Christmas Sales: The Worst Since 2009

Look at the Christmas sales. They have been the worst since 2009. I think a lot of the retailers made a mistake. They believed the hype, just like the investors and the economists. They loaded up on inventories coming into the Christmas season. That is why we got a 4 handle on the third quarter GDP. But I think they are finding out that a lot of Americans just don`t have any money to buy stuff. They are spending too much energy and food, they have lots of debt and lousy jobs. So, I think we are going to see some record sales following Christmas in the New Year. Not sales in selling, but declines in prices for sale.

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

China`s Currency Is Likely To Appreciate in 2014

I think China is very likely to see an appreciation of their currency in 2014. That is going to a good thing for chinese wage earners, for chinese consumers who are going to make a better deal on the things they need to buy. Its not going to play out so well over here because as the chinese currency becomes more valuable, their goods become more expensive and americans already have a hard time buying stuff. Look at the Christmas sales. they have been the worst since 2009.

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 Big Story Will Be China`s Tapering

The big story is going to be the tapering out of the emerging economies, the tapering out of China. I think China really wants to back down on its U.S. Treasuries purchases, maybe even start unwinding, actually shrinking its balance sheet. And if emerging markets are selling Treasuries  if investors are selling, who is left to buy? The only one left is the Federal Reserve.

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: The Highest Rate We Can Afford Is Zero

Without the support of the Federal Reserve, long term interest rates are headed a lot higher and our economy is too broke to afford it. The highest rate we can really afford is zero at this point and the markets haven`t figured this out yet.

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 Federal Reserve Eased Monetary Policy When They Announced The Taper

First of all, they haven`t even tapered yet. All they have done is to announce an intention to taper in the future and maybe they will actually get started but I actually think they eased monetary policy when they announced the taper because they put so much sugar to coat that bad tasting medicine that we have an easier monetary policy now.

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

Video: The Highest Interest Rate We Can Afford Is Zero

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

Bitcoin: It Will Not Work As A Currency

What are they worth? They are worth what the last person is willing to pay. I do not think it is going to work as a currency. Theoretically, there is a limit to the supply but what if there is no demand? And there will be a lot of other digital currencies.

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

Simple Economics On Wal-Mart (WMT)

They are entry level jobs. You have to have your first job before you can get your second job. Those type of jobs don`t require many skills, so you can`t really be paid very much. All the people that are advocating that Wal-Mart (WMT) just raise wages for all their unskilled workers to 15 dollars an hour, they forget about all the Wal-Mart customers, many of whom also earn less than 15 dollars an hour. The only reason they are shopping there is because they want low prices and in order to keep prices low, Wal-Mart (WMT) has to keep their costs low, and of course that includes their labor costs.

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

Video: The Response From The Left

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

Bitcoin: The High Is Probably In

I do not think if you are buying bitcoins today that you are getting in anywhere near the bottom. You may be getting in near the top but maybe there is another rally coming. It looks very suspicious that the high is in and that pretty soon the greed is going to be replaced by fear.

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

This is Taper-Light, At Best

This is taper light, at best. But its not even that. Because the Fed was so worried about the effect that would have on the market simply by announcing a decision to taper in the future that the Fed decided to sugarcoat that bad tasting medicine. How did they do it? The Fed changed its language with respect to its commitment to keep interest rates at zero. They have been at zero for years and the Fed has said, as long as unemployment is above 6.50%, interest rates will stay at zero. Now,the Fed has changed that language, it has rewritten it. It now reads, the Fed is going to leave interest rates at zero well past the point in time where the unemployment rate goes below 6.50 percent. So they haven`t just moved the goal posts, they have destroyed the goal posts.  

