PCE Inflation Surges Further Away from Fed’s Target, now Nearly Double the Fed’s Target, and 5+ Years above Target

by Wolf Richter • May 28, 2026 • 17 Comments

Trend reversal started a year ago. Services inflation stuck at high rate for a year. Now prices of food, energy, computers & software (inflationary AI boom), and gold jewelry (gold price spike) all surged.

Micron, the WTF AI Mania Chart of the Year

by Wolf Richter • May 27, 2026 • 90 Comments

The stock has a history of collapsing by 50% to 98% after every spike, regularly falling below its Dotcom Bubble high. But this time is different?

Oh Dear, Condo Prices already Dropped by 15% to 33% in 24 Bigger Markets, Some Back to Where They’d Been 20 Years Ago

by Wolf Richter • May 25, 2026 • 89 Comments

Plus, in another 44 bigger cities, condo prices dropped by 7% to 14% so far, as the mindboggling Condo Bubble comes unglued.

10-Year TIPS v. 10-Year Treasury Securities: Bond Market Has Long Been Delusional about Actual CPI Inflation

by Wolf Richter • May 24, 2026 • 74 Comments

There’s no indication the bond market is better now in figuring future inflation; its expectation of 2.4% annual CPI over 10 years seems woefully low.

Prices of Single-Family Homes already Down 10% to 26% in these 15 Bigger Cities: Every Market is Different

by Wolf Richter • May 22, 2026 • 58 Comments

San Francisco & Portland came off the list. Fort Worth & Aurora (CO) come on the list.

Credit Card Delinquencies, Balances, Debt-to-Income, Credit Limits, and Collections in Q1 2026: Americans and their Revolving Credit

by Wolf Richter • May 20, 2026 • 42 Comments

The free-money hangover is getting worked off.

Bond Bloodbath Worsens on Inflation, Lax Fed, and Flood of New Debt. Mortgage Rates hit 6.75%

by Wolf Richter • May 20, 2026 • 217 Comments

Ugly trifecta that spooks the bond market. To soothe bond yields and mortgage rates, the Fed needs to hike, not “look through” inflation.

Auto Loan Balances, Debt-to-Income Ratio, and Delinquencies of Subprime & Prime Auto Loans in Q1 2026. How Bad Is it?

by Wolf Richter • May 19, 2026 • 67 Comments

Several subprime-specialized dealer-lender chains collapsed, and shares of America’s Auto Mart imploded. Subprime lending is not for the squeamish. But it’s only a small part of auto finance.

Food Inflation in America by Product: It Boils down to a Sharp Acceleration on Top of Already Very High Prices

by Wolf Richter • May 18, 2026 • 104 Comments

Ground beef, steak, chicken, fruit & veggies, coffee, dairy, eggs, other foods, and total.

The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America: Price Drops & Gains in 33 Big Expensive Cities, April 2026

by Wolf Richter • May 16, 2026 • 67 Comments

Home prices fell year-over-year in 25 of the 33 big expensive cities in April, a bunch set multi-year lows, led by Oakland & Austin, down by 26% from 2022. Two set new highs.

US Government Sold $691 Billion of Treasury Securities this Week, 10-Year Yield Spikes to 4.6%, 30-Year Yield to 5.12% as 2nd Wave of Inflation Takes Off

by Wolf Richter • May 15, 2026 • 82 Comments

The Fed is “behind the curve,” and the bond market is getting very nervous.

Here Come the HELOCs: Mortgages, Housing-Debt-to-Income-Ratio, Serious Delinquencies, and Foreclosures in Q1 2026

by Wolf Richter • May 14, 2026 • 76 Comments

Mortgage balances barely ticked up, but HELOCs soared.

Producer Price Inflation Explodes as the Services PPI Blows Out on Top of the Energy Price Spike

by Wolf Richter • May 13, 2026 • 121 Comments

This is a massive amount of inflation that companies are passing on to each other through much of the economy.

Household Debts, Debt-to-Income Ratio, Serious Delinquencies, Foreclosures, Collections & Bankruptcies in Q1 2026

by Wolf Richter • May 12, 2026 • 55 Comments

Americans and their Debts: Student loans that suddenly have to be repaid again fueled overall delinquency rates.

CPI Inflation Blows Past Fed Rates as Core Services, Gasoline, Electricity, and Food Spike. Fed’s “Real” Rates Are now Negative

by Wolf Richter • May 12, 2026 • 115 Comments

The Bureau of Labor Statistics finally corrected part of the CPI distortions in September, October, and November.

Supply of Existing Single-Family Homes Rises to Highest in 10 Years, Condo Supply Highest since 2012, Sales in Deepfreeze

by Wolf Richter • May 11, 2026 • 75 Comments

April was another bad dud for spring selling season as supply continued to pile up.

Housing Bubble & Bust #1 and #2 as Seen through Employment at Mortgage Lenders and Mortgage Brokers

by Wolf Richter • May 8, 2026 • 60 Comments

Nonbank mortgage lenders shed 40% of their jobs this time, and loan brokers 38%. They react to demand, which collapsed.

Weirdest U.S. Labor Market I’ve Ever Seen: Supply of Labor Shrinks Further while Private-Sector Jobs Grow

by Wolf Richter • May 8, 2026 • 91 Comments

Federal government sheds more jobs, now down to 1966 levels. This labor market isn’t bad, just weird.

Prices of Used EVs Spike, from already Lofty Levels, as Gasoline Prices Spike. But Electricity Prices also Soared

by Wolf Richter • May 7, 2026 • 33 Comments

High gasoline prices tilt operating costs in favor of EVs. But soaring electricity prices eat into that math.

Construction Spending on Data Centers, Factories, Chip Plants, Powerplants, Office Buildings: Boom one End, Bust the Other

by Wolf Richter • May 7, 2026 • 21 Comments

AI investment mania and the second wave of semiconductor plants.