Stock markets have been getting hammered, ostensibly because of the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Peter Schiff has been saying this isn’t really about the virus. It was the pin that pricked the bubble. If it wasn’t coronavirus, it would have been something else.
Regardless, the Fed hit the panic button last week and slashed interest rates by half a percent. Peter has described this as throwing gasoline on a fire. In other words, the central bank is exacerbating the problem.
Government officials and central bankers are in full-blown panic mode.
Stocks crashed again Monday. The Dow Jones was down over 2,000 points, a 7.8% drop. It was the 11th biggest percentage drop in history. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also down over 7%.
This time oil was the apparent catalyst for the selloff as Saudi Arabia and Russia launched a full-blown price war. But as always, the apparent cause and the underlying cause are two different things.
Last week was a rollercoaster ride on Wall Street. In the midst of market madness, Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust to talk about a range of subjects from the Fed’s move to cut rates, to coronavirus, to the impact of Super Tuesday and presidential politics on the markets, to government ineptitude.
He started out the interview reiterating a point he’s made over and over again over the last few months. This market is all about the Fed and it’s always been all about the Fed.
It’s been a roller-coaster ride on Wall Steet. Stocks whipsawed up and down — mostly down. Gold dipped and then rebounded. And the Fed cut rates in a move that looked an awful lot like a replay of 2008. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey gives an overview of the topsy-turvy week, and tries to make sense out of what’s going on and where it might lead us.
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.
Last week, we told you about the rising level of subprime auto loan delinquencies. Well, there is a similar thing happening in the subprime credit card market.
Is this the proverbial canary in a coal mine?
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.
Last week, Peter Schiff gave a speech at the Orlando Money Show and made the case that all the hype about the greatest economy in history is just that – hype. Nobody should be taking credit for the economy. We should be asking who is to blame.
Macy’s department store has announced plans to close 125 stores and cut around 2,000 corporate employees. Along with the store closures, the company will shutter its Cincinnati headquarters and tech offices in San Francisco.
Even with the cuts, sales projections for the next three years “look abysmal.” According to CNBC, same-store sales, on an owned plus licensed basis, are forecast to be down 1% to flat.
