Last Tuesday, the S&P 500 made a record high as markets anticipated another Fed rate cut. Some analysts say the big risk is that we’re seeing a boost in asset prices but no real uptick in the actual economy. Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust to talk about it. He said investors buying onto all of this Wall Street hype are in for a painful awakening.
Gold and silver are down this week. There was some more hopeful trade war news and stronger than expected economic data that drove markets this week. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey covers it, plus some news that’s being mostly ignored. And he ponders a question: should we be looking at the economic glass as half-empty or half-full — and why?
With debt up to his eyeball, the US consumer seems to be losing confidence in the US economy.
Last month, Spencer Schiff wrote an article warning about declining consumer confidence, writing, “any shift in consumer psychology/behavior could knock a critical support out from under our economy.”
Consumer confidence was much stronger than expected in the latest report that came out Friday. Consumer sentiment jumped to 102.4, well above the 97.5 that was forecast. This was a 15-year high in this University of Michigan index.
In his podcast Friday, Peter Schiff said he thinks the reason consumers are so optimistic is the constant positive rhetoric they are bombarded with. They are constantly told that the economy is booming. But in reality, they are falling for a big con-job.
Every time the folks at the Federal Reserve talk about the “Powell Pause,” they assure us that the US economy is still strong. The president assures us that the US economy is still strong. The pundits on the financial news networks assure us that the US economy is still strong. But the US consumer doesn’t seem to be buying it.
US consumer confidence declined for the fourth month out of five in February, surprising economists who expected an increase in optimism.
Apparently, the American consumer has bought into the notion that everything is great in the economy. Consumer confidence surged to an 18-year high this month and is close to the all-time record.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 138.4, up from 134.7. Analysts expected a dip.
