Stop and pause for a moment and think about what just happened. The Federal Reserve says the US economy is strong, but it just initiated emergency monetary policy last seen during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Something doesn’t add up.
The Fed cut rates 50 basis points on Tuesday. It was the first interest rate move between regularly schedule FMOC meetings since the 2008 financial crisis. The Fed funds rate now stands between 1.0 and 1.25%.
After the worst week since 2008, the stock market rallied on Monday on the hope of central bank stimulus. In his March 2 podcast, Peter Schiff said he doesn’t think the Fed’s easy money can keep the air in the stock market bubble. But the stimulus overdose will likely propel gold to new highs.
As turmoil continues in the markets with stocks selling off due to continued fears over coronavirus and its potential economic impact, Peter Schiff says gold is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do — serving as a safe haven and a store of value.
Stock markets tanked on Monday. The Dow Jones was down over 1031 points. It was the biggest drop in two years for the Dow. The Nasdaq shed 355 points. The S&P500 was down 111.
As stocks dropped, the bond market was red-hot. Prices soared and yields dipped to record lows. Bonds are considered a safe-haven, but in his latest podcast, Peter said US Treasuries aren’t a safe-space. When it’s all said and done, the only safe-haven left standing will be gold.
Gold broke out this week. The yellow metal pushed through the $1,600 level and continued to climb. Conventional wisdom tells us this is all about safe-haven buying due to fear that the coronavirus will stunt global economic growth. That is certainly a factor. But could there be more to it than that? On this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about what he thinks is at the root of this gold breakout. He also gets into the subject of inflation. There’s more out there than the standard government numbers tell us.
In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about coronavirus and the impact that it is having on the markets.
Earlier this month, Peter said he thought the virus was just an excuse for stock market woes. At the time he believed the market was poised to fall anyway. But as it turns out, coronavirus has actually helped the US stock market because it has led central banks to pump even more liquidity into the world financial system.
Jerome Powell went to Capitol Hill this week. During his testimony before a congressional committee, the Fed chair insisted, “There is nothing about this economy that is out of kilter or imbalanced.” In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap Podcast, host Mike Maharrey takes issue with Powell’s assessment and points out some things that are, in fact, way out of kilter.” He also touches on coronavirus and the markets, consumer debt, and Donald Trump.
Gold took a hit on Tuesday but held a key support level and rebounded as the week went on, even as stocks set new records. Why does gold continue to keep showing strength even with all the headwinds? Is it just coronavirus? Or is something else going on? Host Mike Maharrey talks about it in this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast.
The Coronavirus has officially reached the “pandemic” status. It’s a scary word that means the coronavirus has crossed international boundaries. So, what does this mean for the markets?
The spread of coronavirus in China has made markets jittery. Stocks have gone into a slide and gold has pushed up on safe-haven buying. Last week, Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust to talk about it. He said that 2020 may well be a bad year for the stock market, but probably not because of the virus. The real problem is markets are overvalued and the air will eventually come out of the bubble.