Gold just finished Q2 at its highest level in over 8 years, wrapping up its best quarter since 2016. The Fed monetary policy in response to the coronavirus pandemic has put a strong tailwind behind gold. But as host Mike Maharrey details in this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, gold has been on a bull run for quite some time – long before COVID-19 reared its ugly head. Why? And what might this tell us about what’s ahead?
Over the last couple of months, we’ve been arguing that we won’t see a dramatic “v-shaped recovery.” Even if we cure COVID-19, it won’t cure the economy. But the mainstream has remained optimistic. In his podcast Friday, Peter Schiff points out some of the ways the whole v-shaped recovery narrative is falling apart.
Gold staged a solid rally and finally broke above a key resistance level this week. The yellow metal hit an 8-year high on Wednesday and continues to hold above $1,750 an ounce. Meanwhile, we’re suddenly starting to see some mainstream bullishness for gold. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about the economic dynamics in play and highlights some of the mainstream attention suddenly being showered on the yellow metal.
The mainstream generally treats the gold standard as a bygone relic of a primitive past — something Grandpa might remember fondly along with 5 cent eggs and walking to school uphill both ways. But in this modern era of wild monetary policy and unprecedented money printing, even some in the mainstream are starting to think Grandpa may have been a little wiser than we thought.
A recent article in The Economic Times extolled the virtues of the gold standard and advises “make a strategic allocation to gold.”
We have been making the case for weeks that we aren’t heading for a quick recovery. We’ve reported on the number of people of small business owners who don’t think they’ll survive, the increasing number of over-leveraged zombie companies, and the tsunami of defaults and bankruptcies on the horizon. Yes, we have seen some economic numbers that are better than expected, but it’s all a function of a Federal Reserve-induced sugar high. The ugly truth is that given the amount of stimulus that the Federal Reserve and the US government have pumped into the economy, unwinding it all will be mission impossible. All of this certainly raises serious questions about the possibility of a “v-shaped” recovery.
On Friday, the Dow Jones was up around 400 points early in the day, but closed down just over 200 points. Meanwhile, gold had a solid rally that held up. The yellow metal was up about $20 on the day. Could this be a sign of things to come? In his podcast over the weekend, Peter said he thinks it just might be.
I think the action in the stock market and the gold market Friday potentially is telling as to the future course of both markets.
Jerome Powell ventured to Capitol Hill – virtually – to talk to Congress this week. Powell did what he does best – blew a lot of smoke. Meanwhile, the central bank upped its stimulus ante yet again. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharry talks about the impact the Fed is having on the economy, along with the news of the week in the gold market.
Over the last several decades, the Federal Reserve and the US government have almost exclusively directed their policies toward “stimulating” spending. Artificially low interest rates incentivize borrowing and discourage savings.
But spending money isn’t the only thing that makes the economy go around. Savings are crucial and the lack of saving in America has hollowed out the US economy.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. It was classic Fed “open mouth operations” as Powell tried to talk up the central bank’s policies and assure everybody that everything is under control. But is it, really?
Peter Schiff hit some of the highlights of Powell’s testimony during his podcast.
Despite the better than expected employment report last week and constant chatter about a quick economic recovery, the Federal Reserve has no intention of rolling back what Peter Schiff called its “monetary Hail Mary.”
