Haunting Photos of San Francisco’s Desolate Financial District During Morning “Rush Hour”: Visual Effects of Work-from-Home by Wolf Richter • Aug 22, 2020 • 318 Comments I’m standing in the middle of the street to take this photo. Why? Because I can.
Shell’s Colossal Miscalculation in 2011 of Today’s LNG Price: Largest-Ever $12-$17-Billion “Floating Facility” Shut Down, Months After Shipping First LNG. Done in by Long Price Collapse by Wolf Richter • Aug 21, 2020 • 57 Comments Designed to profit from sky-high LNG Prices in Japan. Sunk by surging US LNG Exports, multi-year collapse in LNG prices, global LNG glut.
Australia’s Construction Industry Faces “Bloodbath,” Says Lobbying Group Clamoring for Bailout, after Riding up the Housing Bubble by Nick Corbishley • Aug 21, 2020 • 64 Comments Alas, the housing construction bubble burst long before the Pandemic.
The Fed’s Asset Purchases: Week 10 Since Peak-QE by Wolf Richter • Aug 20, 2020 • 68 Comments Crazy charts to document our crazy times.
Disconcertingly, Both State & Federal “Initial” Unemployment Claims Jump. 28 Million People on Unemployment Insurance, 17.5% of Labor Force: Week 22 of U.S. Labor Market Collapse by Wolf Richter • Aug 20, 2020 • 105 Comments Number of people who newly lost their work and filed for initial state or federal UI in the week jumped to 1.43 million. A rate of 6 million a month.
California Cannabis Tax Revenues Soar as Industry Gets Going, But Black Market Still Dominates by Wolf Richter • Aug 19, 2020 • 70 Comments Growth during the Pandemic. And the state sure needs the money.
The Rich Got Richer During the Pandemic, Bailed Out by the Fed. How it Happened and Why That’s Bad for the Economy by Wolf Richter • Aug 19, 2020 • 174 Comments Over 30 million people lost their jobs while the wealth of America’s 600-plus billionaires ballooned by $434 billion, to $3.4 trillion.
How Negative Interest Rates Sap Consumer Spending by an Ever Larger Part of Consumers by Nick Corbishley • Aug 19, 2020 • 122 Comments Over-65s, a large and growing demographic in Europe, are cutting their spending at worst possible time as NIRP eats into savings, pensions, investments, and annuities.
Ecommerce Sales Spike 44% in Q2: Even Groceries, Building Materials, Garden Supplies, and Furniture by Wolf Richter • Aug 18, 2020 • 64 Comments The Pandemic Economy Massively Changed How Americans Buy Stuff.
Who Bought the Gigantic $4.5 Trillion in US Government Debt Added in the Past 12 Months? Everyone but China? by Wolf Richter • Aug 18, 2020 • 155 Comments Someone had to buy the Incredibly Spiking US National Debt. Here’s who.
