The State of the American Consumer: Free Pandemic-Money Runs Low by Wolf Richter • Nov 25, 2020 • 172 Comments Stimulus & extra UI dried up. But 16% of “proprietors’ income” in October was PPP money & Pandemic farm aid.
Taxpayers Face $435 Billion in Student-Loan Losses, Already Baked in: Leaked Education-Department Study by Wolf Richter • Nov 22, 2020 • 211 Comments No one has ever put a number to it until now.
No Payment, No Problem: In Rosy World of Forbearance, Official Delinquencies Plunge, Credit Scores of Delinquent Borrowers Jump by Wolf Richter • Nov 18, 2020 • 141 Comments Credit-score algos got fooled by forbearance. Weirdest economy ever where no one knows what’s going on anymore.
Stimulus Fatigue? Retail Sales Wane at Many Brick & Mortar Stores. Department Stores Progress to Zombiehood. But Online Sales Surge to Record by Wolf Richter • Nov 17, 2020 • 121 Comments My 13 whiplash-charts by retailer category.
How the Pandemic Scrambled Long-Term Driving Patterns: Americans Already Drove Less, Hidden by Population Growth by Wolf Richter • Nov 15, 2020 • 114 Comments Bounce back to what? The Pandemic Scrambled Long-Term Trends in both directions.
State of the American Debt-Slaves, Q3 2020: The Stimulus & Forbearance Phenomenon by Wolf Richter • Nov 7, 2020 • 331 Comments Auto loans jump after historic price spikes. Credit cards still in stimulus wonderland. Student-loan borrowers count on debt forgiveness, mmmkay.
High Times in the Plague Year: Booze & Cannabis Retailers Shine by John McNellis • Oct 31, 2020 • 98 Comments Landlords already know this: People are getting more toasted than Wonder Bread.
Do We Really Need More Stimulus to Print More Millionaires & Billionaires, Enrich Fraudsters, Balloon the Trade Deficit? Consumer Data Says, “No We Don’t” by Wolf Richter • Oct 30, 2020 • 203 Comments People who need support, should get support. As for the rest? On my soapbox, wildly wagging consumer income and spending data.
No, GDP Didn’t Jump “33.1%” in Q3, But 7.4%, after Plunging 9% in Q2: Time to Kill “Annualized” Growth Rates. Imports, Powered by Stimulus, Dragged on GDP by Wolf Richter • Oct 29, 2020 • 67 Comments GDP back to Q1 2018. Worst ever “net exports.” The decline in government spending was also a drag. “GDP per Capita” bounced back only to 2017 level.
Americans Are Super-Gloomy About Holiday Spending, But Industry Ramps Up for Blockbuster Christmas by Wolf Richter • Oct 27, 2020 • 183 Comments Something is afoot here. And someone is going to be wrong.
