Peter's Blog

After a Decade of Monetary Stimulus, Germany on Cusp of Recession

Germany appears to be on the cusp of a technical recession. Production in Germany fell by 1.9% in November. Analysts had expected a 0.3% gain. The German statistical agency Destatis also revised October to a 0.8% decline. It was the third straight month of declines. As WolfStreet put it, “This is embarrassing in the land […]

Gold Outperformed S&P 500 in 2018

2018 ended up as the worst year for US stocks in a decade. And last month ranked as the worst December on Wall Street since 1938. But if you owned gold, things weren’t quite as painful for you as they were for investors without any of the yellow metal. While stocks sagged, gold rallied. In […]

Peter Schiff: Jerome Powell Goes Uber-Dove, A Beautiful Environment for Gold

Last week, we saw more huge swings in US stock markets. On Thursday, stocks fell sharply, but they recaptured all the losses on Friday in the wake optimism about trade talks between the US and China,  of a strong December jobs report, and “dovish” comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Peter Schiff hit on all […]

Russia Continues to Add Gold to Its Reserves; Seeks to Minimize Dollar Exposure

Russia added another 36.6 tons of gold to its reserves in November, according to the latest data released by the World Gold Council. This follows on the heels of a 29.9-ton increase to its hoard in October and a 37.8-ton increase in September.

Silver News: Industrial Demand Remains Strong and Technological Innovations

Industrial demand for silver remains strong, particularly in electronic and electrical applications. The Silver Institute highlighted the growing use of silver in electronics along with a number of technological innovations utilizing the white metal in the latest edition of Silver News.

Global Debt at Record Levels

What happens when central banks push interest rates to zero – in some cases below zero – and hold them there for nearly a decade? You get debt. Lots and lots of debt. Record levels of debt, in fact.

Pending Home Sales Tank in November

Pending home sales hit the lowest level in nearly five years in November, a sign that the US housing market will continue to get uglier in the near future. Not too long ago, we reported that the air was starting to come out of housing bubble 2.0. As just one example, home sales in California hit […]

What Did European Central Bank Quantitative Easing Accomplish? Not Much

We often criticize the Federal Reserve for its three rounds of quantitative easing. Coupled with artificially low interest rates, Fed QE stimulus — essentially money creation –pumped up all kinds of asset bubbles. Now that the US central bank is trying to tighten, we’re beginning to see the air seep out of those bubbles. But […]

Student Debt Bubble: 43% of Loans “In Distress”

Student loan debt has grown to over $1.5 trillion. And that just accounts for loans held by Federal Student Aid. It doesn’t include private loans. Meanwhile, the Department of Education says 43% of those government-backed loans are considered “in distress.” In a speech last month, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos put the current level of student […]

Merry Christmas from Uncle Sam — You Got More Debt!

Between Christmas 2017 and Christmas 2018, the US government added a staggering $1,370,760,684,441.54 to the national debt, according to Treasury Department figures. If you split that up between all American, your share of Uncle Sam’s 2018 spending spree comes to about $4,178.10. Merry Christmas! You’re welcome.