Status of US Dollar as Global Reserve Currency: Central Banks Diversify from USD-Assets to Other Currencies and to Gold by Wolf Richter • Jun 29, 2024 • 69 Comments Long, slow erosion of the US dollar’s dominance. China’s renminbi keeps losing ground, many other currencies gain, as does gold.
Our Drunken Sailors Leaving the Party? Nah, Not Yet: Incomes, Transfer Receipts, Spending, Saving, and Inflation by Wolf Richter • Jun 28, 2024 • 107 Comments After getting whacked by inflation, incomes have now outrun inflation for the 17th month in a row.
Fed’s Wait-and-See on Rate Cuts Makes Sense amid Whiplash Data: Still Worst 6-Month “Core” PCE Inflation since mid-2023 but Freak Plunge in Durable Goods by Wolf Richter • Jun 28, 2024 • 61 Comments Housing inflation was hot and accelerated in May, amid crazy whiplash-data in other services.
Corporate Profits by Major Industry, Q1 Update: “Greedflation” Hits Ceiling in Some Industries but Still Thrives in Others? by Wolf Richter • Jun 27, 2024 • 43 Comments The huge spike in profits during the high-inflation years backtracked in some industries but got even hotter in others.
Demand for Homes Drops to (Near) Record Low as Inventory Rises. Now Come the “Stabilizing Home Prices”: NAR by Wolf Richter • Jun 27, 2024 • 87 Comments “The market is at an interesting point with rising inventory and lower demand”: National Association of Realtors
Yen Drops to 161 against USD. -34% since 2020, -53% since 2012. Currency Collapse Comes to Mind. Bank of Japan Finally Gets Nervous about its Crazed Monetary Policies by Wolf Richter • Jun 26, 2024 • 92 Comments A collapsed yen is not good for Japan, which has had a trade deficit for years. And it contributed to energy price shocks.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, June 2024 Update. San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Portland, Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas still below 2022 Peak by Wolf Richter • Jun 25, 2024 • 201 Comments New Highs: Boston, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington DC, Chicago… Rate-Cut Mania subsides, price growth begins to slow.
Inflation in Canada Throws Another Curveball: Core CPI Spikes Month-to-Month by Most since 2022 by Wolf Richter • Jun 25, 2024 • 32 Comments It was obviously “unexpected.” But the Bank of Canada has been leery of this sort of mess showing up.
Ford F-150 Falls off Cliff in Q1 Registrations, Toyota RAV4 Leaps to #1, Tesla Model Y Gains Share, Still #2 Bestseller in the US by Wolf Richter • Jun 24, 2024 • 99 Comments Car and truck bestseller rankings in the US got stirred and shaken in Q1 2024.
Largest Auto Dealers Begin to Warn about Impact of Ransomware Attack Crippling Dealer Software Provider CDK by Wolf Richter • Jun 24, 2024 • 88 Comments “As the incident is ongoing, the full scope, nature and impact of the incident is not yet known”: AutoNation today.
Who Holds the Recklessly Ballooning US National Debt of $34.7 Trillion? by Wolf Richter • Jun 23, 2024 • 168 Comments All of these Treasury securities have been sold. So here are the holders.
Home Sales Sag Further, Hit by Mortgage Rates. Price Cuts & Active Listings Surge. Median Price Skewed by Surge in High-End Sales by Wolf Richter • Jun 21, 2024 • 217 Comments Sales in the mid- and lower range swoon as many people who need a mortgage seem to be waiting for lower rates.
Global Steel Production Update: China’s Property Crisis & Manufacturing Slowdown Trigger China’s Worst Ever 3-Year Drop of Steel Production, after Years of Blistering Growth by Wolf Richter • Jun 20, 2024 • 64 Comments US production of crude steel edged down further. Nucor Steel moved up to #15 globally. US Steel, #24, gets acquired by #4, Nippon Steel.
The Foreign Holders of the Ballooning US Debt: They’re Buying, But Don’t Keep Up by Wolf Richter • Jun 19, 2024 • 120 Comments As China dumps Treasury securities, the Euro Area, Canada, and financial centers load up with immense appetite.
The Collapse of the EV SPACs: Fisker Joins the Bankruptcy Party, Others on the Verge by Wolf Richter • Jun 19, 2024 • 107 Comments Consensual Hallucination drove that SPAC boom during the free-money era.
Our Drunken Sailors Bought Lots of Stuff at Retailers, including Vehicles, But at Prices that Fell from the Pandemic Spike by Wolf Richter • Jun 18, 2024 • 56 Comments Inflation-adjusted consumer spending & GDP will reflect that strength.
Hot Wage Growth Bedevils Wishlist for ECB Rate Cuts by Wolf Richter • Jun 17, 2024 • 41 Comments Wages jumped by 5.3% in the Euro Area, matching the prior record. The ECB pointed at wage growth as a risk to its inflation outlook.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in Canada, May 2024: Prices Drop Further, -14.4% from Feb 2022 Peak, -2.4% YoY, back to Sep 2021. Spring Rally Dud by Wolf Richter • Jun 17, 2024 • 29 Comments Sales drop further, new listings & inventory rise. Prices: Toronto -16% from peak. Vancouver flat for 9 months, -2.5% from peak. Calgary & Quebec hit new highs.
Junta of Mega-Cap Stocks Rules. Rest of the Market? Russell 2000 Hits Jan 2021 Level, S&P 500 Equal Weight Hits Jan 2022 by Wolf Richter • Jun 15, 2024 • 132 Comments A market hooked on a handful of mega-cap stocks is a precarious place to be.
Rate-Cut Mania’s 20.7% Spike in French Stock Market Comes Home to Roost by Wolf Richter • Jun 14, 2024 • 54 Comments When stuff gets inflated like this, no one should be surprised when it gets deflated.