Housing Market Goes Crazy, Everyone Sees It Can’t Last, and then the First Dip Appears by Wolf Richter • Dec 22, 2020 • 235 Comments There is already a sudden and historic housing glut in San Francisco.
Another Piece of the Puzzle of Plunging Credit Card Balances by Wolf Richter • Dec 21, 2020 • 161 Comments Consumers cut back on applying for credit cards, and the Fed is not amused.
Holy-Cow Spikes in China-US Container Freight Rates & US Consumer Spending on Goods Trigger Mad, Possibly Illegal Scramble for Empties. US Farmers Twist in the Wind by Wolf Richter • Dec 20, 2020 • 135 Comments US Federal Maritime Commission investigates container carriers’ “abandonment” of American agricultural industry. Weirdest Economy Ever.
Who Holds the $1.65 Trillion of Apartment Building Debt amid Eviction Bans and Plunging Occupancy Rates at High Rises? by Wolf Richter • Dec 18, 2020 • 186 Comments You guessed it: For over half of it, taxpayers are on the hook. Time to take a look.
Biggest Share Buyback Queens in Q3: Tech and Buffett. The Banks Are Gone. But Share Buybacks Plunged 42% YoY by Wolf Richter • Dec 17, 2020 • 151 Comments Funded with debt: Share buybacks totaled $5 trillion since 2012. Over same period, corporate debt soared by $4.5 trillion.
Where Americans Splurged & Where They Cut Back in 13 Whiplash-Charts by Wolf Richter • Dec 16, 2020 • 149 Comments Stimulus Fatigue sets in. Second month of declining retail sales in a row. But online sales eked out a new record, if barely.
Congress to Pass $17 Billion Bailout of Airline Shareholders & Bondholders, to Top Off Prior Bailout. Industry Applauds, Airline Stocks Jump by Wolf Richter • Dec 15, 2020 • 161 Comments Top 4 airlines burned $45 billion on share buybacks since 2012. If airlines run out of money, Chapter 11 bankruptcy works. Airlines proved it.
California “Techsodus”: Tech Companies, Billionaires, Millionaires, Tech Employees Flee San Francisco & Silicon Valley by Wolf Richter • Dec 14, 2020 • 253 Comments And we coined “Management by Zooming Around.” Which is what Oracle’s Larry Ellison is doing.
Tesla, Quadruple-WTF Chart of the Year: It Should Just Sell Shares on Autopilot at Huge Prices and Exit Sordid Business of Making Cars by Wolf Richter • Dec 12, 2020 • 274 Comments Global market share of 1%. But market cap = combined total of Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, GM, BMW, Honda, Ford. Raised $10 billion in three months by selling shares.
Update on the Fed’s QE by Wolf Richter • Dec 11, 2020 • 120 Comments No Wonder the Cry Babies on Wall Street are clamoring for more. Five SPVs, already on ice, will expire on December 31.
