“Wild Ride to Nowhere”: APPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOG, FB Soar to New High. Rest of Stock Market is a Dud, Has Been for Years by Wolf Richter • Jul 11, 2020 • 220 Comments The market has come to totally depend on the “Giant 5.” A scary out-of-whack weight on the way down.
The Great American Shale Oil & Gas Massacre: Bankruptcies, Defaulted Debts, Worthless Shares, Collapsed Prices of Oil & Gas by Wolf Richter • Jul 10, 2020 • 128 Comments The bankruptcy epicenter is in Texas.
QE Unwind Speeds Up: Fed’s Assets Drop $85 Billion. Four-Week Total -$248 Billion. Big Chunk in a Short Time by Wolf Richter • Jul 9, 2020 • 92 Comments Repos & dollar liquidity swaps on their way out. SPVs declined. Hardly bought any corporate bonds & ETFs. MBS flat. Treasuries ticked up.
Unemployment Claims Hit New Record: 32.9 Million State & Federal. Week 16 of U.S. Labor Market Collapse by Wolf Richter • Jul 9, 2020 • 182 Comments Claims by gig workers under federal PUA program soar, now 44% of total unemployment claims. Where’s the “V-Shaped” recovery of the labor market?
No V-Shaped Recovery for Airlines. Ticket Sales Slide Again. United Announces 36,000 “Involuntary Furloughs” by Wolf Richter • Jul 8, 2020 • 179 Comments “Increase in Covid-19 cases negatively impacting industry demand”: United
Pandemic Compresses Brick & Mortar Meltdown: Brooks Brothers Files for Bankruptcy, Ascena (Ann Taylor, etc.) Prepares to File, Tailored Brands (Men’s Wearhouse, etc.) Not Far Behind by Wolf Richter • Jul 8, 2020 • 131 Comments A dozen major brands, thousands of stores, after years of struggling. Work-from-home is annihilating casual and formal office attire.
US House Prices to Drop 6.6% by May 2021, First Annual Decline since Jan. 2012: CoreLogic, Owner of the Case-Shiller Index by Wolf Richter • Jul 7, 2020 • 176 Comments And this, after years of being unwaveringly bullish in its housing market predictions.
A Word About that Historic Bounce in US Services PMIs: No, the Service Sector Didn’t Hit New Highs. It Stopped Plunging by Wolf Richter • Jul 6, 2020 • 86 Comments One Purchasing Managers Index said services fell further in June, but more slowly; the other said activity started climbing out of the hole. Both agree: Jobs dropped further.
Mall and Hotel Loans Are Blowing up Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities by Wolf Richter • Jul 5, 2020 • 123 Comments CMBS delinquency rates for retail properties spiked to 18% and for hotel properties to 24%.
QE Unwinds: Fed’s Assets Drop for 3rd Week, Another -$76 Billion. 3-Week Total: -$163 Billion by Wolf Richter • Jul 3, 2020 • 107 Comments Fed shifts to propping up consumption by businesses and governments, and away from propping up asset prices.
