The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
On the one hand, things in the economy look pretty good. The mainstream pundits sure seem to think so. They fill the financial news shows with daily doses of good cheer. But is everything really sunshine and roses? Or should we be holding some opposing ideas in our minds as well?
Saturday, Sept. 15, was the 10th anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Many people consider it the seminal event of the 2008 financial crisis.
In his latest podcast, Peter Schiff said as we look back at the anniversary, we should realize that the next crisis is going to be worse. In fact, the next economic hurricane is going to be a category five.
Last week, we reported on the mess in the European banking system, asking the question: could big European banks drag down the world economy? Big banks in Europe have piled up debt just like the rest of the world. But an article in Bloomberg reveals big banks in countries like Germany, Switzerland and France may be in even worse shape than we think. There are indications that European banks are using a Lehman Brothers-style trick to disguise their actual levels of debt.