What’s going on with US banks?
Over the last month, loans outstanding in the Federal Reserve bank bailout program increased by $17.24 billion. It was the second month we’ve seen borrowing from the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) surge. And the pace of borrowing is increasing.
US stocks surged with the promise of interest rate cuts. Then stocks tanked when some Fed officials tried to walk that promise back. Then they surged again when some weak economic data put rate cuts back on the table. As Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey put it, easy money is one heck of a drug! In this episode, he explains the impact of easy money on the economy and the markets, and he speculates about the future.
The US stock market had a potentially significant day on Wednesday. Markets have been rallying on the hope of interest rate cuts in the near future. But Fed officials have been trying to walk back those expectations. Did the central bankers manage to steal the Santa Claus rally? In his podcast, Peter Schiff talks about the recent moves in the stock market.
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Real America with Dan Ball to talk about the state of the US economy. He described it as a disaster and said Bidenomics consists of putting lipstick on a pig.
Two weeks ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it would be “premature” to conclude that monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive. This week, the Fed indicated rate cuts are on tap for next year. What a difference two weeks makes! In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey breaks down this week’s Fed meeting and the status of the inflation fight.
The Federal Reserve just surrendered to inflation.
Fed officials won’t call it a surrender. They’re claiming victory. But surrender is the effect of the policy trajectory laid out by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at its December meeting.
Inflation is dead!
At least that’s what you would think if you listen to government officials and talking heads in the financial media.
So, how is this victory over inflation working out for the average person?
Not so great.
Why do virtually all the mainstream pundits think the Federal Reserve has won the inflation fight?
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking. They want the Fed to win so it can go back to what it does best – creating more inflation with artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing.
Regardless, most of the mainstream punditry hyped the November CPI report as more positive news on the inflation front. The CNBC headline reflected the consensus – inflation “slowed” last month.
Except it really didn’t.
In a recent interview with Forbes, economic commentator and historian Jim Grant warned that we haven’t fully felt the inevitable fallout from the “free money era.”
I think that the consequences of more or less 10 years of proverbially free money are going to play out in the credit markets.”
Most mainstream pundits characterized the November jobs report as a “Goldilocks” report. Job growth was strong enough to support the “soft landing” narrative but not so strong it might scare the Fed into raising interest rates again.
President Joe Biden used the report to boast about his economic achievements. But according to Peter Schiff, Biden doesn’t have anything to boast about. He talked about it during a recent interview on the Capitol Report on NTD News.
