Peter's Blog

Japan’s Slow-Motion Train Wreck

Japan is in the midst of a slow-motion train wreck. The country has a massive national debt and it is starting to feel the pressure of rising interest rates. In his podcast, Peter Schiff talked about the situation in Japan and pointed out some disturbing parallels to what’s happening in the US.

Peter Schiff: The US Isn’t Japan — It’s Argentina!

Does the massive national debt matter? A lot of people don’t think it does, at least not yet. They point to Japan as an example of a country that has a much higher debt-to-GDP ratio and is doing fine. Peter Schiff said they’re looking at the wrong country. The US is more like Argentina than […]

Japanese Go on Gold-Buying Spree as Price Inflation Runs Rampant

With price inflation running rampant in Japan, Japanese households are rushing to buy gold. The sudden surge in demand, along with the devaluation of the yen, has driven the price of gold to record highs in yen terms.

In Surprise Move Bank of Japan Allows Bond Yields to Rise

While most central banks around the world have tightened monetary policy in an attempt to bring price inflation under control, Japan has done the exact opposite. But in a surprise move, the Bank of Japan widened its target range for 10-year Japanese bond yields, effectively raising the interest rate. The move strengthened the yen, put […]

Stimulus Doesn’t Stimulate: The Case of Japan

Last week, Keynesian extraordinaire Paul Krugman called for more fiscal stimulus in the form of a “government investment program.” Mike Maharrey poked fun of him in his Fun on Friday column. But while it might be amusing to crack jokes at the expense of Keynsians and their obsession with both fiscal and monetary stimulus, the […]

US Adds $1.5 Trillion to Debt in 12 Months; Who’s Buying All These Bonds?

Over the past 12 months, the US federal government has added $1.5 trillion to the national debt. As of Jan 30, the debt stood just under the $22 trillion mark at $21.97 trillion, according to the latest Treasury Department data. As WolfStreet put it,  we’re seeing these rapidly increasing levels of debt during “good times when […]

China and Japan Dump More US Debt

China and Japan dumped more US Treasuries in October, even as the federal government continued to run up its debt. Chinese holdings of US Treasuries dropped for the fifth straight month, sinking to the lowest level since May 2017, according to data recently released by the Treasury Department. The total amount of US debt held […]

Who Is Buying US Treasuries?

The Japanese and Chinese aren’t buying US Treasuries. In fact, both countries reduced their holdings in April. According to the US Treasury Department, the Japanese disposed of $12.3 billion in US debt. Meanwhile, Chinese Treasury holdings fell by $5.8 billion. This could be a troubling development for the US government as it scrambles to fund its […]

Who Is Going to Buy All This US Debt?

During a podcast last week, Peter Schiff asked a key question: Who is going to buy all of this US debt? The US Treasury Department plans to auction off around $1.4 trillion in Treasuries this year. And it won’t end there. The department expects that pace of borrowing to continue over the next several years. […]