$1.1 Trillion Flood of Liquidity from Drawdown of Treasury General Account Peters Out by Wolf Richter • Aug 7, 2021 • 134 Comments And as the Fed pumps out cash via QE on one side, it mops up $1 trillion in cash via reverse repos on the other.
Used-Vehicle Madness Unwinds Teeny-Weenie Bit, 2nd Month by Wolf Richter • Aug 6, 2021 • 89 Comments I’d say, prices at wholesale are still idiotic, but slightly less idiotic. Retail prices lag a month or two.
Weird Phenomenon of “Labor Shortages” as Millions of People Still Aren’t Working: Employers Hired 2.5 Million in 3 Months by Wolf Richter • Aug 6, 2021 • 111 Comments The Fed is looking for jobs reports to justify tapering its asset purchases, and this was one. But the labor market is still messed up.
Senator Manchin Hammers on Powell to Back Off Money Printing, as Biggest “Inflation Momentum in 30 Years” Might Derail Democrats’ Spending Priorities by Wolf Richter • Aug 5, 2021 • 272 Comments Giving political cover to the Fed to tamp down on inflation. Which fits neatly into my theory.
Yes, More People Went Back to Work in States that Ended the $300/Week in Federal Unemployment Benefits by Wolf Richter • Aug 5, 2021 • 106 Comments In an economy screaming for labor, the data is becoming clearer, despite breathless media coverage to the contrary.
New Vehicle Sales Slammed by Semiconductor Shortage, Record Low Inventories, Beginnings of Buyers’ Strike by Wolf Richter • Aug 4, 2021 • 141 Comments Frustrated by lack of choice and puffed-up prices, many customers walked.
Dollar’s Purchasing Power Gets Zapped. It’s Permanent by Wolf Richter • Aug 4, 2021 • 176 Comments This combo of massive QE, repressed interest rates, huge government stimulus with borrowed money, and raging inflation is new in recent history.
State of the American Debt Slaves: Forbearance & Free-Money Phenomenon amid Soaring Prices of Homes & Autos by Wolf Richter • Aug 3, 2021 • 196 Comments Mass-forbearance is the best thing that ever happened to sweeping reality under the rug. But now, there’s a huge mess under the rug.
After Upending the Global Oil Industry & Losing their Shirts, Shale Oil Drillers & Battered Investors Go for Price by Wolf Richter • Aug 3, 2021 • 52 Comments Imports from OPEC reduced to irrelevancy.
Fracking Suddenly a True Believer in “Discipline?” US Natural Gas Net Exports Hit Record, Prices Jump as Production Stalls by Wolf Richter • Aug 2, 2021 • 85 Comments Subsidized by investors who lost their shirts, cheap natural gas was a huge benefit to the US economy for years.
THE WOLF STREET REPORT: Dollar’s Purchasing Power Gets Zapped. It’s Permanent by Wolf Richter • Aug 1, 2021 • 183 Comments This combo of massive QE, repressed interest rates, huge government stimulus with borrowed money, and raging inflation is new in recent history.
My Thoughts on Selling a Successful Family Business: McNellis by John McNellis • Jul 31, 2021 • 89 Comments Rushing down a mountain can kill you, rushing to sell a business can cost you a fortune.
People Made Heroic Efforts to Spend. Inflation Ate Their Lunch by Wolf Richter • Jul 30, 2021 • 255 Comments The big shift from durable goods to services is underway.
Fed’s Lowest Lowball Inflation Measure “Core PCE” Spikes Further. Highest 3-Month Rate since 1982 by Wolf Richter • Jul 30, 2021 • 146 Comments “Way above target”: Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Steamy Rent Inflation in Single-Family Suburban Houses: Invitation Homes Jacks Up Rents Big Time on its 80,000 Houses by Wolf Richter • Jul 30, 2021 • 209 Comments It isn’t buying whole neighborhoods; it’s buying whole new subdivisions of built-to-rent houses.
