Peter's Blog

The Fed: Totally Just Winging It

A 75 basis-point rate hike wasn’t even on the table a month ago. It appears that the central bankers over at the Fed were crawling around under the table because they found a 75-basis point rate hike. The Fed went big at the June FOMC meeting in response to hotter-than-expected May CPI data just a week […]

Playing Darts Wearing a Blindfold: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap June 17, 2022

The Federal Reserve just gave us the biggest interest rate hike since 1994. A month ago, we were told a 75 basis-point hike wasn’t on the table. It almost seems like the central bankers are winging it. Or as Friday Gold Wrap podcast host Mike Maharrey puts it, it’s like they’re playing darts while wearing […]

Retail Sales Unexpectedly Dropped in May

Retail sales unexpectedly dropped in May, casting doubt on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s “the American consumer is healthy” narrative.

Will This Be the Last Move in the Fed’s Inflation Fight?

The Federal Reserve took a more aggressive swing at red-hot inflation at its June FOMC meeting, raising interest rates by 3/4%. It was the biggest hike since 1994. The question is will this be the last swing at inflation?

Ron Paul: Should We “Respect” the Fed?

The Federal Reserve doesn’t have a very good track record. It was wrong about transitory inflation. It was wrong about peak inflation. And it’s almost certainly wrong in thinking the economy is strong enough to withstand tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. But President Joe Biden trusts the Fed. The cornerstone of his inflation-fighting plan […]

Producer Prices Continue to Rise at Near-Record Pace

Producer prices continue to rise at a near-record pace, further undercutting the notion that we’ve reached “peak inflation.”

Consumer Sentiment at Record Lows as Inflation Empties Wallets

Consumer sentiment plunged to record lows in June. The plummeting consumer sentiment numbers surprised mainstream analysts but they shouldn’t have given Americans are taking a pay cut month after month thanks to red-hot inflation.

Peak Inflation Was a Fairytale Just Like Transitory Inflation

Inflation wasn’t transitory. And inflation hasn’t peaked. It’s more like peak inflation was transitory.

CPI Day! SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap June 10, 2022

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for May came out this morning. The projection was for another hot headline number but some relief in core CPI. This would seem to indicate we’ve passed peak inflation. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharey explains why “good news” in the CPI data […]

We Are Hurtling Toward Stagflation

There are a number of signals that the US economy is getting weaker even as inflation gets stronger. In other words, we are hurtling toward stagflation.