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 Fed Is In A Box

At some point the market is going to figure out the box the Fed is in and it will not want to hold the dollar. It will realize that it is QE infinity and when the dollar really starts to come under pressure, if it loses 10, 20 percent of its value against a basket of currencies, that is when the Fed is going to have to make a choice. A very difficult choice that is has been avoiding for years, which is going to be to dramatically increase interest rates even if the unemployment rate is rising, even though it is going to force many banks into failure, even though it might force the government to default on its debt, even though its going to bring out a very severe recession, the Fed is going to have to raise rates anyway and start selling Treasuries not buying them. Or if it does not have the integrity, or the courage to do that, then its going to print even more money and the dollar is going to crash.

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

How An Economy Grows And Why it Crashes: Simplifying Economics

There are teachers who use this book around the world to help educate students in the classroom. Today the Keynesian economists really overcomplicate what really is a very simple subject of economics. And I think why the book does so well is, we break down the complexities of our modern day economy in which these economic principles seem to be lost, we break it down and we focus on a simple island with three individuals, struggling to survive and then its in that context that we introduce all these economic principles and then we demonstrate how the principles do not change as the economy grows and becomes more complex. The book is very humorous, you can read the entire thing in three to four hours.  

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

Investing In The Big Picture

There is a lot of politics when I talk about the markets, a lot of economics involved in it because I am generally investing in the big picture. So I don`t spend a lot of time getting into the particular details of a particular company, the balance sheet of a company or what I think it is going to happen to earnings. Lots of people talk about that. There is nothing really unique about having an outlook on a particular company.

So what I think is more unique is my perspective on the global economy, in particular the U.S. economy and a lot of it relates to politics because a lot of what is wrong with our economy can only be fixed politically.

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

America`s Level Of Taxation

Americans are paying levels of taxation that would be unthinkable around the time of the American Revolution.

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

Alternative Media: The Best Source Of Information

I think the best source of information right now in the media is the alternative media. There is a lot of good stuff on the internet, you just have to look for it. Unfortunately, most people don`t know where to look and so they never come across it. I started doing my radio show partly for that reason.

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

Fiat Currencies, Gold & Bitcoins

What we have now, fiat currencies instead of real money, does not work. So, we need to go back to real money. Now, do I think bitcoin is real money? No, I don`t. It does not satisfy to me the definition of money, what money needs to be. It does not have any intrinsic value on its own. You can`t do anything with a bitcoin. You can do something with gold, gold has a value unique to itself.

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

It`s Hard To Convince People To Vote For Less Government

There are a lot of solutions, the problems are easy to identify, and the solutions are simple. The problem is in a democracy, getting the solutions adopted. Because everybody wants something for free and everybody thinks the government can provide prosperity, the government can provide wealth. It can`t.  They can destroy that, but they can`t provide it. Yes, they can steal from one person and give it to somebody else but in the process of doing that they make everybody poor.

It`s hard to convince people to vote for freedom, to vote for less government. It`s much easier to convince them to vote for more. When it becomes difficult is when the government is so big and is destroying the economy so completely that the people finally wakes up to it. So I think the catalyst for change is extreme collapse, extreme despair and disaster when that message can no longer sell.

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 Whole U.S. Economy Is Based On Debt

Our whole economy in the U.S. is based on debt. Its based on borrowing to consume, borrowing to speculate. The government is financing itself based on debt, all these checks they are mailing out are based on debt.

The rates need to be practically zero in order for anybody to afford servicing the debt. That is how enormous the debt is and when the FED eventually lets interest rates rise, everything comes crashing back down, much worse than 2008.

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 Fundamentals Of The U.S. Economy

The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are much worse than they were when the FED began QE1. And you still have this idea that the FED can remove these supports and that the economy can somehow continue expanding on its own. It can`t. It is all a function of all that cheap money and artificially low interest rates that come with 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.

The Potential Growth In Asian Capital Markets

I do think that Asia, so Hong Kong, Shanghai, I think those center are going to grow in influence over time as more and more wealth is created in Asia, as more savings are accumulated that need to be invested. I think, the capital markets will grow in those regions. Right now, a lot of it is outsourced to places like London and New York but I think over time they will do more of that in-house.

