Why Jobs in Retail Are at 2007 Levels: It’s Structural. Jobs in Ecommerce & Services Boomed but Aren’t in “Retail Trade.” And Half of Retail Trade is Moribund by Wolf Richter • Jun 5, 2023 • 84 Comments Walmart U.S. gave us some color: ecommerce sales +27%; grocery sales +12%; non-grocery brick-and-mortar sales -10%.
Long View of Job Growth by Industry. And the “Multiple Jobholders” Question by Wolf Richter • Jun 3, 2023 • 134 Comments To shed some additional light on the jobs report.
Landing Got Cancelled: Job Market Still at Cruising Altitude with Some Bumps by Wolf Richter • Jun 2, 2023 • 229 Comments Even Wage Growth for Nonsupervisory Workers Accelerated. Powell is scratching his head, after all the rate hikes.
Fed’s Balance Sheet Plunged by $348 Billion in the 10 Weeks since Peak Bank Crisis, and by $580 billion since QT Started by Wolf Richter • Jun 1, 2023 • 139 Comments QT on track, bank liquidity measures unwind.
Banks’ Unrealized Losses on Securities Drop for Second Quarter in a Row, -25% from Peak by Wolf Richter • Jun 1, 2023 • 47 Comments From huge to somewhat less huge? Because they’re still six times the magnitude of the prior worst-record in 2018
That was Fast: Mortgage Rates Re-Spike to 7% Range as it Sinks in that the Fed Won’t Cut Rates “Anytime Soon,” Mortgage Applications Plunge to 1995 Levels. Even Investors Pull Out by Wolf Richter • May 31, 2023 • 194 Comments Spring selling season was a dud. But what comes next may be worse, that’s what mortgage applications and investors tell us.
Still an Astonishing Labor Market: Very Tight or Getting Even Tighter in Some Sectors, Getting Less Tight in Others, Not Loose Anywhere, Despite the Rate Hikes by Wolf Richter • May 31, 2023 • 67 Comments Powell is going to mention this with some frustration in his voice.
What Are Manhattan’s Older Office Towers Worth? First Benchmark Prices in the New Era by Wolf Richter • May 30, 2023 • 76 Comments Whoever buys the defaulted loan gets the tower. So far, investors and specialized lenders have been on the hook, not commercial banks.
Update on US Government Holy-Moly Debt, Interest Expense, and Tax Receipts, and How they Stack Up Against GDP by Wolf Richter • May 29, 2023 • 186 Comments We shoulda known better.
Americans’ Ability to Pay for Emergency Expenses or Three-Month Job Loss with Cash/Cash Equivalent, by Selling Assets, by Borrowing, or Not at All by Wolf Richter • May 27, 2023 • 188 Comments 54% have three months of expenses set aside in their account. But 13% can’t pay for a $400 emergency expense.
