Peter's Blog

Chinese Gold Imports Hit Highest Level Since 2018

China imported 1,343 tons of gold in 2022, the highest import level since 2018. Total gold imports for the year were up 64% over 2021. China ranks as the world’s biggest gold consumer.

Budget Deficit YoY: Revenues Fall as Expenses Rise

The Federal Government ran a deficit of -$39B in January. While that may not seem like much, it looks worse when compared to the average January.

History Rhymes: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Feb. 10, 2023

You’ve probably heard the saying that history might not repeat, but it often rhymes. If that’s true, looking back at the runup to the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession should cause concern. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey looks at some of the parallels between then and now. […]

Bill Introduced in Wisconsin House Would Repeal Sales Tax on Gold and Silver Bullion

A bill introduced in the Wisconsin Senate would create a state sales tax exemption on the sale of gold and silver bullion. By effectively repealing the sales tax, the bill would relieve some of the tax burden on investors, and take a step toward treating precious metal bullion as money instead of a commodity.

The Treasury Begins Extraordinary Measures (again)

Despite hitting the debt ceiling, the US Treasury managed to add $35 billion in new debt during January. The Treasury has employed extraordinary measures, including exchanging Non-Marketable (e.g., Government employee retirement funds) and other forms of debt for short-term Bills. The balance on Bills grew by $241 billion which was the largest single-month growth since […]

2022 Trade Deficit Signals Inflation Closer to 15%

The December Trade Deficit increased after a major drop in November. The total came in at $67B which was 10% greater than November’s $61B, but still well below the 6-month high from October of $77B. It is also below the $79B Trade Deficit from December 2021.

Peter Schiff: Risk On; Economic Understanding Off

We saw a big rotation into risk assets after last week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Then we had another big shock to the markets when the non-farm payroll report came out much stronger than expected. In his podcast, Peter Schiff broke down the market reaction to last week’s events and reveals that while risk was on, […]

Central Bank Gold Reserves Chart Biggest Increase Since 1950 in 2022

Central banks closed out 2022 with reported net purchases of 28 tons of gold in December. Including large unreported purchases, this brought total central bank gold buying in 2022 to 1,136 tons. It was the highest level of net purchases on record dating back to 1950, and the 13th straight year of net central bank […]

Is It Time to Drop the “L” in the BLS?

By all measures, the latest job report absolutely blasted past expectations with one of the biggest upside surprises in recent memory. The current month came in at 517,000 jobs created. But even that massive figure was beaten by the latest Household Survey which showed 894k jobs created in January.

Do You Believe Your Eyes or Your Ears? SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Feb. 3, 2023

Do you believe your eyes? Or do you believe your ears? That’s the dilemma you face as you try to make sense of the latest Federal Reserve meeting and Jerome Powell’s messaging. It’s also a question to ask yourself if you’re evaluating the performance of gold over the last year. In this episode of the […]