Sometimes it’s a lot easier to sit down at the table than it is to fold your hand and leave.
Nearly four months after it started, the Federal Reserve continues to run overnight repo operations and it’s unclear when the central bank will actually end these “emergency” measures.
The Fed stepped into the repo markets last September to “unplug” the financial system’s “plumbing” with an injection of cash. It was the first such move since the financial crisis a decade ago. The move stabilized the markets, but months later, it doesn’t appear the Fed has a viable exit strategy.
Gold had a pretty good run in 2019. In fact, it was the best year for the yellow metal in nearly a decade. So what’s in the cards as we rush headlong into the 2020’s? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey looks back at 2019 and highlights some of the things that drove precious metals markets. Then he pivots and looks ahead at 2020 and beyond. Where are we going and what will get us there?
Gold is finishing up 2019 with a bang, pushing back above the psychologically significant $1,500 per ounce this week. Although there are a few trading days left, gold appears set to end the year with a better than 17% gain. In the last Friday Gold Wrap podcast of 2019, host Mike Maharrey takes us through a quick overview of what he considers to be the five biggest stories of the year driving precious metals.
The Federal Reserve is worried about corporate debt, which is ironic given that Fed policies made the corporate debt problem possible.
The Fed’s latest Financial Stability Report issued in November laments the pileup of business debt.
Borrowing by businesses is historically high relative to gross domestic product (GDP), with the most rapid increases in debt concentrated among the riskiest firms amid weak credit standards.”
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker passed away last week. Volker was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, but served most of his term under President Ronald Reagan. Volker was best-known for fighting inflation with interest rate hikes. At the peak, Volker pushed rates all the way to 20%.
Peter talked about Volcker in a recent podcast, noting that he was credited with slaying the inflation monster that today’s Fed seems happy to resurrect.
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Kitco news with Daniela Cambone to talk politics, the economy and the Fed. He said that no matter what Jerome Powell is saying, the Fed central bank isn’t finished with rate cuts.
We have a trade deal! Maybe. Meanwhile, the Fed wrapped up its last FOMC meeting of the year this week and did nothing. But Powell and Company did give us some indication about what we should expect next year. The week’s news played tug-o-war with gold. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey breaks it all down and says there’s a lot to be skeptical about, both with the trade deal and the rhetoric coming out of the Fed.
The Federal Reserve wrapped up its final Federal Open Market Committee meeting of 2019 on Wednesday doing pretty much what was expected — nothing. But in the processing of doing nothing, the central bank said a lot and managed to out-dove expectations.
After cutting interest rates three times in 2019, the FOMC stood pat during its final meeting of the year, holding the interest rate steady at 1.5%.
Stocks have pushed to record highs in recent weeks. If you read the headlines, you’d think it was all about optimism for a trade deal. Or maybe just some general bullishness on the US economy. But Peter Schiff has said that’s not the real reason stocks have continued to climb. In fact, there are a lot of things that should be causing them to go down, but only one thing causing them to go up — the Federal Reserve.
We’ve seen new records in the stock market in recent weeks. The headlines tell us it’s all because of a potential trade deal, but Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey doesn’t buy it. He says it’s really all about Fed money printing. That may juice the stock market, but there’s a downside – inflation. In this episode of the podcast, Mike talks about it along with the week’s gold news.
