The State of the American Consumer: Free Pandemic-Money Runs Low by Wolf Richter • Nov 25, 2020 • 173 Comments Stimulus & extra UI dried up. But 16% of “proprietors’ income” in October was PPP money & Pandemic farm aid.
Online Sales by Category, in Weirdest Economy Ever by Wolf Richter • Nov 19, 2020 • 82 Comments Online sales jumped 37% in Q3, after 44%-Spike in Q2. Online food-and-beverage sales up 160%.
No Payment, No Problem: In Rosy World of Forbearance, Official Delinquencies Plunge, Credit Scores of Delinquent Borrowers Jump by Wolf Richter • Nov 18, 2020 • 141 Comments Credit-score algos got fooled by forbearance. Weirdest economy ever where no one knows what’s going on anymore.
Stimulus Fatigue? Retail Sales Wane at Many Brick & Mortar Stores. Department Stores Progress to Zombiehood. But Online Sales Surge to Record by Wolf Richter • Nov 17, 2020 • 121 Comments My 13 whiplash-charts by retailer category.
Wild Ride for Used Cars & Trucks in Weirdest Economy Ever by Wolf Richter • Nov 13, 2020 • 65 Comments After Crazy Price Spikes over the Summer, Wholesale & Retail Prices Drop, amid Lower Sales and Plenty of Supply.
Big City Exodus: Rents of Single-Family Houses Rise Across the US, Even as Apartment Rents in Expensive Cities Drop Sharply by Wolf Richter • Nov 10, 2020 • 110 Comments Californians applying to lease single-family houses in Arizona, Nevada & Texas doubled from year ago; migration from New York & New Jersey to Florida similar: American Homes 4 Rent.
State of the American Debt-Slaves, Q3 2020: The Stimulus & Forbearance Phenomenon by Wolf Richter • Nov 7, 2020 • 331 Comments Auto loans jump after historic price spikes. Credit cards still in stimulus wonderland. Student-loan borrowers count on debt forgiveness, mmmkay.
Picture Emerges of Weird Recovery to Historically Awful Level by Wolf Richter • Nov 6, 2020 • 107 Comments Jobs not galore. And the target keeps moving.
Do We Really Need More Stimulus to Print More Millionaires & Billionaires, Enrich Fraudsters, Balloon the Trade Deficit? Consumer Data Says, “No We Don’t” by Wolf Richter • Oct 30, 2020 • 204 Comments People who need support, should get support. As for the rest? On my soapbox, wildly wagging consumer income and spending data.
No, GDP Didn’t Jump “33.1%” in Q3, But 7.4%, after Plunging 9% in Q2: Time to Kill “Annualized” Growth Rates. Imports, Powered by Stimulus, Dragged on GDP by Wolf Richter • Oct 29, 2020 • 67 Comments GDP back to Q1 2018. Worst ever “net exports.” The decline in government spending was also a drag. “GDP per Capita” bounced back only to 2017 level.
