Peter's Blog

National Debt Climbs Over $800 Billion in Just Two Months

The US national debt increased by a staggering $814 billion between Aug. 1 and Oct. 6, according to Treasury Department data. That represents a 4% increase in the debt — in just a little over two months.

Fun on Friday: Silly Keynesians

I saw a tweet this week by Paul Krugman asserting, “What we do have is a persistent problem of weak demand; yes, we have full employment now, but only with extremely low interest rates, which means little ability to respond to the next downturn. This makes a strong case for a big government investment program.” […]

That Seems Less Than Ideal: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Oct. 18, 2019

News of a possible “phase 1 trade deal” and movement toward a resolution of the Brexit fiasco have buoyed stocks and put a lid on silver and gold this week. But positive vibes on these two fronts overshadowed a lot of economic data that came out this week that was less than ideal. It seems […]

Peter Schiff: The Fed Will Try Again But It’s Not Going to Work

“In case the people in this room didn’t know, the financial crisis of 2008, which I had been forecasting for some time, and the Great Recession that ensued, was caused predominantly by the Federal Reserve.” This was the opening line of Peter Schiff’s talk at the Las Vegas MoneyShow. The Fed managed to “rescue” the […]

More Cause for Concern: Retail Sales Tank

We have yet another reason to be concerned about the direction of the US economy. Earlier this month, we reported that the ISM index of national factory activity for September came in under 50 for the second month in a row. This indicates that manufacturing is contracting. The September ISM nonmanufacturing index wasn’t a whole […]

Is the National Debt Really Just Money We Owe to Ourselves?

The national debt continues to spiral upward. It increased by another $1.2 trillion in fiscal year 2019. But Paul Krugman says it’s not that big of a deal. He downplayed the national debt in a tweet, claiming emphatically that “DEBT IS MONEY WE OWE TO OURSELVES.” This encapsulates a common Keynesian argument. Debt can’t really burden […]

Are Americans Close to Maxing Out Their Credit Cards?

Consumers continued to pile on debt in August, according to the latest data released by the Federal Reserve. But credit card debt fell slightly, raising a troubling question: are consumers close to maxing out the plastic? Total consumer credit grew by another $17.9 billion in August. That represents an annualized increase of 5.2% and pushes […]

Gold: An Anchor of Trust

Central banks globally added a net 57.3 tons of gold in August, continuing a gold-buying spree that’s been going on for months. Countries like Russia and China are seeking to minimize exposure to the US dollar and undermine the ability of the US to weaponize the greenback as a foreign policy tool. But there are even […]

Fed Set to Launch “Massive” Bond-Buying Program — In Other Words QE

The Federal Reserve is set to begin what a MarketWatch article called a “massive” bond-buying program. Jerome Powell announced the program last Tuesday and the central bank released more details about the plan on Friday. The Federal Reserve will buy $60 billion in short-term Treasury bills each month. According to a statement, the purchases will […]

Peter Schiff: Trump and the Fed Are Reading Off the Same Script

Stocks took off on Friday on several big news items – most significantly President Trump’s announcement that the US and China have worked out phase one of a trade deal. In his podcast, Peter broke down the news. He also made an interesting observation: Trump and the Federal Reserve seem to be reading off the […]