The Fed is supposedly about to step into the ring to fight inflation. But all indications are it’s going to be a feckless fight.
We got the February CPI data yesterday. There is some bad news in the report and then there is some really bad news. In this episode, SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Host Mike Maharrey breaks it all down. He also talks about gold’s rollercoaster ride this week in the context of inflation and the Russia-Ukraine situation.
Not too long ago, the national debt pushed above $30 trillion. Today, Uncle Sam is $30.26 trillion in the red. And he’s on the fast track toward $31 trillion.
Today, most people don’t bat an eye at the national debt. But that wasn’t always the case. As David Stockman pointed out there was a great deal of concern about the national debt when he was President Ronald Regan’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Gold pushed above $2,000 an ounce on Tuesday and made a run at the all-time record high. The yellow metal was up $54 on the day, closing at $2,052 despite some selling after it nudged the all-time high. Some of this is clearly safe-haven buying due to the situation in Russia, and a lot of analysts think gold will fall back to earth once that situation resolves. But Peter Schiff doesn’t think so. In his podcast, he explains why gold would be going up even if Russia never invaded Ukraine.
Jerome Powell testified on Capitol Hill last week. He said the central bank plans to hold the course on rate hikes and monetary tightening despite the global chaos caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He also continued to dodge any responsibility for rampant inflation. In fact, he repeated a lie Ben Bernanke told in 2008 and insisted the Fed isn’t monetizing federal government debt because it doesn’t intend to hold those Treasuries forever. But as Peter Schiff said in his podcast, it doesn’t matter what the Fed intends to do. All that matters is what it actually does.
You’re getting less for more every time you pull out your wallet. Inflation is chewing up the average person’s paycheck. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks about the real pain of inflation. He also talks about Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress, the trajectory of monetary policy, the strength of the economy, and he breaks the February jobs report live.
Inflation continues to chew up your paycheck.
While consumer prices rose 0.7% in January, income from all sources, including wages, salaries, interest dividends, rental income, unemployment, Social Security, etc. was essentially flat.
And when adjusted for inflation, real personal income fell by 0.5%.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta Fed cut its GDP estimate for the first quarter of 2022 to zero.
Just a few days ago, the estimate was for 0.6% growth. That was down from 1.3% just a few days before that.
This is not an encouraging trend.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has completely changed the market dynamics. In his podcast, Peter talked about the impact the situation is having on the markets and the global economy. He also looked ahead, saying Russia can now serve as a convenient excuse for the Fed to back off its planned monetary tightening. Of course, that will have consequences of its own.
You’ve probably heard people say inflation is being caused by “greedy corporations.” They back up this increasingly popular narrative with tales of “excessive corporate profits.” In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey busts this myth. He also talks about the wild ride in the gold and silver markets after Russia invaded Ukraine.
