Household Money-Market Funds & Large CDs Hit Records despite Lower Yields. But Sorry, It’s Not “Cash on the Sidelines”

by Wolf Richter • Jan 12, 2026 • 19 Comments

Their balances ballooned even as prices of stocks, gold, silver, et al. surged to records. Everything surged. Almost.

Justice Department Subpoenas the Fed, Threatens Powell with Criminal Indictment. Powell Comes out Swinging. Stock Futures Tank

by Wolf Richter • Jan 12, 2026 • 163 Comments

Trump claims he didn’t know anything about it.

Home Prices in the Largest Countries of Europe: Splendid Housing Bubbles in Some, Prices back to 2010 in Others

by Wolf Richter • Jan 10, 2026 • 45 Comments

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria.

Would You Like to Reach WOLF STREET Readers to Find that Perfect Talent for a Great Job, or to Pitch your Products & Services?

by Wolf Richter • Dec 26, 2025

WOLF STREET readers are a fantastic bunch, and they’re right here.

Job Growth in the Private-Sector, Massive Job Losses at Federal & State Governments in H2 2025

by Wolf Richter • Jan 9, 2026 • 62 Comments

The Fed should look at private-sector employment. Layoffs at the government are a political decision, not the result of economic weakness.

Fed Balance Sheet Drops by $67 Billion for the Week

by Wolf Richter • Jan 8, 2026 • 45 Comments

Standing Repo Facility -$75 billion to zero, Reserve Management Purchases +$8 billion: The year-end liquidity shifts have settled down.

Trade Deficit Drops to Least Terrible Level since 2009, upon which Atlanta Fed GDPNow Doubles Q4 GDP Forecast to +5.4%

by Wolf Richter • Jan 8, 2026 • 35 Comments

The GDPNow algo is to be taken with a teaspoon of salt, but it shows that a big improvement of the trade deficit pushes up GDP growth.

ADP Employment Report: +41,000, Mostly at Medium-Size Companies. Small Companies Had First Payroll Gain in 5 Months

by Wolf Richter • Jan 7, 2026 • 22 Comments

Private-sector job growth slowed to a crawl in the second half.

Ugly Charts of US Auto Sales, 2025: Stellantis, Nissan Flirt with Catastrophe. GM, Ford, Honda Sales Rise but far below Peaks. Toyota & Hyundai-Kia Set Records

by Wolf Richter • Jan 6, 2026 • 128 Comments

New-vehicle sales in 2025 rise barely above 1986: Four decades of structural stagnation, plunges, and partial recoveries.

Bank of Japan’s QT Cuts $502 billion from Balance Sheet. JGB Yields Surge as BOJ Steps away from Bond Market

by Wolf Richter • Jan 6, 2026 • 22 Comments

Japanese Government Bond 10-year yield rose to 20-year high of 2.13%, 30-year yield hit 3.50%.

Fed’s Standing Repo Facility (SRF) Drops to Zero, from $75 billion on the Last Balance Sheet as Yearend Liquidity Turmoil Dissolves

by Wolf Richter • Jan 5, 2026 • 26 Comments

The Fed’s weekly balance sheet on Thursday will show a substantial drop in total assets.

“Locked-in” Homeowners Nevertheless Pay Off Below-4% Mortgages: their Share Drops to Lowest since Q4 2020

by Wolf Richter • Jan 3, 2026 • 109 Comments

Slowly unwinding a phenomenon that wrecked the housing market.

Year-End Liquidity Turmoil on Fed’s Balance Sheet. Plus $38 Billion in T-bills Replace $15 Billion in MBS, Add $23 Billion in RMPs

by Wolf Richter • Jan 2, 2026 • 35 Comments

Standing Repo Facility spiked to $75 billion for a day, then fell back; ON RRPs spiked to $106 billion, then fell back.

Tesla’s Deliveries Plunge, Worst Q4 since 2022. Annual Sales Drop for 2nd Year. Cybertruck now a Failed Model

by Wolf Richter • Jan 2, 2026 • 121 Comments

But Model Y was #1 US bestseller through Q3 before EV incentives ended. And Tesla’s hype machine works: TSLA trades at a P/E ratio of 300, other automakers at 10 to 20.

Long View of the S&P 500 & Stock Markets of Canada, Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain

by Wolf Richter • Dec 31, 2025 • 70 Comments

American hot money piling into some foreign markets produced gigantic gains in 2025 (Spain +49%).

Asking Rents in 33 Bigger Cities: Where they Spike, Rise more Slowly, or Fall. US Rents for Single-Family Homes Surge, Pull Further away from Multifamily

by Wolf Richter • Dec 30, 2025 • 53 Comments

Rents spiked in San Francisco, Chicago, NY City, Rochester, Kansas City… rose more slowly in others… fell in Austin, Denver, San Antonio, Phoenix…

IPO Bloodletting after “Pop” in 2025: Venture Global, CoreWeave, Figma, Klarna, Bullish, Circle Internet, Navan, Firefly, Fermi…

by Wolf Richter • Dec 29, 2025 • 51 Comments

Of the largest 20 IPOs, 14 trade below their IPO price; only 6 trade above it. Many plunged from their post-IPO pop.

Status of the US Dollar as Global Reserve Currency: USD Share Drops to Lowest since 1994

by Wolf Richter • Dec 26, 2025 • 156 Comments

Central Banks diversify their holdings into dozens of smaller “non-traditional reserve currencies.”

US Government Interest Payments to Tax Receipts, Average Interest Rate on the Debt, and Debt-to-GDP Ratio in Q3 2025

by Wolf Richter • Dec 24, 2025 • 102 Comments

Update on a slightly less ugly situation.

WHOOSH, Went the Economy in Q3. The Fed Needs to Watch Out, Economy Is Running Hot

by Wolf Richter • Dec 23, 2025 • 123 Comments

Strong consumer spending growth (despite Sour Mood), big improvement of trade deficit, and government spending growth after two quarters of declines.

Carry Trade at Risk: Japan’s 10-Year JGB Yield Hits 25-Year High, Yield Curve Steepens, Finance Ministry Verbally Props Up Yen

by Wolf Richter • Dec 22, 2025 • 49 Comments

Ridiculously-behind Bank of Japan is trying to deal with a huge multi-decade monetary mess without crashing global markets.