What’s Behind the WTF Spike in Used-Vehicle Prices? My Gut Says, it Can’t Last. But if it Lasts, It’s Scary-Crazy Inflation by Wolf Richter • May 7, 2021 • 207 Comments And if it doesn’t last after the stimmies are gone, dealers will sit on massively overpriced collateral, which could get messy.
Unemployment Crisis, “Labor Shortage,” or Out-of-Whack Labor Market – Which Is It? by Wolf Richter • May 7, 2021 • 193 Comments The bizarre phenomenon of companies complaining about “labor shortages” amid dropping job applicants, while 9.8 million are “unemployed,” and 16.2 million people claim unemployment benefits.
Fed’s QE amid “Everything Mania”: Total Assets $7.8 Trillion, More than Doubled in 18 Months since Repo Market Blowout by Wolf Richter • May 6, 2021 • 202 Comments QE from crisis to crisis, and even when there is no crisis.
Bank of England Now 2nd Central Bank to Taper, After Canada, but Denies Tapering is “Tapering,” also Following Canada by Wolf Richter • May 6, 2021 • 69 Comments The Big Taper starts one central bank at a time. But you gotta keep the markets from swooning with a bit of welcome delusion.
Now Even Google Caves under Demand for Permanent Work from Home, Another Blow to Bay Area Office Market by Wolf Richter • May 5, 2021 • 139 Comments “The future of work is flexibility,” CEO Pichai told employees today.
Lumber: Scary-Crazy Inflation Now Gets Passed On. But These WTF Price Spikes Cannot Last by Wolf Richter • May 5, 2021 • 188 Comments Irrational behavior by buyers confidently betting on being able to pass on that irrationality to their customers. It works until it doesn’t.
The Dynamics Behind the Ugly Amount of Empty Office Space by Wolf Richter • May 4, 2021 • 127 Comments This sort of sudden structural collapse in demand for office space raises some existential questions for landlords.
Just Keeps Getting Worse: Services Trade Surplus, the American Dream Not-Come-True, Falls to 9-Year Low, Total Trade Deficit Explodes to Worst Ever by Wolf Richter • May 4, 2021 • 261 Comments The promise of high-value services exports to rationalize globalization turned out to be fake.
Intel & TSMC on Chip Shortage: After Blowing $84 Billion on Share Buybacks since 2011 and Now Woefully Behind, Intel Clamors for $50 Billion in Subsidies for US Chip Industry by Wolf Richter • May 3, 2021 • 292 Comments “We will not be anywhere near as focused on buybacks going forward as we have in the past”: Intel’s new CEO.
Haunting Photos of San Francisco During Lockdown by Wolf Richter • May 1, 2021 • 155 Comments Dark humor, street art, gritty beauty, and misery in an ugly time.
