The Foreign Investors Who Bought the Recklessly Ballooning US Debt: July 2025 Update

by Wolf Richter • Jul 18, 2025 • 12 Comments

US Treasury debt surged by $441 billion since the debt ceiling, to $36.7 trillion. Foreign demand for this stuff is an increasingly important issue.

My Thoughts about those June Retail Sales

by Wolf Richter • Jul 17, 2025 • 63 Comments

Tariff-frontrunning ruffled the numbers earlier. That dust has settled.

The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, June 2025: The Price Drops & Gains in 33 Large Expensive Metros

by Wolf Richter • Jul 16, 2025 • 79 Comments

US home prices nearly flat YoY, but fell in 21 of our 33 metros: Austin, Tampa, Miami, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando, Atlanta, Denver, Raleigh, Houston, Seattle… YoY gains shrink further in Boston, Chicago, New York…

The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in Canada, June 2025: Single-Family & Condo Prices Plunge to Multi-Year Lows in Toronto, Hit Record High in Montreal

by Wolf Richter • Jul 15, 2025 • 37 Comments

And everything in between: Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Ottawa, Halifax, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg.

Fed’s Nightmare: CPI Inflation in Services Reheats (not tariffed), while Inflation in Durable Goods, Apparel & Footwear (tariffed) Remains Cool

by Wolf Richter • Jul 15, 2025 • 182 Comments

While pundits looked with their magnifying glasses for tariffs in consumer goods prices, it was in services, which are not tariffed, where inflation took off again. Shocker? No

Homes for Sale Also Surge in Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit, but Are Still Very Low

by Wolf Richter • Jul 14, 2025 • 27 Comments

They’re among the stragglers, behind other big markets whose inventories have shot up to at least decade-highs.

30-Year Treasury Yield Jumps to 4.96% despite “Solid” Auction, Long End of Yield Curve Steepens, Mortgage-Rate Spread Historically Wide

by Wolf Richter • Jul 12, 2025 • 169 Comments

The bond market’s reaction to the inflationary environment, to fears of a lax Fed, and to a Mississippi River of new debt.

Inventory of Homes for Sale Blows Out in Texas, Price Cuts Spike

by Wolf Richter • Jul 11, 2025 • 80 Comments

The situation in Texas and its four big metros, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.

Homes for Sale in Florida’s Biggest Markets Rise to Highest in Many Years and Languish as Demand Fizzled

by Wolf Richter • Jul 10, 2025 • 103 Comments

He who panicked first panicked best.

ECB Balance Sheet: QT Assets Drop by €64 Billion in June, by €3.18 Trillion from Peak, to €3.98 Trillion, Lowest since June 2020

by Wolf Richter • Jul 10, 2025 • 25 Comments

It also wrote down its €1 trillion in gold by €30 billion due to its price decline in euros in Q2.

The (Declining) Status of the US Dollar as Global Reserve Currency: Central Banks Diversify into other Currencies & Gold

by Wolf Richter • Jul 9, 2025 • 105 Comments

There was an extra-special spectacle in Q1 among the Swiss franc, Australian dollar, British pound, and Japanese yen.

Inventories of Homes for Sale in Big California Markets Jump to Highest in Years, Days on the Market Soar, Demand Withered

by Wolf Richter • Jul 8, 2025 • 108 Comments

Listings YoY: Orange County +66%, San Diego +55%, Fresno +48%, Sacramento +47%, Los Angeles +45%, Riverside-San Bernadino +43%, San Jose & Silicon Valley +39%; San Francisco metro +30%.

Used Car & Truck Wholesale Prices Been Rising for a Year, in Part Driven by Surging Prices of Used EVs

by Wolf Richter • Jul 8, 2025 • 35 Comments

Amid tight supply and solid demand.

Bank of Japan Balance Sheet QT: -¥12 Trillion in Q2, -¥39 Trillion from Peak, to ¥717 Trillion. Sold Nearly All its Bank Stocks

by Wolf Richter • Jul 7, 2025 • 28 Comments

Quantitative Tightening accelerated further. With its bank stocks gone, the BOJ may start selling its equity ETFs soon.

The Housing Markets of Europe: From Most Splendid Housing Bubbles to Go-Nowhere Markets

by Wolf Richter • Jul 6, 2025 • 83 Comments

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal

Fed Balance Sheet QT: -$13 Billion in June, -$2.31 Trillion from Peak, to $6.66 Trillion. New Milestone: 3 Years of QT

by Wolf Richter • Jul 3, 2025 • 95 Comments

The new and improved Standing Repo Facility (SRF) sprang into action for one day at quarter-end on June 30.

Beneath the Surface of the Employment Report: How Jobs Evolved by Industry over Time, Winners & Losers

by Wolf Richter • Jul 3, 2025 • 26 Comments

The job creation machine is running at a decent pace, unemployment is historically low, but it’s not evenly spread across all industries.

Despite Ugliness at Stellantis, Nissan & Tesla, New Vehicle Sales in Q2 Rose to the Best Q2 since 2021. But June Stalled

by Wolf Richter • Jul 2, 2025 • 112 Comments

Cybertruck may be entering automotive history as the most expensive failed model ever.

Office CMBS Delinquency Rate Spikes to Record 11.1% in June, Worse than Financial Crisis Meltdown Peak, after 3-Month Relapse

by Wolf Richter • Jul 1, 2025 • 90 Comments

A Los Angeles tower, FEMA headquarters in Washington, 100-year-old tower in Manhattan join list; some delinquent loans were “cured,” including by transfer to a custodial receiver and extend and pretend, and came off the list.

Tariff Cash Is Rolling In: June’s Record Take Spikes by $20.5 Billion Year-over-Year

by Wolf Richter • Jul 1, 2025 • 73 Comments

Businesses have been paying them out of their huge profits and have not been able to pass them on to consumers so far.