Peter's Blog

Treasury Prints Second Largest February Budget Deficit Ever

The Federal Government ran a deficit of -$262B in February. Ignoring the Student Loan forgiveness allocation in September last year, this is the largest monthly budget deficit since July 2021. And it’s the second-largest February deficit ever.

If You Can’t Hold It, It’s Not Really Yours

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank reminds us of a very important truth — if you can’t hold it in your hand, you don’t really own it. That’s why it’s wise to hold at least some of your wealth in hard assets like gold and silver that are in your direct possession […]

Household Survey is 40% Below Headline Number

As discussed last month, it is getting harder to take all the BLS employment data as fact. This month, some of the data is a bit closer in line, but the QECW report seemed to show a big deviation (more below).

A Matter of Control: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap March 10, 2023

There has been a lot of talk about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) lately. Supporters tell you they will provide a safe, secure, convenient alternative to cash. But in this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey digs deeper and explains that CBDCs are actually about more government control. He also talks about […]

Services Surplus Falls 7.3% MoM as January Trade Deficit Rises

The January Trade Deficit saw a slight increase compared to December, coming in at -$68.3B vs -$67.2B in the prior month. After peaking at -$106B in March of last year, the Trade Deficit has returned to a more stable range between -$60B and -$80B.

Annualized Interest on National Debt Up 75% Since Last Year

Looking at last month’s US Treasury activity, it’s clear that interest expenses are exploding upwards at an unsustainable pace. Annualized interest on the debt increased by $25 billion in a single month.

Central Bank Gold Buying Takes Up Where It Left Off to Start 2023

Note: This article has been edited with additional data reported by the World Gold Council released after publication. After charting the highest level of net gold purchases on record in 2022, central banks started out 2023 right where they left off. Central banks globally added another net 77 tons to their gold reserves in January, […]

Three Reasons the Fed Will Lose the Inflation Fight: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap March 3, 2023

Despite the hotter-than-expected CPI data for January, most people still seem confident that the Federal Reserve can win the inflation fight, drive CPI back to 2% in relatively short order, and then return to the easy monetary policy we all have come to expect. Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey does not share this optimism. […]

Money Supply Remains Well Below Trend

The seasonally adjusted money supply in January increased by $31 billion. This was the first increase in the money supply in five months.

Comex Results: Silver Has 60% of March Open Interest Roll in Final Day

This month, the conclusion is going at the top because it can be hard to read through and interpret all the data. In a nutshell, the data is sending mixed signals. Delivery volume is slowly drifting lower, but some of the underlying data is starting to show large deviations from the mean. In particular, silver […]