It is often said that perception is reality. Politicians spend a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to shape perceptions. So, how does the average American perceive the US economy? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about economic perceptions – both those the politicians are trying to create and those actually held by American consumers.
Despite an inflationary freight train, gold struggled to gain ground in 2021 as the markets fixated on the Federal Reserve and the possibility of tighter monetary policy to fight inflation. Will gold continue to fight headwinds in 2022 as the Fed launches its “inflation fight,” raises rates and possibly begins to shrink its balance sheet? Or could gold shine in 2022 despite the Fed’s feckless inflation fight?
With 2021 now in the rear-view mirror, I believe that future financial historians may regard it as the year of peak speculation.
While the history of American markets is littered with periods of irrational exuberance, none of those episodes can really match the current market for outright delusion and the blatant disregard for basic investment discipline.
December gave us another big jump in consumer prices. But despite a lot of talk about an inflation war, accommodative monetary policy remains in play. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey breaks down the CPI data, Jerome Powell’s Senate testimony, and Joe Biden’s plan to fix rising meat prices. That story has a fun plot twist.
Inflation in the US is at historically high levels.
So, why hasn’t gold taken off?
We hear this question over and over again. In this video, Peter Schiff answers this question and explains why the markets will eventually wake up to their misperception.
The Federal Reserve released the minutes from the December FOMC meeting this week. They were even more hawkish than expected. That sparked a big taper tantrum in the markets. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey gives an overview of the minutes and then asks seven poignant questions they raise that aren’t being asked by the mainstream.
I love exploring data to try and understand complex situations. My career has mainly been in finance giving rise to the name: Exploring Finance. Using data to explore the current financial landscape shows an unsustainable situation, which has led me to identify gold and silver as the best defensive investments.
Silver demand is expected to chart a new record high in 2021 with every key area showing an increase based on preliminary data.
This is one of several silver-related stories covered in the latest edition of Silver News published by the Silver Institute.
As reported last week, Comex January’s open interest activity was looking strong in silver and modest in gold. The initial results are promising, especially given the probability contracts will open mid-month for immediate delivery.
This analysis focuses on gold and silver physical delivery on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.
We’re on the cusp of a new year. We certainly had a wild ride in 2021 with continuing coronavirus drama, inflation that turned out to be not so transitory, and a record-breaking stock market bubble. So, what was the biggest story of 2021? Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey thinks it was a story that wasn’t told – the story of real interest rates. He wraps up the year by telling that story.
