The economy is strong. The American consumer is resilient. Everything is great. At least that’s the mainstream narrative. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey explains why it’s all just an illusion of prosperity. Along the way, he covers the September retail sales data, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech this week, and the recent gold rally.
Problems in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector continue to bubble under the surface. This is a major stress point for US banks and could precipitate the next phase of the financial crisis.
A combination of high interest rates and declining tenancy is putting the squeeze on commercial real estate owners. As a result, banks hold a growing portfolio of delinquent CRE loans.
Global debt rose $10 trillion to a record $397 trillion in the first half of 2023, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
The big increase in debt occurred despite tightening credit conditions, and it is an increasingly worrisome problem because the “free lunch” of artificially low interest rates is over.
The CPI has cooled in recent months, but Americans say they’re still struggling with rising prices and they’re worried about inflation. Why is there this dichotomy between people’s perceptions and the official data?
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Real America with Dan Ball to talk about the economy. He said the problem is the government isn’t being honest about inflation.
Great news! The inflation war is over and we won! At least that’s how Paul Krugman sees it. But he’s playing tricks with the data and making assumptions that are meaningless in the real world. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey dissects Krugman’s claims in light of the September CPI data. He also talks about market reaction to the CPI and shares some interesting gold news from Zimbabwe.
Twenty days.
That’s how long it took the Biden administration to add another half-trillion dollars to the national debt.
Bidenomics certainly requires a lot of borrowing and spending.
The sell-off in precious metals continued as bond yields continued to rise and a strong dollar persisted. In early trade in Europe this morning, gold was $1822, down another $26, unchanged on the year. Silver traded at $21, down $1.17. Comex volumes in both metals declined from good levels, indicating that selling pressure is declining.
The mainstream wasn’t just wrong about inflation in 2020. It was wildly wrong. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey dissects a 2020 video produced by CNBC to show just how wrong they were. He explains why they were wrong and teaches some economics along the way. He also discusses the carnage in the bond market and tells you who is buying gold.
We keep hearing about a “soft landing.” According to government officials, central bankers, and mainstream financial media pundits, the US economy has dodged a recession.
So why are recession warning signs still flashing?
Banks are more vulnerable to the housing market now than they were in 2007.
Most people in the mainstream will scoff at that statement. They’ll tell you that the situation is very different today. After all, we don’t have a big problem in the subprime mortgage market. We’re not seeing a big spike in defaults. That’s true. The problem is different this time. And it’s actually worse.
