Our Drunken Sailors Went Partying Again: Consumer Spending on Services, even Adjusted for Inflation, is Red-Hot by Wolf Richter • Mar 29, 2024 • 181 Comments They’re in absolutely no mood to slow down. And they still saved part of their income. So why should they even slow down?
Fed’s Wait-and-See about Rate Cuts Supported by Highest-since-July Six-Month Core PCE & Core Services PCE Inflation by Wolf Richter • Mar 29, 2024 • 129 Comments And there were big upward revisions of the already hot readings for January.
Resurging Corporate Profits Show Inflationary Pressures Are Reheating after Lull: Corporate Profits by Major Industry by Wolf Richter • Mar 28, 2024 • 133 Comments But banks are having profit problems.
Amid Canada’s Huge Immigration Surge, Population Growth Hits 3.2%, Fuels 10% Rent Inflation, even as Home Prices Drop by Wolf Richter • Mar 27, 2024 • 144 Comments The record 1.27 million immigrants that arrived last year have to live somewhere.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, March 2024 Update: Biggest Price Drops from 2022 Peak: San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Las Vegas by Wolf Richter • Mar 26, 2024 • 159 Comments 20-City Index drops for 3rd month in a row, forms Double Top. Only Washington DC sets new all-time high.
Prices of New Houses -19% from Peak, Lowest since June 2021. Why Sales of New Houses Held Up, while Sales of Existing Houses Plunged by Wolf Richter • Mar 25, 2024 • 109 Comments Prices of New Houses v. Existing Houses: Price cuts and mortgage-rate buydowns make new houses more attractive.
The Fed’s Liabilities: How Far Can QT Go? What’s the Lowest Possible Level of the Balance Sheet without Blowing Stuff Up? by Wolf Richter • Mar 23, 2024 • 242 Comments Reserves, Domestic ON RRPs, Currency in Circulation, the TGA, and official foreign RRPs determine how far QT can go.
Prices of Existing Homes in Germany Tank 14% so far, as ECB-Fueled Housing Bubble Turns into Housing Bust by Wolf Richter • Mar 22, 2024 • 112 Comments Germany is an example of what interest-rate repression and QE do to home prices, and what happens when inflation causes those policies to be reversed.
Amid Weak Demand for Existing Homes, Active Listings & Price Reductions Jump, Listing Prices Weaken by Wolf Richter • Mar 21, 2024 • 117 Comments “Many potential buyers are postponing their purchasing plans in hopes of securing lower rates. Consequently, lower buyer competitions exerted downward pressure on prices”: Realtor.com
What Powell Said About Slowing the Pace of QT: “By Going Slower, You Can Get Farther” by Wolf Richter • Mar 20, 2024 • 158 Comments They learned a lesson from the mess in 2019, which Powell referred to several times.