Consumers, Governments Spent like Drunken Sailors in Q1. Private Investment Plunge & Inventory Change Dogged GDP by Wolf Richter • Apr 27, 2023 • 71 Comments Americans came out of their funk they’d been in late last year. They’re 70% of GDP. They blew money left and right; spending on durable goods spiked!
Amex Customers – Above-Average-Income Consumers – Are Spending like Drunken Sailors, incl. on Travel & Restaurants by Wolf Richter • Apr 21, 2023 • 153 Comments They’re the Big Spenders, they move the needle. Millennials and Gen Z-ers are now the drivers of this growth.
But What If We Don’t Get a Recession in 2023? That Would Be a Bummer for Wall Street by Wolf Richter • Apr 19, 2023 • 229 Comments Just a slower-growth muddle-through economy that adjusts to higher rates and sticky inflation.
New Vehicle Sales in Q1 Jump 11.7%. Inventories Build, But Still Less than Half of 2019. Pent-up Demand at 6 Million Vehicles by Wolf Richter • Apr 5, 2023 • 132 Comments Going to be tough for a recession to gain momentum with this kind of demand-overhang going into it.
Consumers Got Whacked by Inflation, High Interest Rates, Layoff News, Asset Prices Falling from Lofty Peaks… And They’re Still Not Slowing Down by Wolf Richter • Mar 31, 2023 • 247 Comments The banking turmoil is seen as next test for consumers. Would be a hoot if they just go ahead and blow that off too.
Retail Sales Dip a Tad in Feb after Huge Spike in Jan. Year-over-Year: +5.4% Despite Price Drops in Durable Goods & Gasoline by Wolf Richter • Mar 15, 2023 • 132 Comments Consumers are still spending like drunken sailors, especially online, now that they don’t have to blow so much on gasoline anymore.
People Got Used to Higher Prices and Are Outspending even Raging Inflation. They Don’t Want this Thing to Land by Wolf Richter • Feb 24, 2023 • 261 Comments Year-over-year growth in consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, outpaced pre-pandemic average. Month-over-month, growth spiked.
Why the Fed Can Let the Housing Bust Rip: Mortgages, HELOCs, Delinquencies, Foreclosures, and Who’s on the Hook by Wolf Richter • Feb 17, 2023 • 272 Comments Mostly taxpayers, not the banks.
Where Households Are on their Credit Card Balances, Credit Limits, Available Credit, Delinquencies, and Collections by Wolf Richter • Feb 16, 2023 • 95 Comments Credit cards are used as payment method and mostly paid off monthly. But some people use them as borrowing method – and get in trouble.
Consumers in No Mood for a Landing: Retail Sales and Seasonal Adjustments by Wolf Richter • Feb 15, 2023 • 102 Comments “Not seasonally adjusted” sales plunged from the big record in December, but not as much as in pre-pandemic Januaries.
