US Natural Gas Prices Re-Spike, after the Big Plunge by Wolf Richter • Jul 22, 2022 • 119 Comments Just when we thought the plunge in natural gas prices might take pressure off inflation, it starts all over again.
ECB Exits Negative Interest Rates, Hikes by 50 Bpts, Double its Promise, Bigger Hikes on Tap, Shows Off New Glue Gun to Prevent Sovereign Debt Crisis During Rate Hikes & QT by Wolf Richter • Jul 21, 2022 • 237 Comments Raging inflation finally forces the ECB to abandon its reckless and absurd monetary policies and turn hawkish.
It Starts: Reverse Stock Splits for Collapsed SPACs & IPO Stocks. Bankruptcy for Others by Wolf Richter • Jul 20, 2022 • 143 Comments Reverse stock splits keep them from getting delisted. But some didn’t even get that far and filed for bankruptcy, like, WOW that was fast.
Housing Bubble Woes: Sales of Homes Below $500K Plunge, Total Sales Drop to Lowest since Lockdown, Supply Jumps by Wolf Richter • Jul 20, 2022 • 204 Comments The magic of ridiculously inflated home prices meeting holy-moly mortgage rates.
San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California Home Sales Crater, Prices Begin to Drop. California Pending Sales Collapse 40% by Wolf Richter • Jul 19, 2022 • 198 Comments The first year-over-year price declines crop up as the crazy California housing market “normalizes” amid holy-moly mortgage rates.
Leverage v. Stock Market “Events”: Margin Debt Plunged in June by Wolf Richter • Jul 19, 2022 • 96 Comments Few took the warning seriously that margin debt issued last year.
Housing Bubble Getting Ready to Pop: Traffic of Prospective Buyers of New Houses Plunges, Homebuilders Cut Prices, Sentiment Dives by Wolf Richter • Jul 18, 2022 • 266 Comments Homebuilder stocks have been wobbling lower all year, now down between 24% and 40%.
What Freight Volume and Freight Rates Say About the Shift of Consumer Spending from Goods Back to Services by Wolf Richter • Jul 18, 2022 • 64 Comments Freight volume is down from the red-hot levels last year, but remains relatively high, after the grotesquely overstimulated demand last year.
New Vehicle Inventory Stuck Near Record Low, Shortages Shift to Fuel-Efficient Cars, Prices Hit Record. But Used Vehicle Price Spike Runs out of Fuel amid Plenty of Supply by Wolf Richter • Jul 16, 2022 • 141 Comments Still the strangest auto market ever.
Americans Not in the Mood for a Recession: Splurging on Goods, Flocking to Restaurants by Wolf Richter • Jul 15, 2022 • 294 Comments But inflation is eating everyone’s lunch.