U.S. Markets: Who Will Replace The Fed’s Purchasing Power?

Peter Schiff recently left this unanswered question on his Twitter, "One big concern going forward is who will step up to replace the Fed’s purchasing power in the US Securities market?" 

This comes after last week’s announcement that the Federal Reserve will begin reducing its massive balance sheet. 

Trump Tax Plan: Highlights

Peter Schiff discussed the pros and cons of the Trump tax plan. Here are the highlights:

"President Trump announced some of  the details of his highly anticipated tax reform which is really not tax reform it's more of a tax cut masquerading as a reform."

"I would say the best part about it is the elimination of the estate tax."

Gold: Below 1,300 Will Likely Be A Buying Opportunity

Peter Schiff’s most recent commentary on gold:

"We are at 1290 on the price of gold, so we're right below where I thought the support was at 1300." 

"I'm not that worried that we're going all the way back down to 1200."

"I don't think we see a bigger pullback though given the fact that we're not getting a rise in the dollar and oil prices are now comfortably holding above $50 a barrel."

"Strong oil, a weak dollar, to me that means that gold prices are likely heading higher even though we're a little bit below that support, I think that people are gonna buy it, I do think that 1300 is maybe the new 1200 so anything under that I think is going to be looked at as a buying opportunity."

Related trading instruments: SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), Barrick Gold (ABX), NovaGold (NG), Newmont Mining (NEM)

The Federal Reserve Is In A Box

The Federal Reserve is in a box, they boxed themselves in because they've kept interest rates so low for so long, they've allowed so much debt to accumulate that now it's impossible to allow interest rates to rise. But they can't admit that so they have to pretend as if everything's gonna be fine, they're gonna be able to normalize interest rates, they're gonna be able to shrink their balance sheet. None of this is possible and it's only a question of time before traders and investors figure it out.

Markets: Yellen, US Dollar and Gold

The US Dollar got a bit of a bounce but very little in the way of upward trajectory despite the the supposed hawkishness and the way the markets are greeting what Janet Yellen said. 

So the US Dollar is already falling but it's not collapsing yet. I mean, it's falling but people are still not completely aware, there's just not enough bearishness yet in the US Dollar. Obviously if there was the price of gold (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)) would be taking off but we're not too far away from that point and when the US Dollar starts to fall next time there's gonna be nothing stopping it.

Bitcoin, Gold and The Madness Of The Crowds

In a recent podcast, Peter Schiff advised Bitcoin investors to read the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds and put gold and Bitcoin in an interesting historic perspective when he mentioned that in a few thousand years, Gold will still be money while bitcoin and the other crypto currencies will be just a blip in history:

"...gold will still be money who knows if anybody will even remember a Bitcoin or any of these crypto currencies that existed for a relative nanosecond in the history of time but I don't know I mean maybe they'll write a new chapter in that book popular delusions and the madness of crowds and by the way if you own some bitcoins get a copy of that  book and read it because it is very applicable to what's going on now."

Related trading instruments: Bitcoin, SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX),

Toys R Us Bankruptcy: Companies Saddled With Debt Can’t Respond to a Changing Marketplace

The air is rushing out of the retail bubble. It’s easy to finger-point at the internet and blame it for the black cloud enveloping the brick and mortar retail sector. But in truth, it’s not all Amazon’s fault. During a podcast last spring, Peter Schiff put his finger on a more fundamental problem. 

While online sales have increased significantly, they still don’t make up for the total decline in sales in brick-and-mortar stores. Peter believes the problems in the retail sector reveal disturbing economic truths about middle America. 

"Another reason people are shopping on the internet, other than just the convenience of not leaving your house when you’re doing your shopping, is the fact that the average American shopper is broke. They can barely afford to buy the stuff that they’re buying. In fact, most people are buying stuff that they can’t afford. They’re just buying anyway and they’re using a credit card…Retailing is a shrinking market because Americans’ pocketbooks are shrinking, their paychecks are shrinking.”

Related: Toys R Us

Jamie Dimon (J.P. Morgan): Bitcoin Is A Fraud

Jamie Dimon came out and said bitcoin is is a fraud so now I'm kind of in his camp although I don't agree with everything that Jamie Dimon said and I think that there are problems that Bitcoin has that he doesn't even understand. He just assumes that the government is gonna shut Bitcoin down and you know if it actually worked he would be right.

