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.
Despite Getting Whacked by Bank Turmoil, Layoff News, Credit Crunch, High Interest Rates, and Inflation, our Drunken Sailors Spent Even More, Even Adjusted for Inflation by Wolf Richter • May 26, 2023 • 241 Comments Where does the money come from? They now out-earn inflation and dipped into their assets whose prices ballooned over the years.
Fed’s Favored Core PCE Price Index Re-Accelerates, Driven by Services, Motor Vehicles: Inflation Stuck on High, Shifts from Item to Item by Wolf Richter • May 26, 2023 • 132 Comments Not encouraging: core PCE price index refuses to come down, has moved sideways since July last year.
