Here we go again!
Gold and silver both took a tumble yesterday because US and Chinese officials are reportedly going to have a meeting. Hope that this might mean a thaw in the trade war boosted risk sentiment and drove profit-taking in the precious metals markets.
We’ve seen this song and dance before. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about it. He also points out some very interesting Federal Reserve news that nobody in the mainstream has even mentioned.
US manufacturing activity contracted in August, according to the latest data.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI index for August came in at 49.1. Any number under 50 signals a drop in manufacturing. This was the first contraction in three years and the first time the index has dropped below 50 since August 2016. August marked the fifth straight monthly decline.
Meanwhile, IHS Markit PMI hit 50.3, the lowest number since September 2009 – in the aftermath of 2008 crash.
Gold has had a pretty solid month, but silver has been going up like it’s on rocket fuel.
In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey takes a close look at the silver market and what’s going on there. He talks a little trade war, saying that maybe we shouldn’t be talking so much about the trade war. And he also touches on some economic news that came out the week.
Earlier this week, Spencer Schiff wrote an article noting the importance of consumer spending to the US economy and the consequences that will follow if Americans suddenly tighten up their wallets. Schiff isn’t alone in his concern. A mainstream economist sounded a similar warning during a recent CNBC interview.
One day Trump is on Twitter ratcheting up the trade war with China and the next he is pulling back and saying a deal is close. This back-and-forth has been yo-yoing markets for months. Peter Schiff recently appeared on RT Boom Bust to talk about the trade war. He said he doesn’t think there’s much substance to promises of a big trade war win. And even if the trade war is resolved, it’s not going to fix the fundamental problems underlying the US economy.
This week has been relatively quiet in the markets. Gold has drifted up and down as traders wait to see what kind of message Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver during his Jackson Hole speech. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey covers some tidbits of news and speculates about what Powell will say. Then he pivots and talks a little bit about President Trump and the strange economic tightrope that he’s trying to walk.
Last week, the yield curve inverted, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling below the yield on the 2-year for the first time in 12 years. This has historically been a good predictor of recessions. US stock markets sold off on the news, with the Dow shedding 800 points. As Peter Schiff noted in his most recent podcast, the mainstream also suddenly started talking about the possibility of an economic downturn.
As Peter put it, the media has flipped the narrative on Trump.
Markets have been yo-yoing and analysts have been debating what it all means. Peter Schiff appeared on RT Boom Bust on Aug 19 to talk about what’s going on in the global economy and more specifically in the gold market. Peter said now is an ideal time to get into gold.
Peter started out the interview asserting that all of these interest rates that we’re seeing from central banks around the world aren’t going to help the economic situation.
Last week we got the updated federal budget deficit numbers. At $867 billion, the 2019 fiscal year budget shortfall has already eclipsed last year’s deficit of $779 billion.
The out of control spending and spiraling deficits are concerning enough on their own terms, but they become absolutely horrifying when you consider that these budget shortfalls are happening during an economic expansion. You would normally expect numbers like this during a major recession.
That raises an important question: what’s going to happen when the recession hits?
Peter Schiff appeared on Fox Business After the Bell last week after the yield curve inverted and the Dow dove 800 points. Peter said the looming economic disaster for the US will turn into a political disaster for Pres. Trump.
Peter started out the interview asserting that everything the Federal Reserve has done since the 2008 financial crisis was a mistake.
