When I first started writing professionally, one of my mentors offered me some sage advice – never read the comments.
I’ve not been particularly successful in following that advice much to my sanity’s consternation. Because I’ll tell you what – the comment section can be a brutal place.
Jerome Powell was on Capitol Hill this week (at least virtually) to talk to Congress. During his two days of testimony, the Fed chair insisted that there is no inflation. In fact, he claimed it will take years for the central bank to reach its 2% target. SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast host Mike Maharrey says Powell is lying. But if you listen closely and read between the lines, you can dig a bit of truth out from the lies.
The Federal Reserve has created trillions of dollars out of thin air and injected it into the economy over the last year. As a result, the money supply has grown at a record pace. This is by definition inflation. As Peter Schiff has pointed out in recent weeks, signs that this inflation is finding its way into prices are all around us. But mainstream economists tell us we really don’t have to worry about the massive increase in the money supply because the velocity of money is so low. This is simply the number of times a dollar changes hands in a given amount of time. Conventional wisdom holds that as long as the money velocity remains low, the central bank can increase the money supply without any significant corresponding increase in price inflation. But as economist Frank Shostak shows, the conventional wisdom doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Interest rates continue to rise. Gold continues to languish. The stock market bubble continues to inflate. In his podcast, Peter Schiff argues that investors are reading the tea leaves all wrong. They think rising rates are going to force the Fed to tighten monetary policy sooner than expected. But Peter says there is a reality out there that nobody wants to acknowledge.
Some policy shifts recently announced by the Indian government in its Union Budget will likely have a positive impact on the country’s gold market. India ranks as the second-largest gold-consuming country in the world, second only behind China.
The three key policy changes that will likely affect the gold market are:
The Federal Reserve expanded its record holdings of US Treasuries in the fourth quarter of 2020 as it continued monetizing the massive federal debt.
The Federal Reserve added another $253 billion to its Treasury holdings in Q4 according to the Fed’s Treasury International Capital data released on Feb. 16. That brought the central bank’s US bond holdings to $4.7 trillion. The Federal Reserve now holds a record 17.5% of all US debt.
The Federal Reserve increased the money supply at a record rate in 2020. And a move recently announced by the US Treasury Department will mean even more money flooding into the marketplace. In other words, another tidal wave of inflation.
Is Jerome Powell the most dovish Fed chair yet?
Peter Schiff said he wasn’t when he first took the position and was raising interest rates. But he is now. The minutes from the January FOMC meeting released last week bear this out.
“We’re all doves now. That is the problem, the Fed gets progressively more dovish,” Peter said in a recent podcast.
A bill introduced in the Kansas House would recognize gold and silver specie as legal tender and repeal all taxes levied on it. The legislation would pave the way for Kansans to use gold and silver in everyday transactions, a foundational step for the people to undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money.
After three straight months of sagging retail sales, American consumers flush with stimulus money went on a spending spree last month. Retail sales surged 5.3% to start the year, significantly beating expectations. In his podcast, Peter Schiff called it Christmas in January.
