Power Silver Higher

Saxo Bank projects silver will soar to a record $50 an ounce in 2021, powered by loose Federal Reserve monetary policy and a weak dollar, and turbocharged by surging demand for the white metal in the solar energy sector.

The Pernicious Effects of Student Loan Forgiveness

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently suggested that as one of his first acts as president, Joe Biden should wipe out $50,000 of student loan debt for every borrower by executive order. But what kind of impact would this have on the US economy? It would certainly benefit a lot of people. But somebody would […]

Silver Jewelry Demand Expected to Rebound Sharply in 2021

Demand for silver jewelry is expected to rebound sharply in 2021, according to a report released by the Silver Institute. The COVID-19 pandemic crushed silver jewelry demand this year. The economic slowdown, coupled with record silver prices in India and higher US dollar prices, is expected to drive a 23% decline in silver jewelry demand […]

November Jobs Report Reveals Signs of Trouble

When unemployment began to quickly shrink over the summer as governments loosened up on the economic lockdowns in response to COVID-19, everybody got giddy and assumed we were in for a quick recovery. But we’ve been saying that the quick turnaround was an illusion and that the lockdowns caused deep wounds in the labor market. […]

Inflation Eats Up Social Security Benefits

A lot of people have a vague sense that too much inflation might be a bad thing. But in a world where central banks and governments promote and implement policies intended to increase inflation by 2% annually, most people don’t seem to really understand just how much inflation erodes their purchasing power over time. After […]

Central Banks Add Nearly 23 Tons of Gold to Reserves

After two months of net global declines in gold holdings, central banks became net buyers again in October. Gold-buying by central banks has slowed from the record pace we saw in 2018 and 2019, but many countries continue to load up on the yellow metal. In October, central banks added a net 22.8 tons of […]

Money Supply (Inflation) Continues to Grow at Torrid Pace

The money supply continues to grow at a torrid rate. Based on the “true” or Rothbard-Salerno money supply measure (TMS), the money supply grew by 37.08% year-on-year in October. That was down just slightly from September’s record rate of 37.54%.

Fed Would Need to Double Quantitative Easing to Keep Pace With US Debt

The US government is increasingly relying on the Federal Reserve to prop up the Treasury market and absorb the trillions of dollars in bonds it’s issuing in order to fund its massive budget deficits. The Fed now holds a record 16.5% of US debt. And it’s going to have to buy trillions of dollars of […]

17 Million Americans Behind on Mortgage or Rent Payments

Even as market mania continues over hopes for a coronavirus vaccine, the economic devastation caused by the government response to the pandemic continues to ravage the economy.  Seventeen million households are behind on rent or mortgage payments, and nearly 6 million Americans say they are at risk of eviction in the next few months.