One of the biggest enduring economic myths is the notion that the minimum wage laws only help workers and have no real negative effects. The fallacy inherent in this line of thinking becomes immediately clear if we simply propose a $1,000 per hour minimum wage. After all, if $15 is good, $1,000 would be fantastic, right?
Of course, nobody would pay somebody $1,000 per hour to perform a low-skill task. It’s obviously unaffordable. A $15 per hour minimum is just as unaffordable.
The bulls are running down Wall Street, but are bears lurking just around the corner? The mainstream doesn’t think so, but Peter Schiff does.
The Dow Jones climbed nearly 400 points Thursday after the Chinese announced a willingness to resume trade talks with the United States. No agenda was set, but the mere prospect of progress injected a shot of optimism in the market. Walmart also helped drive the surge, rising 10% after it beat earnings expectations.
In his most recent podcast, Peter asked the obvious question: why did the slimmest hope that we could see some resolution in the trade war give the stock market such a big bounce? It’s not like the market tanked because of the trade spat. In fact, everybody expects America to win. It’s the Chinese market that has been killed because of the trade war. It didn’t rally at all based on the prospect of talks
Turkey has been in the headlines over the last few weeks as a currency crisis has rocked that country. But as Peter Schiff pointed out in his most recent podcast, all of the things commentators are frying Turkey over are happening in the US as well.
All of the criticism that is being leveled against Turkey – that their deficits are too big, that they have a current account deficit, they’re keeping interest rates artificially low, they’re keeping interest rates below the rate of inflation – all of that criticism can be applied to the United States.”
We continue to see amazing new technical applications for gold.
Now scientists have used the yellow metal to develop thermal camouflage that can make a person invisible to night vision cameras.
You’ve probably heard about economic troubles in Turkey. But what’s really going on and what caused it?
In simplest terms, Turkey is in the midst of a currency crisis. The value of the lira has dropped to record lows. Year-to-date, the Turkish currency has fallen 45% against the US dollar. The official inflation rate is over 15%, but economics professor Steve Hanke said the real annual inflation measured for today tops out at 101%.
While mainstream pundits and talking heads cluck about great jobs number and amazing economic growth, by and large, they completely ignore the fact that the entire economy is built on giant piles of debt.
In our Friday Gold Wrap podcast last week, Mike Maharrey talked about the fact that the economy is drowning in debt, focusing on ever-increasing consumer debt and government debt. He didn’t even get into corporate debt.
So, just how much debt is really out there? The following bullet points will give you a good birdseye view of the debt stretching from horizon to horizon.
Gold imports into India jumped for the first time in seven months in July as jewelers replenished stocks.
Indian gold purchases surged 44.2% year-on-year to 75 tons.
India ranks as the number two consumer of gold in the world. According to a Reuters report, increased demand, “could support global prices,” which are struggling to hold ground in a strong dollar environment.
Gold has had a tough few months. A dollar rally and rising interest rates have weighed on the yellow metal, driving the price down nearly 8% over the last three months. But as Mike Maharrey pointed out on last week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, gold is on sale right now and that means a buying opportunity. Smart shoppers shop sales. Now may the be the perfect time to buy gold.
Mike isn’t the only one who sees opportunity in the gold market right now. Some people in the mainstream see it too. In fact, a CNBC Trading Nations headline yesterday declared that even though gold is having an “ugly year,” it has led investors to a buying opportunity.
The second quarter GDP number released Friday came in at 4.1%. It represents the fastest rate of growth since 2014. President Trump called the number “amazing,” bragging that, “We’ve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions.”
Peter Schiff wasn’t quite as impressed. In his latest podcast, he said this “peak GDP” is an aberration and it’s setting the stage for a major economic fail.
The International Monetary Fund dissed the dollar in its annual External Sector Report, saying the greenback is overvalued.
According to a Reuters report, the IMF report also said that “nearly half of global current account balances are now excessive, adding to growth risks and trade tensions.”
