Debtor Nation

The inexplicable American Consumer

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The inexplicable American Consumer

Consumer confidence fell off a cliff and hit levels not seen since April 2009, and yet, consumers spent with abandon and made up the difference by piling on debt, at least for now. What gives?

Dear Ben, Please Print us More Money

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Dear Ben, Please Print us More Money

We want you to prop up the stock market. Everybody knows it’s a Ponzi scheme that will collapse without your support. You don’t want us to end up like Bernie Madoff’s clients. No, Ben, we love Ponzi schemes. We get in early and get out before they collapse. That’s why we’re rich. The bad thing is that they sometimes collapse before we can get out. But you’ve bailed us out twice in the last couple of years….

Importing Fiasco

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Importing Fiasco

$373.6 billion got vacuumed out of the USA in just six months. And was replaced by debt.

Downgrades Don’t Matter

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Downgrades Don’t Matter

… if you can print money and are in control of the credit markets. Look at Japan. That doesn’t mean the underlying problems don’t matter.

The Bailout Continues

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Bailout Continues

Fannie Mae—you already forgot all about it, didn’t you?—well, it just reared its ugly head again with its Q2 earnings report. Here is the most important number:
$5.1 billion in new bailout money from the U.S. Treasury—the eleventh quarter in a row it has received bailout money. That brings the total bailout money it received so far to $104.8 billion, with no end in sight.

US Gross National Debt jumps $238 billion in one day, now above 100% of GDP

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on US Gross National Debt jumps $238 billion in one day, now above 100% of GDP

As reported in the foreign media, but curiously not in the major US media, the US Gross National Debt jumped by $238 billion in one day, to $14.58 trillion, the day after the debt-ceiling deal was signed.

Your Dollar—up to no Good

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Your Dollar—up to no Good

In case you didn’t stay up all night watching the spectacle, and tearing out your hair: Your very own… … your favorite one, the one you worked so hard to earn and even harder to save, yes, the ever shrinking one, well, it dropped to a new all-time low against the Japanese yen in Tokyo. And…

The Landmine in the GDP Report

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Landmine in the GDP Report

There is a landmine buried in today’s 2Q GDP report, and Congress is about to step on it while engaging in its debt-ceiling pissing match.

We Should Give them a Calculator

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on We Should Give them a Calculator

The raw numbers are ugly. The federal budget deficit is nearly 40% of total spending; that is, for every $1,000 the government spends, it collects $600 in taxes and borrows $400. Doesn’t anyone do any math in Washington?

Your Dollar

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Your Dollar

…is falling off a cliff again, hitting ¥78 and €0.69. You can sit idly by and watch it get demolished, or you can do something about it.