Peter's Blog

Trump’s China-Sanctions Madness Imperils the Dollar

Earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin threatened China, saying the US would “put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the US and international dollar system” if they don’t go along with the most recent round of sanctions slapped on North Korea. We argued that the threat may be meaningful, but it also might […]

India’s Appetite for Silver

Indians love gold. Despite rising prices, a tax increase, and government attempts to tighten regulation of the jewelry industry, gold imports into the country nearly tripled year-on-year in August. India ranks as the second largest gold consuming country in the world, trailing only China. But gold isn’t the only precious metal Indians covet. They also buy […]

Trump Tax Plan, Obamacare & Gold Fundamentals: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Podcast Sept. 29, 2017

The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Fun on Friday: He Put Gold Where???

A few Fridays back, I shared some of the innovative ways people have come up with to smuggle gold. Like I said in that article, gold smuggling is a very lucrative business. People want gold, and they’ll go to great lengths to have it. But smuggling isn’t as easy as you might think, and people have put […]

Questions Remain as the Fed Finally Begins to Reverse QE

Last week, Janet Yellen announced the Federal Reserve will begin the much anticipated “tapering” of its massive balance sheet. The Fed chair also hinted another interest rate hike is in the works. After the most recent FOMC meeting, we raised the question: Is this a viable path forward, or is the central bank playing a game […]

Why Is the Retail Sector Struggling? People Are Broke – Especially Millennials

When we reported on the Toys R Us bankruptcy, we argued that it wasn’t just about shifting shopping patterns away from brick and mortar to online companies. A recent article on TechCo complaining that millennials are broke backs up our assertion.

The World Is Creeping Toward De-Dollarization

Earlier this month, we reported a move by China that could foreshadow the end of the US dollar as the world reserve currency. The Chinese announced the launch of a gold-backed, yuan-denominated oil futures contract. The move potentially creates a way for oil exporters to circumvent US dollar denominated benchmarks by trading in yuan. The contracts […]

Mortgage Lenders Loosening Credit Standards as Home Prices Spiral Upward

Remember back when mortgage lenders loosened credit standards making it easier to get a loan and blew up a giant housing bubble? That’s happening again. According to a report released by Fannie Mae, lenders facing lower profit margins are trying to expand the borrower pool. Facing constrained mortgage demand and a negative profit margin outlook, […]

Can Republicans in Congress Get Anything Done?

Obamacare repeal 3.0 went down in flames Tuesday. According to Bloomberg, opposition from three Republican Senators derailed the latest attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Leaders decided the Senate won’t vote before Saturday’s deadline to use a fast-track procedure to keep Democrats from blocking a GOP-only bill. On Monday, Republican Senator Susan Collins of […]

World Gold Council Chairman Says We May Have Hit Peak Gold

During an interview at the Denver Gold Forum, the chairman of the World Gold Council said he thinks the world may have reached peak gold. Peak gold means the amount of gold mined out of the earth will begin to shrink every year, rather than increase, as it has done pretty consistently since the 1970s. […]