Not only does the US government have to cope with higher loan repayments due to rising rates, but it also has to support an economy that has been amputated by a growing number of consumers who no longer have access to credit due to prohibitive rates.

The US economy continues to send very mixed signals. The number of bankruptcies in the US has risen sharply in recent weeks. Gold prices should have fallen further with weakening Chinese demand and the dollar's Olympic form.

When global debt represents three times world GDP, and given the unfair differences in access to debt, emerging countries suddenly seem to realize the difference between debt and currency.

The U.S. debt crisis has been avoided, but the Treasury must urgently issue an avalanche of very short-term bonds to pay its bills. How much money does the U.S. government need? Initial estimates put the colossal figure at $550 billion, to be found immediately, starting this summer.

After ten consecutive rate hikes, the Fed decided to pause its monetary tightening cycle. However, it has announced that two further rate hikes of 25 basis points are expected between now and the end of the year.

While banks are not in the same situation as in 2008, certain sectors of the economy are beginning to feel the adverse effects of higher rates, and could contribute in the very short term to triggering a credit crunch and a drop in consumption.

The fall in oil prices and the dollar's significant rebound have not led to a significant correction in gold. This came as a surprise to many analysts, who were expecting gold to fall sharply in the face of declining inflation figures. Gold may be telling us that this fall in inflation is only tempo...

Investors' infatuation with tangible assets and the gradual abandonment of growth stocks is likely to be the theme of late 2023.

It is as if gold and silver are waiting for the resolution of the US debt ceiling talks. In addition to debt risk, the other risk of blowout is now in the U.S. housing market.

The realization of the disconnection between the paper market and physical supply is likely to come very late: it is only when copper reserves are almost exhausted that the importance of physical versus paper will be truly measured. This sudden realization, which will also occur in silver, could lea...

The banking crisis, which is mainly affecting U.S. regional banks, has deepened this week. The Fed has spent $400 billion to save the banking sector and avoid bank runs. Jerome Powell just announced a pause in the rate hike, but that doesn't mean that the Fed will pivot: high rates will continue to...

Without a quick solution to the threat of a payment default, we risk entering a new systemic crisis, this time affecting one of the pillars of the financial system.

Physical silver demand has dramatically skyrocketed. The deficit was barely 50 million ounces last year. This year, the deficit has exploded to 237 Moz. In other words, silver demand exceeds supply by 7,393 tons. A colossal figure!

The debt/GDP ratio is now too high to continue the restrictive monetary policy. The Fed is stuck, it has no choice but to stop its fight against inflation in a context of economic slowdown. Stagflation is now inevitable. It is precisely this type of stalemate and stagflationary environment that gold...

The bullish impulse in silver prices is, in any case, very strong in recent weeks. The movement resembles the very bullish phases of 2010 and early 2020. Silver rises on "feverish rush". This is characteristic of a metal whose prices are highly regulated by the futures market and whose tangible unde...

The level of French banks' CDSs does not currently present any risk for these institutions, probably because of a less aggressive monetary policy in Europe, which limits the damage. An acceleration of the rise in interest rates in Europe would threaten the French government's deficit, but it is its...

Are central banks panicking? The Fed's surprise intervention to try to stop the contagion linked to the SVB bankruptcy was not enough to stop the global run on bank deposits.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest US bank by assets, has put the financial markets under pressure. Beyond the systemic risk to the US tech ecosystem, the bank run phenomenon could spread to the entire banking sector.

Rates have gone from 0% to 5% in a few months! This new rise in rates is putting pressure on the price of gold. The yellow metal is holding above $1,800, en route to its support just below that level.

For the time being, although the U.S. economic numbers are not impressive, they do show some resilience, especially on the consumer side. Unfortunately, the situation in Europe is quite different. The geopolitical event of the week is China's dramatic shift in rhetoric toward the United States.