Peter's Blog

“Lower” 3% Inflation Is Still Squeezing Our Wallets

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) cooled in June. Year on year, the CPI increased by 3%. That was trumpeted as great news with some pundits suggesting perhaps 3% is low enough. It’s not.

The Fed Follows Its Script and Hikes Again; What’s Next?

I’ll say this about the Federal Reserve: it tends to follow the script. Everybody expected that the central bank would hike rates at the July FOMC meeting, and that’s exactly what it did. The Fed boosted the federal funds rate another 25 basis points to 5.25 to 5.5%.

Chinese Gold Demand Charts Healthy Increase Through First Half of 2023

After hitting the highest level since 2019 in the first quarter, Chinese gold demand continued on a solid path through Q2. Through the first half of the year, Chinese gold consumption surged by 16%, according to the latest data from the China Gold Association (CGA).

John Hussman: This Stock Market Bubble Will End in Tears

John Hussman predicted the 2000 and 2008 stock market crashes. Now he’s saying the current stock market bubble will “end in tears.” In a recent note, the Hussman Trust president said the S&P 500 needs to plunge 64% in order to “restore run-of-the-mill long-term prospective returns.”

Oklahoma Woman’s Bag of “Junk Silver” Coins Worth More Than 17 Times Face Value

A bag of “junk silver” given to a woman by her father more than 50 years ago is now worth at least five figures. The Oklahoma woman received a bag of 2,000 silver half-dollar coins as a gift back in 1970. While the face value of the coins is just $1,000, the silver alone is […]

Number of US Corporate Defaults Already Bigger Than Last Year

The number of corporate debt defaults in 2023 has already exceeded the total number of defaults last year. According to data from Moody Investment Services, 55 American-based companies defaulted on loans through the first half of 2023. That was a 53% increase over the total number of defaults in 2022.

Reclaiming the Definition of Inflation

People are confused about the definition of inflation. And because they don’t really know what inflation is, they can’t grasp what’s causing it. Or how to fix it. That’s why it’s imperative that we reclaim the meaning of inflation.

Millennials Investing in More Gold Than Boomers or X-ers

Millennials are buying more gold than Boomers or Gen-X, according to a recent survey. But there’s a catch. Millennials are also more likely to invest in paper gold instead of physical metal.

Fissures in the Economy: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap July 21, 2023

Janet Yellen recently said she doesn’t think the US economy will slip into a recession. Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey explains why he doesn’t think we should put a lot of stock on Janet’s prognostications, and he goes on to point out some major fissures in the economy and financial system that are opening […]

How Do You Get Pure Gold Out of Ore?

If you buy a gold bar or gold coin, you get beautiful, shiny metal. Of course, gold doesn’t come out of the ground that way. Gold ore basically looks like — well — a rock. In order to extract pure gold, refiners put the ore through a multi-step process.