Socked by 6.4% Inflation, Record Trade Deficit, Inventory Shortages, and Drop in Government Spending, “Real” GDP Jumps Disappointingly by Wolf Richter • Jul 29, 2021 • 182 Comments Inflation ate my homework: All this stimulus, so little to show for.
My Thoughts on the Fed’s Back-to-the-Future “Standing Repo Facilities” Announced Today by Wolf Richter • Jul 28, 2021 • 164 Comments Repos are different from QE; they’re in-and-out transactions that don’t endlessly pile up, unlike QE.
The Zoo Has Gone Nuts: PayPal Will Give Me $25 if I Buy Cryptos by Wolf Richter • Jul 28, 2021 • 131 Comments Ah, hefty “fees” & fat “spreads.” But wasn’t the promise of bitcoin to buy stuff without using fiat currency payment systems such as PayPal?
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America: July Update, Holy Moly by Wolf Richter • Jul 27, 2021 • 269 Comments Raging mania house-price inflation.
No, Rents Are Not Suddenly Spiking in San Francisco: They Fell Again in July and Are Down 27% since June 2019 by Wolf Richter • Jul 27, 2021 • 84 Comments The rental market is in turmoil after jobs and people left, and price discovery has set in. Falling rents are a market-based solution to the “Housing Crisis.”
US Home Purchases by Foreigners Plunged for 4th Year, to Decade Low. But They Bought More Expensive Homes than Americans by Wolf Richter • Jul 26, 2021 • 133 Comments Purchases by buyers from China collapsed by 84% since the peak in 2017.
Buyers’ Strike: Sales of New Houses Plunge 32% in 5 Months, Unsold Inventory Highest since 2008, Prices Drop, Construction Costs Spike by Most since 1980 by Wolf Richter • Jul 26, 2021 • 229 Comments Bottom falls out at lower end. Fed-enriched high-end buyers doing fine.
People Sure Are Driving a Lot, Gasoline Consumption Hits Record, But Flying & Mass Transit Lag Way Behind by Wolf Richter • Jul 25, 2021 • 154 Comments The miracles of the new economy.
Bond Market Has Been Clueless about Inflation for Decades, Now More so Than Ever. The Meme the Drop in Yields = End of Inflation is a Fantasy by Wolf Richter • Jul 24, 2021 • 226 Comments Even before QE, the 10-year yield lagged years behind CPI, up and down. And now, the Fed manipulates the market with QE.
While Fed Blows Off Inflation, Hawkish Bank of Russia Shocks & Awes with Rate Hikes, Sees “Persistent” & “Prolonged” Inflation by Wolf Richter • Jul 23, 2021 • 197 Comments But the US and Russia have similar red-hot inflation rates.
After Slashing 33% of Workers in 6 Years, Railroads Complain about Labor Shortages, amid Uproar over Slow Shipments by Wolf Richter • Jul 22, 2021 • 237 Comments “No way did I realize how difficult it was going to be to try and get people to come to work these days”: CEO of CSX.
Home Sellers Are Coming Out of the Woodwork: New Listings, Unsold Inventories & Supply Rise by Wolf Richter • Jul 22, 2021 • 179 Comments Sales edge up, after sagging for months, amid Crazy Spiking Prices.
Creditors Foreclose on Another Mall of Simon Property Group, Face Massive Loss by Wolf Richter • Jul 21, 2021 • 147 Comments As largest mall landlord in the US sheds its malls, CMBS holders, such as bond funds and pension funds, take the losses.
“No Resistance” to Price Increases by Wolf Richter • Jul 20, 2021 • 304 Comments The Restaurant Industry Reacts to a Messed-Up Economy Plagued by Shortages & Transportation Snags.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in Canada: Why the Bank of Canada is Cutting QE by Wolf Richter • Jul 20, 2021 • 127 Comments And the utter craziness has begun to “decelerate” in some markets.