Russia and China Are Buying Gold

Russia and China are buying gold specifically to minimize their dependence on the US dollar. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX), Market Vector Russia ETF Trust (RSX), iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index ETF(FXI))

Federal Reserve: A Cosmetic Reduction In Its Balance Sheet

Even if the Federal Reserve does get away with a cosmetic reduction in its balance sheet, the total will be completely reversed by the first month of QE4. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA))

Eliminating The Debt Ceiling

Now they're talking about eliminating the debt ceiling.

Donald Trump has got some kind of gentlemen's agreement going on with the Democrats that, "Hey, let's just get rid of this debt ceiling so that we never have to deal with the fact that maybe it won't be lifted" because the politicians have succeeded in making irresponsibility look responsible because every time there's a threat not to raise the debt ceiling they label the people who don't want to raise it as reckless or irresponsible. They say,  "You have to raise it, America always pays its bills you can't play around with our faith and credit."

The irony of it is we never pay our bills. That's why we have all this debt, I we were paying our bills we wouldn't have to raise the debt ceiling.

Stock Market, Tax Reform

I think the catalyst for the rise in the stock market continues to be the enthusiasm that really started yesterday based on president Trump's announcement that he was close to a deal on tax cuts and that the deal is supposed to be announced sometime before the end of the month.

Now of course, I've seen this movie before. I mean Trump has come out and made a lot of statements about a deal being ready being on the table, gonna happen soon and of course so far every time he has touted this nothing has materialized. 

Yet the markets are not looking at the boy who cried wolf, now they actually believe the President, they think he's serious and one of the things that he's saying that maybe makes this more credible is that he's saying that he's working with the Democrats that if he can't get something done with the Republicans he's already working on a plan with the Democrats and so one way or another we're gonna get this major tax reform.

But of course it's not really going to be tax reform. It's going to be tax cuts based on what the President is saying. We're not going to reform the tax code, we're not going to have a major shift that is going to make the economy more productive. 

The  President has already said that the rich are not going to get a tax cut at all. They may even have a tax hike. So if you're not going to lower the top rate if you're not going to reduce the marginal rate of tax you're really not going to get any economic stimulus because that's where the growth comes from. Where you lower the marginal rate and you may have a situation where people actually work harder at lower tax rates and produce more taxable income.

Gold: Hurricane Related Sell-off Is A Buying Opportunity

The smart money is taking they the other side on this trade. They are buying the gold on this dip buying the gold stocks on this dip. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), Barrick Gold (ABX), Newmont Mining (NEM), Goldcorp (GG))

Foreign Stocks Are Outperforming US Stocks

At this point it's the people that are in the US market that are underperforming the people who are invested outside the US market. (iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM))

US Dollar: Worst Year Since 1985?

The US Dollar had a substantial rise based on the expectation that the Federal Reserve would be able to normalize interest rates and unwind its massive balance sheet plus a general belief that the Fed's experiment had actually succeeded and that the economy was in better shape as a result.

So the dollar kind of rode that rally and now I think it's starting to surrender those ill-gotten gains. The dollar is on pace for its worst year since 1985. We just finished the month of August, a down month for the US Dollar. It's been down six months in a row and so the weakness in the dollar is one of the reasons that the price of gold has 01:25 been rising.

The Gold Market Gold Continues to Move Higher

The gold market gold continues to move higher ever since breaking out about $1,300. The price of gold is now above $1340 so we've tacked out another 40 dollars. 

I don't think the shorts have covered yet. I think they're still holding and hoping I don't think we've had the long's getting too excited about this breakout above $1,300 it may need $1,400 we need to move up a whole new handle before we really get the big short covering. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ))

Gold: $1,300 Is Now Support

Gold to me still looks pretty strong. We broke out above $1,300, we didn't have a huge surge but we held 1,300 and we didn't go back below it. We've held here all week and to me 1,300 is now the support right what used to be resistance is now support. Where is the next resistance? I would guess up around 1375-ish which I think was about the high last summer. (SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), Barrick Gold (ABX), Newmont Mining (NEM))