Peter Schiff recently explained how the Federal Reserve has rigged the US Treasury market. Well, the European Central Bank has taken bond market manipulation to the next level.
According to a Bloomberg report, the ECB is buying bonds to control the yield spread between debt issued by various EU countries. As a result of this central bank mechanization, the spread between the yields on German and Italian bonds has remained “remarkably stable” despite the Italian government teetering on the verge of collapse.
The US government ran the biggest December deficit in history last month and there is no end in sight to the borrowing and spending. President Biden unveiled a new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan this week. So what? Why does it matter? Can’t this “rescue the economy?” Host Mike Maharrey talks about all of the spending and the money printing necessary to support it on this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast.
You may have noticed that the financial media has started talking about inflation. But by and large, it’s not a warning. It’s reassurance. Many analysts are dismissive of any concerns raised about inflationary pressure. They often claim the bond market isn’t signaling inflation. But as Peter Schiff points out in a clip from a recent podcast, the bond market is rigged.
Somewhat lost in the chaos of the DC protests was the fact that Democrats won both Georgia Senate runoff races. That effectively gives the Democrats control of both houses of Congress. In his podcast, Peter Schiff made the case that Congress is the real threat to America, not the protesters who broke into the Capitol building.
So far, the US has escaped negative interest rates as a matter of central bank policy. Back in May, many thought a Fed move to negative rates was a real possibility. Of course, much of the world has operated under negative rates as a matter of policy for years. The European Central Bank (ECB) launched negative rates in June 2014. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced negative rates in January 2016. Both are still maintaining a negative rate policy today.
While the Fed has resisted the temptation of a negative rate policy so far, that doesn’t mean Americans have escaped the reality of below-zero real rates. In fact, the world is awash in negative-yielding debt.
A lot of pundits and analysts insist inflation isn’t a problem because the bond market isn’t signaling any inflation concerns. But in his podcast, Peter Schiff argues that you can’t rely on this bond market to tell you anything. The bond market is broken, thanks to the Federal Reserve. It’s rigged and it’s sending false signals.
We have argued that the Federal Reserve has no exit strategy from this extraordinary monetary policy. In fact, it never could extricate itself from the extraordinary monetary policy it launched during the Great Recession. Today, we’re merely witnessing the same policy on hyperdrive. And there is still no way out.
Low interest rates are a boon to borrowers. Thus the Federal Reserve’s quest to hold interest rates artificially low during the current economic crisis. We’re told easy money will bolster the economy as consumers and businesses take advantage of low rates and spend.
But if you’re trying to save money, this anything but a boon. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to save for retirement in the current interest rate environment. Today, your average Joe is forced to invest in increasingly riskier assets in order to generate enough money to retire on.
Gold and silver got hammered (along with stocks) this week as the dollar strengthened with a sudden bout of risk-off sentiment. Rising numbers of coronavirus cases have ignited fears of new economic restrictions and markets have fretted about the lack of additional stimulus. Gold is at a 2-month low. So, is it time to panic? On this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharry tries to answer that question and looks at all that you have to believe in order to claim the gold bull run is dead.
Gold had another precipitous drop on Wednesday (Sept. 23), falling through the support level at $1,900 to a 2-month low. That has led some to ask – is the gold bull dead?
The concern is understandable but I think it’s too early to declare last rites. In order to believe the gold bull run is over, you have to believe the Federal Reserve is actually going to tighten monetary policy and the dollar is going to remain strong.
That seems rather unbelievable.
