What I'm Reading Out of Balance: Households boosted spending in April but drew heavily on savings in order to do so. Higher-income consumers are likely healthy enough to continue funding their spending through savings for a while as their excess savings are significant. However, lower income households do not have...
May 17th – The Waiting Game
What I'm Reading The Waiting Game: Buyers who signed contracts for new homes are now facing the risk that rising mortgage rates will make them unable to afford it by the time the home is completed. Wall Street Journal Open the Gates: More than four dozen former national security leaders...
May 12th – Pushback
What I'm Reading Pushback: Consumers are doing less grocery shopping online as health concerns fade and consumers become more cost conscious thanks to inflation. Chain Store Age Offshored: The tech industry is warning that more remote jobs are headed out of the US thanks to worker shortages and a lack...
March 8th – Buyer’s Remorse?
What I'm Reading Buyer's Remorse? RV sales surged during the pandemic. Some new owners are finding vehicle upkeep to be more than they bargained for. USA Today $6 gasoline is only going to add to the buyer's remorse. This is a perfect illustration of why I've been far more bullish...
December 13th – Tipping Point
What I'm Reading Tipping Point: China Evergrande has defaulted on the debt it owes to global investors, according to Fitch Ratings. Evergrande has already said it would “actively engage” with its foreign creditors to come up with a plan for restructuring but any such plan will require the blessing of...
December 9th – Dwindling Reserves
What I'm Reading Dwindling: American balance sheets have been historically strong during the pandemic era, thanks largely to infusions of government cash. The infusions boosted consumer spending, helped pay off debts and reduced the urgency of employment. According to Moody's Analytics, those excess savings are dwindling among many working and...
June 24th – Quid Pro Quo
What I'm Reading Payoff: Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will pay off all the past-due rent that accumulated in the nation's most populated state because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a promise to make landlords whole while giving renters a clean slate. I'm sure that its just a...
February 23rd – Showing My Age
One Big Thing One of my blogging topics is narrative violation. A narrative violation what happens when a piece of data runs counter to a popular story or trend. The classic example of this was the whole “millennials never want to own homes or cars” thing that was making the...