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

Video: Economics, Politics & Monetary Policy

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 Federal Government Is Now Monetizing 150 Percent Of The Annual Budget Deficit

The federal government is now monetizing 150 percent of the annual budget deficit, when you look at what they are buying in mortgage backed securities and treasuries. This is the highest ever.

So the government is more addicted and more dependent on QE than it ever was. And not only they cannot take it away, they will have to increase 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.

The Dollar Has Not Collapsed Yet, But It Will

The dollar has not collapsed yet, but I think it is going to collapse under the weight of all the inflation that has already been created. The government does not want to let interest rates rise. When they talked about tapering and then interest rates went up, they backed off.

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

Gold Is Going To Resume Its Ascent

Gold has gone down one year out of the last 12 or 13 years. So, I think this is not going to be a new trend. Gold is going to resume its ascent.

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

What Will Happen When Foreign Central Banks Stop Buying Dollars

Even though there are some deflationary pressures in the U.S., they will be overwhelmed by a tsunami of inflation when foreign central banks stop buying dollars and let our currency sink. And then the U.S.  government has to kick the printing presses into high gear in order to monetize all the debt and keep all the bubbles inflated.

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

Emerging Markets Inflation Explained

The inflation that is being experienced in the emerging markets is imported from us. I think that their economies that are productive and are producing goods, that would keep prices down, but the problem is that the goods they are producing are being sent to America and we are sending them the paper that we print. And that is really what is driving prices in the emerging world. They are sending us their stuff, and we are sending them our paper. And so they have all this money chasing a diminished supply of goods.

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

Bitcoin: Money Or Speculative Asset?

I don`t know with any degree of certainty what gold is going to be worth next year. I can`t know that, but I do believe it will be valuable. I don`t believe it will be worthless. But with Bitcoin, the unknowns are so great, that it can`t be money right now, you can only view it as a speculative asset. Maybe it will be money in the future. Right now it is a highly speculative asset.

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

If The Fed Stops, We Will Have A Complete Collapse

The Federal Reserve is not going to back off. The market is going to push it off. The Federal Reserve is going to do this until it cannot do it anymore. Because if it stops then we have a complete financial collapse.

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

Digital Currencies Backed By Gold?

I am already starting to hear about digital currencies that would be backed by gold, which would make them a more legitimate currency, more of a replica of the original paper currencies that were backed by gold.

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

Bitcoins: Don`t Have Any Value Absent Being A Medium Of Exchange

The main problem when you try to look at bitcoins versus gold, because people are saying, well, its just a new version of gold. For hundreds of years, maybe more, before gold was used as money it was already used, it was an acceptable highly coveted, valued commodity that people wanted. It eventually became used as money because it was a more manageable commodity than other commodities that were used as money in addition to gold. So gold just was the commodity that was best suited to also be money but it was first and foremost a commodity, a luxury good that was in demand all around the world.

The thing with bitcoin is nobody wanted bitcoin until it was invented for commerce. The sole purpose of bitcoin is to be used as money. But it does not have any value absent being a medium of exchange.

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

There Is A Bubble In The Stock Market

Deja vu, all over again. Alan Greenspan actually came out today and proclaimed that there was no bubble in the stock market. He ought to know right because he is 0 for 2 in terms of spotting bubbles. I think its 3 strikes and he is out. Because not only there is a bubble in the stock market, the Federal Reserve has managed to inflate bubbles in the stock market, in the bond market and in the real estate market simultaneously!

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

Video: U.S. Stocks Are Expensive

Video Summary: 2014 Outlook for U.S. Stocks.

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

Bitcoins: Tulipmania 2.0

It`s not the gold standard 2.0, it`s the tulipmania 2.0. You are going to have a collapse in prices in bitcoins. I don`t know where the top is. Is it the top now? It might be, it might not be. We know it`s not the bottom. Clearly if you are buying bitcoins today, you are not getting in at the bottom, you maybe are getting in at the top.

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