Leverage v. Stock Market “Events”: Margin Debt Plunged in June by Wolf Richter • Jul 19, 2022 • 96 Comments Few took the warning seriously that margin debt issued last year.
Housing Bubble Getting Ready to Pop: Traffic of Prospective Buyers of New Houses Plunges, Homebuilders Cut Prices, Sentiment Dives by Wolf Richter • Jul 18, 2022 • 266 Comments Homebuilder stocks have been wobbling lower all year, now down between 24% and 40%.
Front Loading: Canada’s Mortgage Rates Hit Housing Market amid Monster Rate Hikes by Steve Saretsky • Jul 18, 2022 • 91 Comments Over 50% of mortgage originations have been variable rate this year. Other mortgages are “fixed rate” typically for 2 to 5 years, after which they adjust.
What Freight Volume and Freight Rates Say About the Shift of Consumer Spending from Goods Back to Services by Wolf Richter • Jul 18, 2022 • 64 Comments Freight volume is down from the red-hot levels last year, but remains relatively high, after the grotesquely overstimulated demand last year.
New Vehicle Inventory Stuck Near Record Low, Shortages Shift to Fuel-Efficient Cars, Prices Hit Record. But Used Vehicle Price Spike Runs out of Fuel amid Plenty of Supply by Wolf Richter • Jul 16, 2022 • 141 Comments Still the strangest auto market ever.
Americans Not in the Mood for a Recession: Splurging on Goods, Flocking to Restaurants by Wolf Richter • Jul 15, 2022 • 294 Comments But inflation is eating everyone’s lunch.
Large-scale Gasoline Demand Destruction Hits Sky-High Prices in Peak Driving Season: Gasoline Consumption Drops to July 1999 Level by Wolf Richter • Jul 14, 2022 • 189 Comments Some demand destruction is behavioral and may bounce back; some is structural, growing, and long term: The decline of an industry.
US Dollar Exchange Rates and Inflation: What’s Next? by Wolf Richter • Jul 14, 2022 • 127 Comments The USD had a heck of a ride, which kept inflation from spiking even further. But it may not last much longer.
“Things Are Not Normal Right Now”: Bank of Canada Hikes by Monster 100 Basis Points, Hits Mortgages. So Might the Fed after US CPI Fiasco by Wolf Richter • Jul 13, 2022 • 214 Comments Blame whatever. Just don’t blame money-printing and interest-rate repression.
It Gets Ugly: Inflation Shifts to Services. Food, Fuel Spike Too. Dollar’s Purchasing Power Swoons. by Wolf Richter • Jul 13, 2022 • 236 Comments Oh dearie, the Fed is going to meet in late July, and it’s going to talk about services inflation.
