Consumers Got Whacked by Inflation, High Interest Rates, Layoff News, Asset Prices Falling from Lofty Peaks… And They’re Still Not Slowing Down by Wolf Richter • Mar 31, 2023 • 88 Comments The banking turmoil is seen as next test for consumers. Would be a hoot if they just go ahead and blow that off too.
Services Inflation Rages at Worst Rate since 1984, Keeps “Core PCE” (Fed’s Yardstick) in High Range. Energy & Goods Cool by Wolf Richter • Mar 31, 2023 • 148 Comments Nearly two-thirds of consumer spending goes to services. That’s where the inflation action is.
Population Drops Even More in California, San Francisco Bay Area, Coastal Southern California. San Francisco -8% from Peak! But 19 Inland Counties Grow by Wolf Richter • Mar 30, 2023 • 148 Comments Where is demand for homes supposed to come from when the population keeps declining?
How 3% Mortgages Altered the Housing Market for Years to Come: A Lot Smaller but More in Balance than it Seems, Hence Dropping Prices Despite Low Inventories by Wolf Richter • Mar 29, 2023 • 265 Comments Lot of demand and supply gone in equal, with no net impact on inventory, but huge impact on sales, commissions, profits, and jobs.
Don’t Let the Headlines Fool You about a Tiny Month-to-Month Uptick in Pending Home Sales: Still -21% from a Year Ago, -25% from 2 & 3 Years Ago. Have a Look at the Chart by Wolf Richter • Mar 29, 2023 • 114 Comments Spring selling season volume lowest since Housing Bust 1.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, March Update: Biggest Monthly Price Drops Now in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver by Wolf Richter • Mar 28, 2023 • 256 Comments Double-digit drops from peak in San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
Battle for Deposits: Tired of Getting Screwed by Banks, People Yank their Cash Out, Forcing Banks to Pay Higher Interest Rates. Treasury Yields Are a Mess Though by Wolf Richter • Mar 27, 2023 • 197 Comments That’s how it should have been all along. But the Fed’s interest rate repression killed competition for deposits.
FDIC Sells Much of Silicon Valley Bank to First-Citizens Bank. Total Cost of SVB Collapse to Deposit Insurance Fund: $20 Bn by Wolf Richter • Mar 27, 2023 • 144 Comments Even collapsed banks have lots of assets that the FDIC sells to cover the costs to the Fund. Signature Bank collapse costs the Fund only $2.5 billion
Free Money Turned Brains to Mush, Now Some Banks Fail by Wolf Richter • Mar 25, 2023 • 177 Comments The Fed’s rate hikes and QT didn’t break anything except consensual hallucination.
The Fed Should Be Fired as Bank Regulator. Powell’s Discussion of Silicon Valley Bank & Regulatory Failure Shows Why by Wolf Richter • Mar 24, 2023 • 189 Comments The Fed is structurally too conflicted to regulate banks. The FDIC is not, but it needs tiger teeth to bite CEOs’ heads off.
