by Money Metals
GoldSeek

This episode of Money Metals’ Midweek Memo, hosted by Mike Maharrey, delves into the impact of government actions on the economy, the role of the Federal Reserve in inflation, and the strategic importance of investing in gold and silver.

Government Incompetence or Malevolence?

Maharrey begins by highlighting the inefficiencies and frustrations caused by government interventions, drawing parallels to everyday experiences like the DMV or navigating Medicare. He questions whether the government’s missteps are due to sheer incompetence or malevolent intent, concluding that it’s likely a mix of both.

Continue Reading at GoldSeek.com…

from NewsNation

by AP
Breitbart.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation.

A key reason for the delay in rate cuts is that the inflation pressures that are bedeviling the economy are being driven largely by lingering forces from the pandemic — for items ranging from apartment rents to auto insurance to hospital prices. Though Fed officials say they expect inflation in those areas to eventually cool, they’ve signaled that they’re prepared to wait as long as it takes.

Yet the policymakers’ willingness to keep their key rate at a two-decade peak — thereby keeping costs painfully high for mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer borrowing — carries its own risks.

Continue Reading at Breitbart.com…

from Bloomberg Television

from King World News

This just collapsed to the lowest level in 23 years. Plus a look at more “transitory”inflation.

May 30 (King World News) – Peter Boockvar: Pending home sales in April fell a sharp 7.7% m/o/m, well more than the anticipated 1% decline. This takes the index to just .5 pt from the lowest level on record dating back to 2001.

Pending Home Sales Collapse To Lowest In 23 Years

Continue Reading at KingWorldNews.com…

from CNBC Television

by Mike Maharrey
GoldSeek

If you listen to government officials and central bankers talk about price inflation, you might think they don’t have the foggiest idea of what caused it. It might have been supply chain problems, or perhaps it was Putin’s fault. Maybe greedy corporations are jacking up prices. Or it could be that consumer expectations are driving price inflation higher.

They can’t tell you exactly why prices keep rising, but trust them… they’re doing their best to stop it!

But this is all deflection and obfuscation. They’re causing price inflation. When they point fingers everywhere else, they’re either unforgivably ignorant or they’re lying.

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from CNBC Television

by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds

If we add up all these tidal forces, the conclusion is self-evident: labor “inflation” has just shifted into second gear.

One of the lesser known manifestations of the inflationary crisis in early-1920s Germany was rampant wage inflation. Bourgeois burghers complained bitterly about the high wages being demanded–and received–by tradespeople. This reversal of fortune–wage earners gaining some power over the upper-middle class and wealthy–was naturally upsetting to those accustomed to wielding power over mere laborers.

But when the roof is leaking or the car won’t start, negotiations favor the few who can actually fix the problem. Despite the overblown hoopla about AI, ChatGPT can’t fix leaky pipes or roofs, nor will it ever be able to do so because all it can actually do is play around with words. Since we can’t repair a leaky roof or prune a tree with words, Large Language Model (LLM) – Machine Learning AI is useless in the real world.

Continue Reading at OfTwoMinds.com…

from TODAY

The economy continues to roll, jobs are plenty and consumers are getting a bit more upbeat. That’s bad news for interest-rate-cut bets.

by Martin Baccardax
The Street

The U.S. economy continues to defy both calls for a slowdown and suggestions that a recession is on the horizon, as a resilient job market and solid consumer spending continue to power stronger-than-expected growth prospects.

The surprising strength, however, has deepened concerns that the Federal Reserve, which is focused on stubborn inflation pressures, will delay any move to lower borrowing costs over the coming months and could scrap rate cuts altogether until early next year.

Minutes from the central bank’s May policy meeting, published last week, noted a willingness to “tighten policy further should risks to inflation materialize.” But the document otherwise suggested a “wait-and-see” preference to determine any near-term interest-rate moves.

Continue Reading at TheStreet.com…

from TraderNick

by John Carney
Breitbart.com

Surging immigration is keeping inflation and interest rates high, Fed honcho Neel Kashkari said in an interview with the Telegraph.

Kashkari, who runs the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said he’s not ready to consider cutting rates until he sees “several months of real progress on inflation.” The flood of immigrants, he argued, is hindering that progress.

U.S. borrowing costs are likely to stay put for “an extended period of time,” Kashkari warned.

He’s particularly freaked out by the booming demand for housing, which just won’t cool off despite sky-high rates.

Continue Reading at Breitbart.com…

from Schwab Network

by Jack Hellner
American Thinker

Home insurance rates are continuing to skyrocket, to the point that many people no longer have good options on affordable coverage.

And the cause? Well the media and the industry say it’s climate change. From NPR:

‘Everything is rising at a scary rate’: Why car and home insurance costs are surging

Last year, there were around two dozen severe storms in the U.S. with billion-dollar price tags, spreading lightning, hail and damaging winds through many parts of the country.

‘While a lot of these storms don’t make national headlines, they do tend to be very costly at the local level,’ says Tim Zawacki, principal research analyst for insurance at S&P Global Market Intelligence. ‘And the breadth of where these storms are occurring is something that I think the industry is quite concerned about.’

From Marketplace:

Continue Reading at AmericanThinker.com…

from CNBC Television

by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds

When predicting the future, we’re best served by following “what benefits the wealthy and powerful,” as that is the likeliest outcome.

This contrarian sees a strong consensus around the notion that hyper-inflation is the inevitable end-game of nation-states / central banks issuing fiat currencies, i.e. currencies that are not restrained by being pegged to tangible assets such as gold reserves. The temptation to issue (via “printing” or borrowing new currency into existence by selling sovereign bonds) more currency becomes irresistible to politicians and central bankers alike. as the means to mollify every constituency, from elites to the military to commoners dependent on state-funded bread and circuses.

This unrestrained creation of new money far in excess of the expansion of goods and services (i.e. the real economy) devalues the currency, as “all the new money chases too few goods and services.” Gresham’s law kicks in–bad money drives good money out of circulation–as precious metals, fine art, gemstones, etc. are hoarded and the depreciating currency is spent as fast as possible before its purchasing power declines even further.

Continue Reading at OfTwoMinds.com…

from CNBC Television

by Brijesh Patel
Yahoo! Finance

(Reuters) – Gold prices gained on Tuesday, helped by a weaker dollar as investors look forward to U.S. inflation data due later this week for more clarity on interest rate cut timings.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,357.44 per ounce by 1:55 p.m. ET (1755 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% higher at $2,356.5.

“The dollar index is down and we are seeing the yield curve rates drop a little bit. Gold is coming off a correction and is hovering around resistance levels and now it’s bouncing again,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

Continue Reading at Finance.Yahoo.com…

from RonPaulLibertyReport