Peter's Blog

Credit Card Borrowing Spiked in January Even as Big-Ticket Spending Slowed

In January, retail sales came in much hotter than expected. Now we know how consumers paid for the spending spree. They put it on credit cards. After slowing modestly in December, growth in revolving debt spiked again in January. But a slowdown in non-revolving credit moderated the overall increase in consumer debt. Overall, this signals […]

Jerome Powell Performs Open-Mouth Operations; Markets Tank

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell performed some “open mouth operations” on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Powell talked and the markets freaked out.

Annualized Interest on National Debt Up 75% Since Last Year

Looking at last month’s US Treasury activity, it’s clear that interest expenses are exploding upwards at an unsustainable pace. Annualized interest on the debt increased by $25 billion in a single month.

Solar Energy Production Could Require Most of the Global Silver Reserves by 2050

Silver demand was at record levels in 2022 and there is reason to believe it will continue to run hot over the next several decades. One reason is the rapidly increasing demand for silver in the green energy sector. In fact, an Australian study projects solar cells may use most of the world’s silver reserves […]

Nigerians Not Eager to Embrace Central Bank Digital Currency

Violent protests in Nigeria reveal that getting average people to embrace central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) might be more difficult than government officials would like. Nigerians recently took to the streets to protest a cash shortage caused by government policies adopted in order to push the country into the adoption of its central bank digital […]

Central Bank Gold Buying Takes Up Where It Left Off to Start 2023

Note: This article has been edited with additional data reported by the World Gold Council released after publication. After charting the highest level of net gold purchases on record in 2022, central banks started out 2023 right where they left off. Central banks globally added another net 77 tons to their gold reserves in January, […]

Peter Schiff: All Roads Lead to Hard Landing and Higher Inflation

The markets still seem to believe the Federal Reserve can ratchet price inflation back down to 2% while bringing the economy to a relatively soft landing. In his podcast, Peter Schiff throws cold water on this hopeful narrative. He goes through the economic data that came out last week shows that all roads appear to […]

Three Reasons the Fed Will Lose the Inflation Fight: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap March 3, 2023

Despite the hotter-than-expected CPI data for January, most people still seem confident that the Federal Reserve can win the inflation fight, drive CPI back to 2% in relatively short order, and then return to the easy monetary policy we all have come to expect. Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey does not share this optimism. […]

Ron Paul: Waiters and Waitresses Hit By Double Whammy of Inflation and the Taxman

While price inflation has eased modestly from its peak, Americans are still dealing with rapidly increasing prices, and that is squeezing their pocketbooks. And of course, the pain falls disproportionately on the working poor and people living on fixed incomes. As Ron Paul explains, rising prices and a more aggressive IRS mean servers in the […]

The Fed Is Losing Money; So What?

The Federal Reserve is bleeding money and losses are mounting. So, what does this mean? Is the central bank in danger of going under? Hardly. In fact, losing money isn’t a problem for the Fed at all. But it is a big problem for the US government.