Gold posted a small gain in 2022, and it was one of the best-performing assets of the year. Nevertheless, there is still a perception in the mainstream that gold is dead. But that perception may be changing. In a recent note, Bank of America commodity strategist Michael Widmer said gold will be a “mainstay” in portfolios over the next several years.
With the rate of increase in the CPI slowing, many people in the mainstream think the Federal Reserve is winning the war on inflation. In a recent podcast, Peter Schiff said this is wishful thinking. He said that the Fed is losing the war and it will ultimately surrender to inflation.
Schiff is not alone in his thinking. In a recent interview with The Market NZZ, investment guru Jim Grant argues that we have not seen the last of this inflationary outburst because inflation has become deeply rooted in the global financial system.
Inflation continues to eat up your paycheck.
For the 21st month in a row, average hourly earnings failed to keep up with rising prices.
The CPI data for December buoyed markets and raised hopes that the Federal Reserve is winning its war against inflation. But in his podcast, Peter explained that the Fed isn’t winning the war. It is losing and will ultimately surrender to inflation.
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Dan Bongino’s Unfiltered on Fox News to talk about the economy, inflation, the stock market, the Federal Reserve and investing in 2023. Peter said the recession that everybody denies exists is going to get worse, and so is inflation.
The headline numbers from December’s CPI report give the impression that price inflation is continuing to cool. Markets are giddy at the prospect. But in this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey argues that “cooling” price inflation is most likely transitory and the markets still don’t really understand the Fed’s position. He also gives an overview of gold’s performance in 2022.
Based on the headline numbers, price inflation cooled again in December, boosting market optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to ease off the pedal on its monetary tightening. But this could be setting the stage for more price inflation down the road.
And a deeper look at the data reveals that a lot of inflationary pressure remains despite the optimistic headlines.
Last year was a tough one for investors. In fact, it was the worst year for Wall Street since 2008. The Dow was down about 8.8%. The S&P 500 fell by 19.4%, dropping more than 20% from its high. The Nasdaq took the worst hit, tumbling by 33.1%. Meanwhile, the bond market tanked, bitcoin collapsed, and the air started coming out of the real estate bubble.
Peter Schiff recently did an interview with the Epoch Times. He predicted more pain in 2023, primarily driven by inflation and the Federal Reserve.
Rising consumer debts colliding with rising interest rates is a ticking time bomb.
Over the last several months, consumer debt has climbed at a steep, steady pace as Americans struggle with rising prices. November was no different, with consumers piling on another $27.9 billion in debt.
Despite market headwinds, gold managed to post a small gain in 2022 thanks to a strong rally in December.
Gold gained 3% in the final month of the year, driving the price of the yellow metal to $1,814 an ounce to close out 2022. This represented a 0.4% gain on the year.
