Buyers’ Strike? Mortgage Applications Drop 8% Below 2019, as Home Buyers Get Second Thoughts about “Raging Mania” by Wolf Richter • Jul 7, 2021 • 129 Comments First effect of MBS taper-talk from the Fed: Mortgage rates flat since late April even as long-term Treasury yields dropped.
Bank of Japan Stops QE, Reserve Bank of Australia Starts Tapering, Bank of Canada & Bank of England Already Tapering, Amid Shock-and-Awe Rate Hikes in Emerging Markets by Wolf Richter • Jul 6, 2021 • 167 Comments The Fed is a laggard, now discussing when and how to taper QE. The ECB is an even bigger laggard, as inflation begins to rage.
The Dollar’s Declining Status as Dominant “Global Reserve Currency” v. the Dollar’s Exchange Rate by Wolf Richter • Jul 5, 2021 • 208 Comments Nothing Goes to Heck in a Straight line, not even the dollar’s hegemony.
Today’s Unicorns Have Bigger Cumulative Losses than Amazon, Lost Money far Longer than Amazon, Still No Turnaround by Jeffrey Funk • Jul 5, 2021 • 117 Comments Just because Amazon was able to succeed does not mean others will. But they’re getting showered with money.
HSBC in Big Trouble in its Biggest Market, China by Nick Corbishley • Jul 4, 2021 • 106 Comments As HSBC pivots further to Asia and away from the West, its business in China gets more and more complicated.
Semiconductor Shortage Slams Auto Sales in June. Ford Swoons. Toyota, after Hoarding Chips, Blows Away GM for First Time Ever by Wolf Richter • Jul 3, 2021 • 153 Comments Toyota, pioneer of just-in-time inventory, goes: Hahahahaha…
The Weird Phenomena of “Labor Shortages” While 7.1 Million Fewer People Are Working by Wolf Richter • Jul 2, 2021 • 348 Comments The #1 weird phenomenon: The labor force.
It Gets Ugly in US Office Markets, Working from Home Shows Up by Wolf Richter • Jul 1, 2021 • 117 Comments Oil Bust Houston hardest-hit. San Francisco, once hottest US market, coddles up to it, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Manhattan.
Consumers Pay Whatever it Takes, Vehicle Prices Go Nuts, Dealers Make Record Profits, Whole Mindset Changed. Is This Inflation Temporary? by Wolf Richter • Jun 30, 2021 • 262 Comments The used vehicle price spike will subside, partially, but the psychological aspects of inflation have set in.
Fed’s Reverse Repos Spike to $1 Trillion. Cash Drain Undoes 8 Months of QE by Wolf Richter • Jun 30, 2021 • 139 Comments Giant sucking sound of cash.
