Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared on 60 Minutes last Sunday to reassure us that the US economy is great. There’s nothing to worry about. So, why the sudden reversal in Fed monetary policy? According to Powell, the central bank is just worried about slowing global growth. But as Mike Maharrey discusses in this week’s Friday Gold Wrap, it’s pretty clear the real problems are right here in the good ol’ US of A. Mike also covers the latest in precious metals news, with a focus on silver.
The February jobs report came in significantly below expectations. First quarter GDP estimates are way down. And we’re seeing other numbers that indicate a rotting economic foundation.
But nobody is worried.
In fact, most of the attention continues to be focused on the trade deal as if it is going to push the economy to new heights. In his most recent podcast, Peter dug into some of the numbers and came to the conclusion that most of the analysts and pundits are utterly clueless about what’s really going on.
China added to its official gold reserves for the third straight month in February as the country continues efforts to minimize its exposure to the US dollar.
The People’s Bank of China added 10 tons of gold to its horde last month. It has accumulated an additional 32 tons of the yellow metal since the beginning of the year. According to the Financial Times, at this rate, China will surpass Russia and Kazakhstan as the leading central bank buyers.
Central bankers and politicians think they can run the economy.
They can’t.
In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey digs into some fundamental economic theories that explain why these central planners will always fail, no matter how noble their intentions.
The Oscars are golden.
Literally.
And in keeping with the spirit, Zoe Kravitz made sure her wardrobe matched the occasion. In fact, her wardrobe far outshined good ol’ Oscar.
Jerome Powell went to Capitol Hill this week and continued to preach patience. In other words, the Powell Pause is still firmly in play. In fact, the Fed chair confirmed that balance sheet reduction is a done deal. But why this sudden patience? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, Mike Maharrey talks about it. He also covers the Q4 GDP report, reveals some more bad economic data and reviews gold’s rollercoaster February.
Russia is considering eliminating its value-added tax (VAT) on gold purchases. According to a Russian paper, this could increase gold demand in the country by 50 to 100 tons per year.
Russia currently charges a 20% tax on all gold bar purchases, and investors do not get the tax back when they sell their gold.
Investors are gobbling up American Silver Eagle coins. Sales were so brisk last week that the US Mint temporarily suspended orders when its inventory ran out.
February sales this year have already doubled 2018 levels. As of Feb. 26. the mint had sold 2,157,500 Silver Eagles this month. That compares with 942,500 coins in February 2018. This represents a whopping 118% year-on-year sales increase.
Everybody wants gold. Some people want it so bad that they’re willing to break the law to get it. That’s why we have police. They stop the bad guys.
At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. But don’t miss what I said. Everybody wants gold. Police officers fall into the category of “everybody.” So, it should come as no surprise that every once in a while, you run into a cop willing to break the law to get his hands on some sparkling yellow metal.
This, in fact, happened recently in India.
