This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon slamming shut the so-called “gold window” and severing the last ties between the dollar and gold.
On Aug. 15, 1971, Nixon ordered Treasury Secretary John Connally to uncouple gold from its fixed $35 price and suspended the ability of foreign banks to directly exchange dollars for gold. Nixon’s order was the end of a path off the gold standard that started during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, and it set the foundation for the massive government spending and inflation we’re dealing with today.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan has been one of the more hawkish Fed members. On Aug 11, he said the Fed should announce a quantitative easing taper in September and begin slowing asset purchases in October. But two weeks later, Kaplan backed off that assertion, saying that with the surge of COVID-19, he was open to adjusting his view. In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” financial analyst Jim Grant explained why the Fed is playing with fire.
After being put on pause due to a coronavirus surge, the recovery of India’s gold market appears to be back on track.
As prices continue to spiral upward and the Federal Reserve maintains its inflationary monetary policy, a lot of people in the mainstream keep talking about inflation as a good thing. Peter Schiff said it seems like they’re trying to soften us up and make us willing to accept higher inflation. But as he explains in this clip from his podcast, these pundits are missing a fundamental truth — no matter how much money the Federal Reserve prints, it can’t print actual stuff.
While there is a lot of talk about the Federal Reserve tapering its asset purchases, no such tapering is actually happening.
In the week ending Aug. 18, the Fed pushed its balance sheet to yet another record with the addition of another $85.4 billion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The balance sheet now stands at a record $8.34 trillion.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Federal Reserve tapering its asset purchases. Peter Schiff talked about it during his podcast, saying even if the Fed does get around to tapering, that doesn’t equate to a legitimately tight monetary policy. Furthermore, any tapering today sows the seeds for its own destruction.
The price of gold and silver can be driven by many variables both technical and fundamental. Fundamental drivers include Fed meetings/speeches, its balance sheet, inflation data, jobs numbers, market risk appetite, etc.
This analysis examines some of the more technical factors driving prices (e.g. Comex OI, Miners price action, technical price action). The CFCT Cots report can show investor positioning but is covered in another analysis.
I have some sobering news for you.
Politicians lie.
No, no, not just the politicians you don’t like. I mean pretty much all of them – with a few rare exceptions. It’s like part of the political DNA.
This week marked the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon slamming shut the “gold window” and cutting the last tether between the dollar and gold. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey explains exactly what Nixon did and the impact of 50 years of monopoly money. He also covers some of the week’s economic data and the release of the Fed’s July minutes.
According to the Federal Reserve, it exists to “stabilize” the economy. Does it though?
Despite inflation coming in hotter than expected month after month this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assures us we need not worry. This surge of inflation is “transitory.” But even if it isn’t we still don’t need to worry. He assures us that if inflation does prove to be significant and “materially” above its 2% goal, the Fed will use its tools to guide inflation back down.
