Peter’s Blog

French markets have found some relief after the first round of its latest election, with stocks recovering somewhat and bond yields falling after reaching a 12-year high. But no matter which side wins in France, the market is afraid that an increase in unsustainable spending could be the common denominator. 

Central bank gold buying has been a significant factor in the yellow metal’s spectacular run-up to new record highs. But with its recent small correction downward, it’s a good time to look at which central banks are selling — and why.

Peter recently appeared on the Bald Guy Money show for a conversation on gold’s role in American and global politics, the influence of the BRICS coalition on metals markets, and, as always these days, the disastrous monetary policy coming out of the Fed. 

Cocoa prices have dumped since rocketing to a dramatic peak last month as an El Nino cycle winds down and traders rush out of the illiquid market. For now, depreciating fiat currencies are still keeping the cocoa price still far above its 2023 levels. Coffee has had a similar rise and subsequent correction — but now, inflation and other factors are conspiring to […]

Decades of negative interest rate policy in Japan have ended. That could mean the end of the $20 trillion “yen carry trade,” once one of the most popular trades on foreign exchange markets, and a chain reaction in the global economy. The yen carry trade is when investors borrow yen to buy assets denominated in […]

While the total annihilation of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore probably isn’t a “Black Swan” big enough to trigger a global collapse, it adds potent fuel to several fires in an already fragile global economy.