Subprime Auto Loans Are Getting Messy by Wolf Richter • May 18, 2024 • 69 Comments Huge profits in subprime caused specialized dealers/lenders to take big risks, which came home to roost. But prime auto loans are in pristine shape
As Rest of Retail Stagnates, Ecommerce is Hot. And what Walmart Said about this Phenomenon by Wolf Richter • May 17, 2024 • 105 Comments Walmart US online sales +22%. It credits “convenience” of ecommerce for its success in attracting higher income customers.
Who Fell Behind on their Credit Cards: Delinquencies, Balances, Burden, Available Credit, and the “Maxed Out” by Wolf Richter • May 16, 2024 • 99 Comments Only 18% of credit-card holders maxed out their cards, less than before the pandemic, but fell behind at a higher rate.
Beneath the Skin of CPI Inflation, April: After Some Zigs, a Zag. But 6-Month Core CPI Hits 4.0%, 6-Month Core Services CPI Hits 6.0%, Both Highest since mid-2023 by Wolf Richter • May 15, 2024 • 118 Comments Month-to-month data is volatile. We’ll look at the trends.
Here Come the HELOCs in Household Debt: Mortgages, Delinquencies, and Foreclosures by Wolf Richter • May 15, 2024 • 116 Comments If residential mortgages get messy, banks are largely off the hook this time.
Junk-Bond Issuance Nearly Doubles YTD, amid Feverish Demand in La-la-Land and Ultra-Loose Financial Conditions by Wolf Richter • May 10, 2024 • 104 Comments Companies, seeing Higher-for-Longer, take advantage of it to lock in historically narrow spreads and still low yields.
Our Favorite Recession Indicator: Next Recession Keeps Moving Further Out by Wolf Richter • May 9, 2024 • 181 Comments It’s time again to look at the trends in claims for unemployment insurance benefits.
The Reasons the Fed’s Bowman is “Willing” to Hike Rates if “Data Indicate Progress on Inflation Has Stalled or Reversed” by Wolf Richter • May 5, 2024 • 103 Comments She nails it with her list of inflation-fueling factors. It parallels what Powell said more softly at the press conference.
The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America amid the Now-Fizzled Rate-Cut Mania & Erstwhile Plunge in Mortgage Rates by Wolf Richter • Apr 30, 2024 • 145 Comments Rate-Cut Mania died, mortgage rates re-jumped to 7.5% today, but here’s what home prices did during Rate-Cut Mania.
Sagging Used-Car Prices, Spiking Maintenance & Repair Costs, and a Post-Bankruptcy Propaganda Coup Turn Toxic for Hertz by Wolf Richter • Apr 29, 2024 • 146 Comments Americans need lower car prices. But not Hertz. “The residual decline … was relative to both ICE vehicles and EVs”: Hertz
