Murky Business of Chinese Merchandise on Amazon’s US Site

by Wolf Richter • Nov 11, 2019 • 46 Comments

Its China team “saw increasing patterns of fraud, counterfeits and unsafe products.” But US consumers have no clue where the sellers are and where the products came from.

THE WOLF STREET REPORT: How the Fed Boosts the 1%, as Told by the Fed

by Wolf Richter • Nov 10, 2019 • 158 Comments

Even the upper middle class loses share of household wealth to the 1%. The bottom half gets screwed.

Negative Yielding Bonds Turn into Punishment Bonds

by Wolf Richter • Nov 9, 2019 • 137 Comments

After peak negative-yield-absurdity in August, bond prices fell – the “bond bloodbath” – and the mountain of bonds with negative yields has plunged by $5 Trillion, or by 30%, despite rate cuts.

The State of the American Debt Slaves, Q3 2019

by Wolf Richter • Nov 8, 2019 • 197 Comments

Paying the University-Corporate-Financial Complex and the big bifurcation.

Fed Goes Nuts with Repos & T-Bills but Sheds Mortgage Backed Securities

by Wolf Richter • Nov 7, 2019 • 135 Comments

The fastest increase in assets for any two-month period since the post-Lehman freak show in late 2008 and early 2009.

What’s Going on in the Used Cars & Trucks v. Carmageddon?

by Wolf Richter • Nov 7, 2019 • 58 Comments

Sales are declining again, after having risen for years. Wholesale prices slip year-over-year for first time in 33 months. But “cars” still dominate “trucks.”

Months After Takeover, European Supermarket Giant Dia Discloses Huge Losses, Plunging Revenues, Soaring Debt

by Nick Corbishley • Nov 7, 2019 • 36 Comments

Russian billionaire rues the day he bought it. “We should have been more cautious and done our due diligence better.”

Where You Pay the Mostest and Get Approved the Leastest, so to Speak: Mortgage Rates, Fees & Denial Rates Differ Bigly by State

by Wolf Richter • Nov 6, 2019 • 59 Comments

It’s not always in the states with the highest home prices.

What’s Behind the Fed’s Bailout of the Repo Market?

by Wolf Richter • Nov 6, 2019 • 61 Comments

Whose Bets are Getting Bailed Out by the Fed’s Repos & T-Bill Purchases?

Yield Curve Un-Inverts, 10-Year Yield Spikes, Middle-Age Sag Disappears

by Wolf Richter • Nov 5, 2019 • 103 Comments

It happened. Hallelujah. Or maybe better: Watch Out! Yield Curve Spaghetti.

What Heavy Trucks Are Saying

by Wolf Richter • Nov 5, 2019 • 28 Comments

“I do believe that in North America it is a cyclical downturn”: Cummins COO.

Leveraged-Loan Downgrades Spike, Collateralized Loan Obligations Get Cold Feet, Selloff in B-Rated Loans Ensues

by Wolf Richter • Nov 4, 2019 • 61 Comments

“Sell first, ask questions later.”

Uber Loses Another $1.2 billion, Stock Dives Again

by Wolf Richter • Nov 4, 2019 • 82 Comments

Burning cash is easy; It’s quite flammable and just goes up in smoke.

THE WOLF STREET REPORT: What’s Behind the Fed’s Bailout of the Repo Market?

by Wolf Richter • Nov 3, 2019 • 103 Comments

Whose Bets are Getting Bailed Out by the Fed’s Repos & Treasury Bill Purchases?

US National Debt Passed $23 Trillion, Jumped $1.3 Trillion in 12 Months

by Wolf Richter • Nov 2, 2019 • 144 Comments

And these are the good times. What happens in a recession?

Manufacturing in the US vs. China, Germany, Japan, South Korea

by Wolf Richter • Nov 1, 2019 • 76 Comments

US barely Cleanest Dirty Shirt among the manufacturing giants.

Panama Canal: Slowdown in US-Asia/China Trade?

by MC01 • Nov 1, 2019 • 41 Comments

One of the world’s critical choke points for maritime traffic.

Rents Fall Southern California, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco, San Jose, Chicago, Honolulu & Others

by Wolf Richter • Oct 31, 2019 • 64 Comments

But rents surge in 22 other markets by the double-digits.

Global Slowdown? Mexico’s GDP Declines Year-Over-Year for First Time Since 2009

by Nick Corbishley • Oct 31, 2019 • 40 Comments

Not just exports and manufacturing – but services stall.

What Will Stocks Do When “Consensual Hallucination” Ends?

by Wolf Richter • Oct 30, 2019 • 147 Comments

The phenomenon works – until it doesn’t. What’s astonishing is how long it works.

Dallas, Minneapolis, Chicago, Charlotte, Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland: From Smaller Housing Bubbles to Crushed Markets

by Wolf Richter • Oct 30, 2019 • 37 Comments

The cities that are not among “the most splendid housing bubbles.”

The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, October Update

by Wolf Richter • Oct 29, 2019 • 94 Comments

Despite startup millionaires, house & condo prices in SF Bay Area and condo prices in NY City fall from a year ago. Seattle down again. Los Angeles, Las Vegas lose steam. Phoenix, others running hot.

Tesla Discloses US Revenues Collapsed 39%. Americans Sour on its Cars, Pent-Up Demand Exhausted

by Wolf Richter • Oct 29, 2019 • 192 Comments

This is a holy-cow moment.

“Run on the Fund”: The Big Risk of Bond Mutual Funds. What to Look For and What to Do

by Wolf Richter • Oct 28, 2019 • 60 Comments

“First-Mover Advantage” in a “Liquidity Mismatch”: How slow-poke investors in conservative-sounding mutual funds can get their faces ripped off.

Redemptions Rip Through UK Equity Funds as Fallout from Woodford Collapse Grows

by Nick Corbishley • Oct 28, 2019 • 23 Comments

In funds with a liquidity mismatch, the First-Mover Advantage is huge, as Woodford’s investors found out.

THE WOLF STREET REPORT: What Will Stocks Do When “Consensual Hallucination” Ends

by Wolf Richter • Oct 27, 2019 • 118 Comments

What’s astonishing is how long it lasts.

The Crisis in Catalonia & What I Saw in Our Neighborhood in Barcelona

by Nick Corbishley • Oct 27, 2019 • 65 Comments

As separatist region is rocked by violence, businesses sound alarm.

Subprime Auto Loans Blow Up, 60-Day Delinquencies Shoot Past Financial Crisis Peak

by Wolf Richter • Oct 25, 2019 • 123 Comments

Santander Consumer USA is on the forefront of souring subprime-auto-loan backed securities.

SoftBank to Book Loss of up to $7 Billion on WeWork, Uber, Others, after Showering $1.7 Billion on Neumann and Hanging his Employees Out to Dry

by Wolf Richter • Oct 24, 2019 • 136 Comments

However many billions of other people’s money your outfit burns, just make sure you walk away a billionaire.

Despite Ultra-Low Mortgage Rates, New House Prices Drop to Multi-Year Low

by Wolf Richter • Oct 24, 2019 • 102 Comments

Last time prices fell like this was during the Financial Crisis. But now, there is no crisis.