Last week Peter appeared on the Futures Radio Show podcast with Anthony Crudele. In their interview, they discuss the factors affecting gold’s price, why the Fed can’t control inflation, and the viability of Bitcoin.
Beneath the sweet surface of our favorite treats lies a bitter reality: inflation has sent cocoa prices soaring to unprecedented heights. Once deemed the food of the gods and now a daily indulgence for millions, chocolate is facing a dramatic upheaval as wholesale cocoa prices have rocketed past $11,000 per ton. Our guest commentator explains why this startling surge is a result of meddling from the Fed, leaving chocolate lovers and manufacturers in a squeeze.
(For our favorite gold chocolate bar, see our Gold Valcambi Combibar)
In this week’s episode, Peter covers the dismal figures released Thursday and Friday, horrible tax policies, and the appalling lack of transparency in our government.
The Comex report last month showed a lot of strength in gold which directly preceded a massive up move for the price of gold. The data is looking similar in silver this month!
JD and Joel unpack Peter’s latest podcast and the economy’s current path toward stagflation. We look at this week’s price action, macroeconomic data, and a quote from Jordan Peterson.
Whenever an election year rolls around, domestic manufacturing becomes a more central theme of discussion. Candidates from both sides, who seem to disagree on almost everything else, never waver in their commitment to auto manufacturers in Detroit and the steel industry. Republicans and Democrats never forget to remind the American public that they will try to keep these specific jobs on American soil. These very tangible and traditional markers of American industry seem to hold an outsize role in the American mind, especially considering that the steel industry, one of the most frequently mentioned industries, only employs 143,000 citizens.
The wizards at the Fed and US Treasury have been forced to acknowledge that their “transitory,” inflation is, in fact, quite “sticky.” And with the inflation elephant now acknowledged by the circus of high finance, Treasury yields keep inching up, recently reaching 4.7% — the highest since November. The Fed is stuck: It needs to raise interest rates to tame inflation and make Treasuries more attractive. But the Fed can’t afford higher rates, with an already-untenable cost to service the existing debt and loan-dependent industries teetering on the brink.
The solution to a problem shouldn’t make the problem worse.
But apparently, California’s policy makers missed that memo.
On April 1st, the state instituted a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, the highest in the US. With California’s absurdly high cost of living, the policy appeared to make life more manageable for low-income residents. Unfortunately, as the adage goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” California’s new minimum wage is poised to hurt the same fast-food workers it aims to help.
Money Supply is a very important indicator. It helps show how tight or loose current monetary conditions are regardless of what the Fed is doing with interest rates. Even if the Fed is tight, if Money Supply is increasing, it has an inflationary effect.
The monetary battle of the 20th century was gold vs. fiat. But the monetary battle of the 21st century will be gold vs. bitcoin. With Wall Street jumping into the game with bitcoin ETFs, a bitcoin halving recently splitting the block reward for miners in half, and both gold and bitcoin hovering near their all-time highs, it’s a great time for a sober look at which asset would come out on top in a genuine, full-blown hyperinflationary financial collapse.
