I Was Asked About J.P. Morgan’s Blockchain-Based “JPM Coin.” I Ruthlessly Expand it to Other Payment Systems by Wolf Richter • Feb 16, 2019 • 74 Comments Are banks trying to send credit-card-processing fee-gougers Visa, MasterCard et al. the way of Friendster?
This Retailer Bankruptcy Will Lead to the Largest Liquidation by Store Count in the US. Liquidation Sales to Start Next Week by Wolf Richter • Feb 15, 2019 • 117 Comments Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown for its new shareholders: All of them PE firms.
Just How Huge Are Mexico’s Auto Exports to the US? How Fast Have they Grown? by Don Quijones • Feb 15, 2019 • 24 Comments GM’s Mexico vehicles now are 23% of its US sales. And the Japanese have massively discovered Mexico’s cheap labor.
Worried about Costs & Slowdown? Amazon Scuttles HQ2 Altogether, Plunges NY City Real Estate Industry “Into Despair” by Wolf Richter • Feb 14, 2019 • 142 Comments Prudent cost-cutting move artfully dressed up as response to local politicians that had railed against the $3-billion corporate welfare package.
Why I’m Not in Panic Just Yet over the “Dreadful” Retail Sales that “Fell Most Since 2009,” But Nervously Look at the Trend by Wolf Richter • Feb 14, 2019 • 56 Comments Consumer exuberance maxed out last summer and has since changed direction.
Reverse Sticker Shock? No Inflation for New Vehicles for 22 Years, Says Consumer Price Index, as Taurus Prices Soared 55% by Wolf Richter • Feb 13, 2019 • 110 Comments But then there’s the “average transaction price.”
Mortgage Applications Drop Despite Lower Mortgage Rates: Industry is Baffled by Wolf Richter • Feb 13, 2019 • 66 Comments The hope in early January has been unwound.
Subprime Arrives: Auto-Loan Delinquencies Spike to Great Recession Levels by Wolf Richter • Feb 12, 2019 • 99 Comments “A development that is surprising during a strong economy and labor market”: New York Fed
Bond Funds Are “Potential Source of Financial Instability,” after Years of Global QE and Low Interest Rates: Fitch by Wolf Richter • Feb 11, 2019 • 45 Comments “Liquidity issues at bond mutual funds could result in wider contagion and affect other parts of the financial system and the macro economy.”
Liquidity in New York City’s Housing Market Dries Up by Wolf Richter • Feb 11, 2019 • 84 Comments 52% of the homes listed for sale last spring still have not sold. For sellers, “the situation calls for a clear strategy: cut prices.”