The EU has announced it will create a special payment channel to circumvent US economic sanctions and facilitate trade with Iran.
Last month, German foreign minister Heiko Maas called for the creation of a new payments system independent of the United States. The announcement Monday sets that plan in motion.
The Dow Jones pushed into record-high territory again late last week. As Peter Schiff pointed out in his latest podcast, Pres. Trump was out there pointing out the record run on Wall Street and claiming responsibility for this bull market. Just turn on Fox News and hardly a segment will go by that somebody isn’t reminding you about how great the economy is. Peter said it reminds him how people were talking up George W. Bush before the Great Recession.
Some people out there in the mainstream are saying now is the time to buy gold.
In recent months, the mainstream investment world has by and large either ignored the yellow metal or outright spurned it. After all, stocks are soaring. The economy is doing “great.” There’s nothing to worry about — at least that’s the mantra. But we’re starting to see a little bullishness for gold out there in the mainstream.
A bill introduced in the US House would eliminate capital gains taxes on gold and silver bullion.
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) introduced HR6790 on Sept. 12. Titled the Monetary Metals Tax Neutrality Act of 2018, the legislation would amend the IRS code to exempt the sale of “refined gold or silver bullion, coins, bars, rounds, or ingots which are valued primarily based on their metal content and not their form,” from capital gains taxes.
If you look at past financial and economic crises, what is the common denominator?
Debt.
That’s why we talk so much about debt on these pages.
Yields have been on the rise this week in the midst of a bond market sell-off.
Two-year borrowing costs hit their highest level in a decade Wednesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury climbed to 2.816%. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield hit a four-month high of 3.07%.
What’s going on here?
The trade war between the US and China escalated again this week. The US slapped an additional $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. The tax starts at 10% and will increase to 25% by the end of the year. China retaliated by announcing another $60 billion in tariffs on US goods.
As Peter Schiff noted in his most recent podcast, people still think the US will win this trade war.
Sept. 15 marked the 10-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.
Many investors undoubtedly remember that day clearly. But as Jim Rickards pointed out in a recent article at the Daily Reckoning, that day was actually the culmination of a long meltdown. Investors should have seen it coming. In fact, they could have seen it coming had they been paying attention.
So, are we in the midst of a similar slow-motion meltdown today?
When the August jobs report came out earlier this month, much was made over the “solid” wage growth. Average hourly wages increased by 2.9% on an annualized basis.
Peter Schiff raised an important question when the report hit the news cycle. Is this wage growth indicative of a growing economy? Or is it simply a sign of inflation?
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
On the one hand, things in the economy look pretty good. The mainstream pundits sure seem to think so. They fill the financial news shows with daily doses of good cheer. But is everything really sunshine and roses? Or should we be holding some opposing ideas in our minds as well?
