Expecting A Weak Holiday Season

Everybody has been talking about how this is going to be a great Christmas shopping season because the recovery is finally here, well, I have been saying for months that I expect a weak holiday season and for now it appears that my hunch is going to prove correct. Because the figures are out for the 4-day holiday weekend. This is traditionally the Thanksgiving weekend that kicks off the Christmas season.

This holiday weekend shoppers had more hours in which to shop than in prior holiday weekends because of the hours that the stores were open on Thanksgiving day. Yet, despite that and despite the big drop in gas prices, instead it was a disaster. Traffic at the malls or at the stores was down over 5 percent. So, 5 percent fewer people showed up to shop over the 4-day weekend. But even worse, the shoppers that showed up did not shop as much because they spent 11 percent less than they spent in 2013.

Related stocks: Apple (AAPL), GoPro (GPRO), J C Penney (JCP), Sears (SHLD), Target (TGT), Macy`s (M)

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: Could Be The Worst Shopping Season In Memory

Related exchange traded funds: SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)

Related stocks: Apple (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Macy`s (M), J.C. Penney (JCP)

Topics: Holiday season, U.S. Economy;

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

Crude Oil Collapsing Like In 2009

I think the U.S. Economy is far weaker than the general consensus. I think we are headed into recession too, and that is why you see oil prices collapsing the way they did back in 2009.

But another factor that is exerting more downside pressure on oil is the widespread belief that the Federal Reserve is going to be tightening monetary policy which would even exacerbate the problem in the global economy, and of course the rising dollar that is resulting from the anticipation of higher interest rates, is also forcing oil prices lower.

Related trading instruments: United States Oil Fund LP ETF (USO), Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), Nymex Crude Oil 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.