What Economists Assume About Deflation

It is just accepted as economic truth that if consumers felt that prices were going to fall and be 1 percent lower next year, they would not shop. They would not spend any money at all. They would wait a year to get that savings. They would wait a year to save 1 percent.

And they say that and is just accepted without anybody bothering to think how completely ridiculous or asinine such an assumption is. Can you even imagine a circumstance where you need something or wanted something and it costed 100 dollars but you were convinced that at the end of the year you could buy it for 99 dollars, that you would hold off on shopping, that you would not buy it, that you would wait a year and then buy it because it would be a dollar off? That you would go without it for an entire year in order to save that dollar. And then if at the end of the year you thought that it would be at 98 dollars if you waited another year that is what you would do even if you needed it. 

We know that this is ridiculous yet every economist is making that assertion with a straight face.

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

Yellen: Higher Inflation Coming

The only thing Janet Yellen is going to succeed in doing of all the things she wants to do, she wants to help the economy, she wants to create jobs - she is going to fail these. The only goal that she is going to succeed at is raising inflation. Because there will be a lot more inflation thanks to Janet Yellen. And its not going to stop at 2 percent. But I can only imagine how high inflation will actually be if the official numbers were at 2 percent.

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

Economic Weakness & The Weather Excuse

The news is bad. It`s not because of the cold weather, it`s because of the chill in the economy that is only going to get worse. The economic data is going to get colder and colder and it does not matter what happens to the weather.

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

Oil & Gas Portfolios

You compare the dividend yields, the interest income that you get on bonds, compared to the cash flows that you can get on oil and gas investments. You get much more income on those portfolios and I think personally it is better because you have the inflation hedge, even though you have more volatility, you trade the volatility.

What is the dollar going to be worth in the next 5 or 10 years? I have no idea. Maybe its going to be worth anything. But I am very confident that oil will have value. The world is not going to stop using oil, as much as these environmentalists in their fantasies want to see the entire planet powered by wind or by solar. It will not happen. I mean, maybe in 100 years but it is not going to happen in the next 5 or 10 years.

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. Banks: Not Enough Stress in The Tests

There is not enough stress in these tests because they don`t test what is really going to go on. Nobody tests a weak economy and a big spike in interest rates at the same time. The Federal Reserve always assumes that if the economy is weak, interest rates are going to be low and the only way they assume rate hikes is if its a vibrant economy which lifts asset values and makes it easier for people to repay their debts. But they don`t have a stress test that stresses a big drop in the stock market and the real estate market and in the bond market. That we have a repeat of the stagflation of the 1970`s. That is what I think its coming, except even worse than in the 1970`s.

Related stocks: Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), J.P. Morgan (JPM)

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

Bullish On Energy Investing

I am a big believer in energy investing and we own a lot of oil companies around the world and we are actually investing privately here in the United States.

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