Peter's Blog

Foreign Share of US Debt Plunging; Fed Picking Up the Slack

Over the last year, the US government had borrowed over $4.2 trillion. The national debt now stands well above $27 trillion. There is no end in sight to the borrowing and spending and that raises a significant question: who is going to buy all of the bonds necessary to finance the government spending machine? Not […]

The Fed Now Holds a Record Percentage of US Debt

The US government has borrowed $4.2 trillion in the last 12 months, pushing the total national debt to over $27 trillion. In order for Uncle Sam to borrow, somebody has to lend. So, who is buying all of these government bonds? Foreign and domestic investors, commercial banks and US government entities all buy US debt, […]

US Government Runs Biggest October Budget Deficit in History

If you thought maybe the federal government would try to rein in the spending after running a recorded budget deficit of $3.13 trillion in fiscal 2020, you were sorely disappointed. Uncle Sam has not kicked his spending habit. October was the first month of FY 2021 and the federal government kicked off the year with […]

There’s No Immunity from the Fed: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Nov. 13, 2020

Gold and silver sold off big and the Dow surged Monday on the announcement the Pfizer had successful coronavirus vaccine trials. But Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey says investors should maybe tap the brakes on thinking that a coronavirus vaccine is a cure-all. In this episode, the looks a little deeper at the long-term […]

Who Will Fix The National Debt? It Looks Like Nobody

The FY2020 budget deficit came in at $3.13 trillion. At some point, the US government will have to reckon with the debt and spending. But according to recent analysis from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget, neither Trump nor Biden appear prepared to do so. In fact, its analysis shows Trump would only be […]

Where Are the Gold Bulls? SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Oct. 23, 2020

Gold has been trading sideways for several weeks. But there are all kinds of reasons to be bullish on the yellow metal. So why isn’t the price of gold rising faster? Where are the gold bulls? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey tries to answer that question and discusses […]

2020 Budget Deficit Comes In at a Cool $3.13 Trillion

The fiscal 2020 budget shortfall totaled $3.13 trillion as Uncle Sam added another $124.6 billion to the deficit in September, according to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement. That more than doubles the previous record deficit of $1.4 trillion set in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession.

What Is the Retail Mess Telling Us? SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Oct. 9, 2020

Regal Cinemas shut down all of its US theaters this week. The company said the closure is temporary, but it reveals the deeper strain in the retail sector. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey digs deeper into the retail mess and talks about what it is telling us about […]

Staggering April Budget Deficit Just the Tip of the Iceberg

The April federal budget deficit came in at a staggering $738 billion as government coronavirus stimulus began flowing through the pipelines and revenue dipped due to the government lockdowns.

The New Normal: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap May 8, 2020

People keep talking about the “new normal” we’ll all have to adjust to as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic. So, what does that mean for the economy? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey looks ahead at the new normal, the prospects of an economic recovery and speculates that […]