About the U.S. Money Reserve Team

On June 12, 2024, Federal Reserve officials announced that the central bank had not yet seen enough progress on the inflation front to cut interest rates, and they lowered their projections for the number of rate cuts this year from two to one. This was big news because only a few months ago, expectations were…

Here’s something I learned while I worked in Washington, D.C.: When everyone seems to agree on a “fact,” it’s time to get skeptical and go to the data.  For example, if you follow business news, you know that consumer debt has climbed to levels that warn the economy is headed for trouble.  But what do…

I recall first hearing concerns about the financial viability of Social Security when I was in my 20s. At the time, the prospect of that problem affecting me personally seemed pretty remote. 45 years later, I’m now receiving Social Security benefits—and this prospect no longer seems so remote. The loss of benefits would pose a…

One of my first challenges as U.S. Mint Director was developing a marketing plan for a commemorative coin program that would help fund the staging of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. There is a long history of Congress mandating the minting and sale of commemorative coins for public or private purposes like this. In…

The current rally in gold prices—now surpassing an increase of $500/oz.—began within hours of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Since then, extraordinary demand from central banks and Chinese retail buyers and uncertainty about inflation and interest rates in the United States have continued to fuel record prices for physical gold. Now conflict…

Thirty-four trillion dollars. That’s how much our country owes holders of U.S. Treasury debt—and that’s double what we owed only 15 years ago. The last time the United States ran budget surpluses was from 1997 to 2001. I remember it well. I was Mint Director at the time. The national debt was under $6 trillion…

If you follow financial news, you probably know that gold has been on a tear recently, setting and resetting all-time record highs. Knowing why this is happening is crucial to understanding that this rally is just getting underway. When did this latest gold rally begin, and what set it off? It began October 7, 2023,…

Here’s some news I bet you haven’t heard: In one of the most dramatic rallies of all time, gold prices rose almost $260/oz. over the span of just 11 weeks late last year. That amounts to a gain of 14%, which if annualized, comes to an appreciation rate of 70%. In 11 weeks. Gold doesn’t…

During a recent interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell was asked if the national debt is a danger to the economy. He answered, “In the long run, the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path. The U.S. federal government is on an unsustainable fiscal path. And that just means that the…

Every week, we hear from our clients about their concerns regarding the economy. From skyrocketing government debt to the upcoming election, the possibility of a digital dollar, and continued warnings of a coming recession despite strong stock performance, many Americans say they feel less confident about their financial future. In spite of this uncertainty, many…

I often speak of gold as a form of wealth insurance that enables you to diversify your holdings and protect your savings and your retirement when other assets are losing value. It's a role that gold has played for generations, and it’s more important today than ever before. But we’re hearing from some of our…

Recently, I read an article discussing how private investors and central banks in Asian markets are now driving the price of gold. This is probably a surprise to most of us in the United States. In fact, China and India alone account for half of world demand for gold, while U.S. investors represent less than…