Fed Balance Sheet QT: -$91 Billion in July, -$759 Billion from Peak, Biggest Drop Ever, to $8.2 Trillion, Lowest since July 2021 by Wolf Richter • Aug 3, 2023 • 108 Comments The Fed has now shed 22.3% of the Treasury securities it bought during pandemic QE.
CRE Gets Messier: Office-CMBS Delinquency Rate Spikes the Fastest Ever. Bank-Held Office Mortgages also Hit by Wolf Richter • Aug 3, 2023 • 125 Comments Unlike the defaults during the Financial Crisis, this default cycle is structural, in addition to being financial.
Here Comes the Tsunami of Longer-Term Treasury Notes & Bonds: Monthly Auction Sizes +60% by August Next Year by Wolf Richter • Aug 2, 2023 • 180 Comments Good Lordy.
Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating on Fiscal Deterioration, Government Debt Burden, and Debt Ceiling Standoffs by Wolf Richter • Aug 1, 2023 • 155 Comments Second major US ratings agency to downgrade the US to ‘AA+’. The first ratings agency got whacked by the US government.
Layoffs and Discharges Fizzle, after Spurt in Early 2023 by Wolf Richter • Aug 1, 2023 • 74 Comments The layoff-hype wrung the sense of power out of workers they’d briefly enjoyed. But that’s about all that has happened.
US Government Debt Spikes by $1.2 trillion since Debt Ceiling, to $32.7 Trillion. Treasury to Add $1.5 Trillion in Debt by Year-End by Wolf Richter • Jul 31, 2023 • 169 Comments Stunning numbers out today. Investors will buy the securities, plus those the Fed steps away from. But… Crystal ball sees rising longer-term yields.
Runaway Services Inflation in Euro Area Spikes to Record. Core CPI Stays Near Record. Energy-Price Plunge Pushes Down Overall CPI by Wolf Richter • Jul 31, 2023 • 70 Comments “The drivers of inflation are changing…. Domestic price pressures, including from rising wages and robust profit margins,” are increasingly important: ECB
Trucker Yellow Shuts Down, to File for Bankruptcy, 3 Years after $700-Million Government Bailout that Stank to High Heaven by Wolf Richter • Jul 29, 2023 • 158 Comments Executive officers, directors, and Teamsters benefited from the bailout. So get it over with, finally.
Fed Favored “Core” PCE Price Index Rises 4.1%, Least since Sept 2021, on Drop in Durable Goods. But Monthly Services Inflation Accelerates by Wolf Richter • Jul 28, 2023 • 201 Comments Housing, finance, insurance, recreation, other services jumped in June from May. Energy plunged 28% year-over-year, but also jumped in June from May.
What Alphabet’s Layoffs, Current Headcount, and Unemployment Claims Tell us about the Erstwhile Tech Layoff Tsunami by Wolf Richter • Jul 27, 2023 • 64 Comments Tech & social media companies went nuts during the pandemic hiring-bubble, then sobered up. Now it’s already over.
