Peter's Blog

Gold’s Record Week! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Aug. 9, 2019

The price of gold surged this week, breaking all-time records in a number of currencies. It also did pretty well in dollar terms, hitting six-year highs and pushing above the key $1,500 level. Meanwhile, silver had its best single day in over three years. What drove this week’s precious metals rally? And can we expect […]

Who’s Gonna Save Us? SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap 04.05.19

In this week’s Friday Gold Wrap, Mike Maharrey covers some more bad signs in the economy, including rising oil prices, an unexpected drop in retail sales and a surge in negative-yielding government bonds. At best, it looks like the economy is slowing down. Or it could be the prelude to the next crisis. This raises […]

Negative Yielding Government Debt Surges to Over $10 Trillion

Last week we reported that the yield curve on US Treasurys had inverted after the yield on the 10-year fell below the yield on 3-year bonds for the first time since 2007 – the cusp of the Great Recession. This has historically been an early-warning sign signaling a recession. Now we have some more bad […]

The US Government Has Spent Itself Inbetween a Rock and a Hard Place

As we pointed out in an article last week, the US federal government has added $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the last 12 months. As a result, the US Treasury Department is flooding the market with bonds. Meanwhile, the biggest buyers of US debt – China, Japan and the Federal Reserve – are […]

Treasury Department Ups January-March Borrowing Estimate Another $8 Billion

The government shutdown apparently didn’t save Uncle Sam any money. The US Treasury Department said it will borrow about $8 billion more than originally estimated in the first quarter of 2019 as deficits continue to spiral upward. According to new Treasury Department projections, the US government will issue $365 billion through credit markets in the […]

US Debt ‘Out the Wazoo’ as China and Japan Sell Off Treasuries

The US national debt increased by $1.27 trillion in fiscal 2018. If you expected the pace of borrowing to slow in fiscal 2019, you’ll be disappointed. In just the first 11 business days of the new fiscal year, the US government added another $138 billion of debt to the total. That brings the total national […]

Tripping Down the Primrose Path to Ruin: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap 10.05.18

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.

The Federal Debt Spiral

Death-spiral — The downward, corkscrew-motion of a disabled aircraft which is unrecoverably headed for a crash. The US federal government may well be in a death spiral  – or perhaps we should call it a debt-spiral. 

US Treasury Yields Hit Seven Year High; Rising Interest Rates Could Be Bad News in Debt-Ridden Economy

Interest rates are climbing quickly. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury hit the highest level since 2011 in the midst of a massive bond sell-off Wednesday. The selloff spread across the globe on Thursday morning. ZeroHedge called the spike in yields a “monster move.”

Bond Yields Climbing: Could the Chinese Weaponize US Debt?

Yields have been on the rise this week in the midst of a bond market sell-off. Two-year borrowing costs hit their highest level in a decade Wednesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury climbed to 2.816%. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield hit a four-month high of 3.07%. What’s going on here?