Peter's Blog

Fun on Friday: Going for Olympic — Silver?

Have you been watching the Olympics? I’ve always loved the Olympic Games. There’s always so much drama as the best athletes in the world compete for gold. But did you know they are mostly competing for silver? True story. There is very little gold in an Olympic gold medal.

Fed Balance Sheet July 2021: 143B Added

The Federal Reserve has three primary tools to conduct Monetary Policy: reserve requirements, the discount rate, and open market operations (Quantitative Easing). Open market operations are how the Fed uses its balance sheet to provide liquidity to the market. More details can be found here. The Fed defines Open Market Operations as:

All You Do to Me Is Talk Talk! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap July 30, 2021

The Federal Reserve held its July meeting this week. Once again, it didn’t do anything. But there was certainly plenty of talk to dissect. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey does just that with some analysis of the messaging coming out of the Fed meeting, along with a look at […]

It’s Game Over if the Markets Call the Fed’s Bluff

The Federal Reserve insists inflation is “transitory” and the economy is making “progress.” Yet, it continues with the extraordinary monetary policy it launched at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, we’re seeing all kinds of data hinting that the economy may not be as great as advertised. Despite this, and even as prices continue […]

A Whole Lot of Talk, No Action at the Latest Fed Meeting

The Federal Reserve wrapped up its July meeting on Wednesday. Once again, there was a whole lot of talk and no action. The Fed kept interest rates at zero. The Fed kept its quantitative easing program rolling. The Fed didn’t do anything. But the Fed had plenty to say.

Money Supply July 2021: Growth Rate Sees Massive Drop

M2 Money Supply is measured by the Federal Reserve to calculate the amount of Money in the financial system. The Fed defines M2 as: Seasonally adjusted M2 is constructed by summing savings deposits (before May 2020), small-denomination time deposits, and retail MMFs, each seasonally adjusted separately, and adding this result to seasonally adjusted M1. Historically, […]

India Gold Market Shows Signs of Life as COVID Second Wave Eases

India ranks as the second-largest gold-consuming country in the world, second only behind China, but demand has languished for the last couple of years. The pandemic crushed demand, particularly for gold jewelry, but record-high gold prices in rupee terms and government policy put a drag on the gold market even before COVID-19. There were signs of […]

Another Fed Balance Sheet Record; Where’s the Exit Door?

For months, the markets have anticipated the Fed tightening monetary policy in order to take on rising inflation. At the June FOMC meeting, the central bank even hinted that it might start raising interest rates in 2023 instead of 2024, and the central bankers apparently talked about talking about tapering their quantitative easing bond-buying program. […]

Fiat Money, Deception and Lies

Inflation continues to run rampant, eroding our purchasing power even as policymakers continue to tell us there’s nothing to worry about. The US government continues to run up unfathomable levels of debt. We continue to endure a repeating cycle of booms and busts as Fed and US government policies blow up bubbles that inevitably pop. […]

Russia Goes to War With Inflation

While the Federal Reserve continues to downplay inflation in the US, insisting that it is “transitory,” the Bank of Russia has gone to war with rising prices. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina says she sees “persistent factors” to inflation, and on Friday, the Russian Central bank hiked interest rates by 100 basis points to […]