Hedge Fund Managers Criticize The Federal Reserve

There was this conference in New York this week, the Delivering Alpha conference and there was a lot of coverage in the press because a lot of high profile hedge fund billionaires were speaking very negatively about the Federal Reserve.

What they were saying was that the Fe`s policy of zero percent interest rates and quantitative easing have been a failure, that they had not delivered the economic growth that was promised, that actually they undermined economic growth and undermined capital investment and as a result of what the Fed has done the economy has grown less than it would have had they not done it.

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

All It Takes To Collapse The Markets

Just the mere possibility of a minuscule interest rate hike (0.25%) is all it takes to collapse this stock market. (SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), Nasdaq 100 Futures)

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Fed: U-Turn On A Rate Hike Possibility

Clearly the 400 point decline in the Dow Jones Industrials Index on Friday showed that the market was not really very friendly to the possibility of an interest rate hike, let alone the certainty of one. Just the mere possibility however remote that possibility may be spooked the markets. So the Federal Reserve on Monday had the chance to dial it back. they had three Fed Presidents speaking on Monday and none talked about the possibility of a rate hike. (SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Central Banks Are Scaring The Markets

It is not just the Federal Reserve because Draghi in the press conference was asked about what are he was going to do when this QE program ends (and it is scheduled to end in the beginning of 2017) and he basically said that they do not have any plans to do more QE.

We also had some similar statements coming from the Bank of Japan to the extent that they are not going to do anything more and this is scaring the markets because the markets have been riding a sea of liquidity from all over the world. (Nikkei 225 Index, SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 Futures, Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Why Is The Market So Scared?

A possibility of an interest rate hike? All these guys (Federal Reserve Governors) say is "We do not rule out the possibility. Well, a possibility is not a probability and it is certainly not a certainty. But the market is acting as if the Federal Reserve is about to raise interest rates and that is why everybody is so scared. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

The Best Interest Rates For The Economy

What is good for the economy is not low interest rates or high interest rates but interest rates that reflect the free market, the true savings and borrowing needs of the economy, the time preferences of savers and investors. You need a market rate of interest.

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

U.S. Economy: ISM Manufacturing Index Indicates Contraction

We got the ISM Manufacturing number. The prior month we had a bounce backhand everyone was excited about that, up at 52.60. Now the index collapsed to 49.40. That is a horrible number. Anything below 50 indicates contraction.  (Select Sector Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Markets: The Fed Is The Only Game In Town

In many cases it does not really matter what the economic data is what matters is what the Federal Reserve says relative to the data. (Select Sector Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Federal Reserve: The Hawks Are Extinct

When it comes to the Federal Reserve the hawks are extinct. They are all doves of varying degrees.

** Hawk is the term used to describe a fed member who places keeping inflation low as the top priority in monetary policy and has the tendency to be prone to have a high level of interest rates. A monetary dove gives more emphasis to low unemployment, over low inflation thus it tends to prefer low interest rates.

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.

Potential For A Big Reversal in Gold Stocks (Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

Gold stocks were down another 5 percent but they are still way up on the year but we have seen a significant correction on the speculation that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates, of course they might not.

We are going to have a jobs report on Friday and if it is really a weak report, all the rate hikes are completely off the table once again. So there is potential for a huge reversal if we get a really weak jobs number. (Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), NovaGold (NG))

Peter Schiff is an American businessman, investment broker and financial commentator. Schiff is the CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc.