Pending Home Sales Drop to Record Low in the Data, from Already Low Levels, on Big Drops in the South & Midwest by Wolf Richter • Feb 19, 2026 • 4 Comments “Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity”: National Association of Realtors.
Single-Family & Multifamily Construction: Bring on the Supply just as Population Growth Slows to a Crawl by Wolf Richter • Feb 18, 2026 • 33 Comments This is precisely what this overpriced and frozen housing market needs.
Orders for Durable Goods at US Manufacturers Jump 7.8% in 2025 to Record on AI Infrastructure & Civilian Aircraft by Wolf Richter • Feb 18, 2026 • 18 Comments Machinery, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, and nondefense aircraft all hit records.
Serious Delinquency Rates for Subprime & Prime Auto Loans, Balances, and Debt-to-Income Ratio in Q4 2025 by Wolf Richter • Feb 17, 2026 • 50 Comments The high-risk, high-profit ecosystem of subprime auto loans is not for the squeamish.
US Government Sold $701 Billion of Treasury Securities this Week. As Deficits Balloon, Bond Math Is Relentlessly Brutal by Wolf Richter • Feb 14, 2026 • 106 Comments Sold $54B of 10-Year Treasury notes at 4.18% to replace $25B of maturing 1.73% 10-year notes, pushing up amount outstanding by $29B.
Services Inflation Spikes in January, but Bad-Joke OER CPI Pushes Down on Year-over-Year CPI. OER is Huge and Bad by Wolf Richter • Feb 13, 2026 • 112 Comments Gasoline & used-vehicle prices plunge, food inflation backs off for a moment, natural gas bills jump.
Sales of Single-Family Homes Plunged (even in the West in Warm Weather), Supply Surged, Median Price Nearly Flat YoY by Wolf Richter • Feb 12, 2026 • 54 Comments Demand destruction continues after the price explosion from mid-2020 to mid-2022.
Here Come the HELOCs: Mortgages, Housing-Debt-to-Income-Ratio, Serious Delinquencies, and Foreclosures in Q4 2025 by Wolf Richter • Feb 12, 2026 • 39 Comments One of the most fundamental changes resulting from the Financial Crisis was the transfer of mortgage risk from banks to taxpayers.
Private Sector Ramps Up Hiring. Job Losses Mount at Federal & State Governments by Wolf Richter • Feb 11, 2026 • 64 Comments How much job growth is actually needed as population growth slows dramatically?
Growth of Nonfarm Jobs in 2024 and 2025 Much Weaker than Previously Reported: The Annual Benchmark Revisions by Wolf Richter • Feb 11, 2026 • 26 Comments Total nonfarm employment is 1.03 million jobs lower than previously estimated.
Household Debts, Debt-to-Income Ratio, Delinquencies, Collections, Foreclosures, and Bankruptcies in Q4 2025 by Wolf Richter • Feb 11, 2026 • 60 Comments Americans and their Debts. Long-defaulted federal student loans, after coming out of the woodwork, whack delinquency rates.
Not Seasonally Adjusted, Retail Sales Spiked by $80 billion, the Most for any December Ever by far, to $817 Billion, the Most Ever by Wolf Richter • Feb 10, 2026 • 34 Comments Seasonal Adjustments Gone Awry? They whacked $82 billion off December sales, by far the most ever.
Despite 4 Years of Mass-Layoffs at Alphabet & Amazon, Headcount Rose in 2025, Nearly Flat with Peak, as Hiring Continued by Wolf Richter • Feb 9, 2026 • 37 Comments After biggest hiring binge ever in 2020-2021, it was clear there’d be a lot of sorting out & cleaning up afterwards.
Software Company monday.com Plunges 22% today, -82% from High, -50% from IPO Price, into our Imploded Stocks by Wolf Richter • Feb 9, 2026 • 43 Comments Is it finally time to bottom-fish this stock? Or is it a falling knife?
AMZN, GOOG, MSFT, META, ORCL Plan $700 Billion in Largely AI-Related Capex in 2026. Where the Cash Comes From by Wolf Richter • Feb 7, 2026 • 131 Comments Big Tech is finally plowing their cash & their investors’ cash into the economy.
Here We Go Again on Inflation: Used Vehicle Prices Jump in January, Expected to Jump More in Record Tax-Refund Season by Wolf Richter • Feb 6, 2026 • 71 Comments Tax refunds make great down-payments which are great for higher prices. Every year, the industry salivates over it. But this year will be special.
Bitcoin Treasury Company Strategy [MSTR] Plunged 77% from its High, Joins our Imploded Stocks. Bitcoin Plunged only 50% by Wolf Richter • Feb 5, 2026 • 105 Comments The miracle of valuing the company’s stock far higher than its bitcoin holdings came unglued. Then bitcoin plunged.
Companies Hang on to their Workers, and Workers Cling to their Jobs: One More Factor why it’s Tough for Job Seekers by Wolf Richter • Feb 5, 2026 • 50 Comments Much slower turnover in the labor force leaves fewer job openings to be filled.
ADP Employment Report Massively Revised to 2010 with Huge Erratic Differences in Month-to-Month Job Creation & Losses by Wolf Richter • Feb 4, 2026 • 81 Comments Rendering reliance on it for indications of employment trends useless.
PayPal Shares Plunged 86% from the 2021 Goofball High and Right into our Imploded Stocks by Wolf Richter • Feb 3, 2026 • 104 Comments The sudden CEO switcheroo was just the latest spooky thing.
