First Half of 2025 Review: Debt, Tariffs, and Volatility
By ZeroHedge-JM Bullion- 07 July 2025
If the first six months of 2025 taught investors anything, it’s that the old playbook is useless. Welcome to the new normal — where geopolitics, central bank paralysis, and policy risk collide. And where real assets are doing what they’re built to do: hold value while everything else gets re-priced.
Stocks are up, but so is fear. Interest rates are holding, but inflation’s not done. And the U.S. is running trillion-dollar deficits while its currency quietly suffers its worst six-month performance in modern history.
The U.S. Economy Is Humming Along… Until You Look Under the Hood
At first glance, the numbers don’t look terrible: high stock indexes, stable unemployment, and rising consumer optimism. But dig deeper, and the story shifts.
- Core inflation is stuck around 2.6% and starting to rise again, especially as tariffs begin to drive input costs even higher.
- The Federal Reserve is frozen, unwilling to cut rates because doing so would reignite price pressures.
- Congress is on track to pass the Big Beautiful Bill, one of the most aggressive deficit-expanding fiscal packages in decades. It is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
As Powell recently warned, tariff-driven inflation could keep the Fed sidelined longer than markets expect. That means no lifeline for the bond market and no real relief for American households.
Volatility Is Back, and It’s Wearing a Mask
Market participants have endured extreme price swings across asset classes. Oil plummeted on trade fears, only to spike after Middle East tensions flared. Bonds whipsawed. Tech stocks stumbled. Currency markets turned upside down.
And through it all, precious metals quietly surged:
Why Investors Are Returning to Gold and Silver
When monetary policy is gridlocked, debt is exploding, and governments resort to tariffs and buybacks, traditional safe havens lose credibility. In that environment, gold and silver look refreshingly simple.
They’re tangible. Independent. Borderless. And they don’t need permission from a central bank to store value.
Gold and silver offer protection against the political and financial risks now baked into the system.
Start Stacking with the ZeroHedge Bullion Collection
The ZeroHedge Bullion Collection, available only from JM Bullion, ZeroHedge’s preferred bullion dealer, is built for times like these:
1 oz ZeroHedge Gold Bar: .9999 fine gold, sealed in an assay blister pack. A symbol of independence, stamped with the ZeroHedge logo.
10 oz Silver Bar: Solid, stackable, and .999 pure. The foundation of any serious metals portfolio.
1 oz Silver Round: Compact, flexible, and ideal for those who value mobility and real value.
While the world worries about empty ports and trade disruptions, gold and silver remain untouched by border closures, bottlenecks, or broken promises.
The first half of 2025 made the case. The second half will test who was paying attention.
