There is plenty of debate about tariffs right now. A lot of people oppose them because they support free trade. A lot of people support them because they believe they protect US industry. Others think tariffs are a great tool to force other countries – specifically China – to engage in fair trade. In today’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey argues that no matter what you think about tariff policy, you should pause and count the cost because tariffs are taking money out of your wallet. Mike also talks about the possibility of China using its “nuclear option” in the trade war and gives an overview of the news that drove the precious metals markets this week.
The markets have been up and down this week, riding the trade war roller coaster. And analysts can’t seem to decide if the data of the day is telling us that the economy is sound or slowing. But we do know one thing for sure – there is a lot of debt out there, and there are signs that it might be catching up with us. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap podcast, host Mike Maharrey talks student loan and auto loan debt, and what it be telling us about the economy. He also covers some of the latest trade war news and the last batch of economic data.
Trump has leveled a lot of criticism at the Federal Reserve over that last several months. This has led some people to proclaim that the president is an enemy of the Fed. But as Mike Maharrey explains in this week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, Trump is no Ron Paul. The president’s beef with the Fed is more about policy and less about the central bank itself. And we should never forget — policy has consequences. In this episode, Mike gives a simple overview of how the Fed creates boom-bust cycles and why Trump needs more boom. He also covers the latest on the trade war and what’s going on in the gold market.
Gold has been rangebound for months, gyrating up and down around the $1,300 mark. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about this “wash, rinse, repeat” cycle we’re seeing in the precious metals markets and then pivots into a discussion of some more fundamental dynamics. Mike touches on the financial condition of the US federal government, surging central bank demand for gold and the positive dynamics he’s seeing in the silver market.
The Dow Jones closed out Q1 2019 with its best quarterly gain since 1998, rising 10.3% through the first three months of the year. And the Dow Jones wasn’t alone in its bang-up first quarter. The S&P 500 rose 12.3%. The Russell 2000 was up 13.8%. And the Nasdaq led the entire pack with a 15.6% gain.
As Peter Schiff said in his latest podcast, the entire rally was a gift from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed wrapped up another FOMC meeting this week and came out even more dovish than expected. Rate hikes are off the table in 2019 and the central bank now only expects one hike in 2020. In his episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about the meeting and the dirty little secret Reuters let slip out. The goal here is to get you to spend more money and keep the bubble full of air. As Mike put it, “The Fed is trying to feed the debt monster and it wants you to pick up the tab.” He also covered the meeting’s impact on the markets and the latest in political theater.
The stock market has rebounded nicely since those dark days of December leading many analysts to believe precipitous nosedive was nothing but a bull market correction. But Peter Schiff begs to differ. He’s been saying that the rally in stock since the Powell Pause is really a bear market correction. Furthermore, Peter says an upcoming recession is a done deal.
During the Orlando Money Show, Mark Skousen moderated a debate between Peter and Louis Navellier. The question was: were we witnessing a bull market correction or a bear market rally in the last three months?
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.
During his keynote speech at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, Peter Schiff said we are at the beginning of the end.
The Fed appears to have paused interest rate hikes in order to save the stock market. The markets have reacted positively and a lot of analysts seem to think we’re out of the wood. But Peter traces the moves of the Federal Reserve all the way back to the first rate hike of December 2015 and shows how the central bank has put us on a path toward a financial crisis that will be bigger than 2008. Peter insists he’s been right about what would happen all along, it’s just taken us a little longer to get here than he expected.
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee met yesterday and held interest rates steady in the 2.25-2.50% range. This wasn’t really a surprise. More significantly, Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept up the dovish rhetoric, saying, “The case for rate increases has diminished. I would need to see a reason for further rate hikes that would have to include higher inflation.”
We’ve called this the Powell Put, and it appears it’s still solidly in play. But in his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff called it the “Powell Pause” and said it wasn’t going to be enough.
