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Latest Articles: Economy
Retail Credit Card APR Hits Record 28.93% Average
Post Date: 2023-10-27 05:38:04 by 3-Dee
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Retail Credit Card APR Hits Record 28.93% Average Tyler Durden OCT 25, 2023 In September we noted that the average credit card APR had hit 22%, while the level of overall credit card debt continues to rise (updated chart below). Personal savings is also abysmal. Now, a new report from Bankrate reveals that the average retail credit card APR (as opposed to overall credit card rates) just hit a new record high of 28.93%, up from 26.72% in 2022 and 24.35% in 2021, according to their annual Retail Cards Study published on Monday. The highest retail credit card APRs belong to the Academy Sports + Outdoors Credit Card, the Burlington Credit Card, the Good Sam Rewards Credit Card and the ...
Americans Are Burning Through Savings To Keep Biden’s Economy Afloat, Experts Say
Post Date: 2023-10-23 01:18:28 by 3-Dee
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Daily Caller News Foundation logo WILL KESSLER CONTRIBUTOR October 22, 2023 The U.S. has recently seen consistent economic growth that has been fueled by strong consumer spending from average Americans. To sustain this level of consumer spending, Americans are draining their savings, spending more than they are bringing in as their wages stay stagnant or decline, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The high probability of recession in the near term is very troubling when coupled with the decline in savings,” E.J. Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, told the DCNF. ...
You Must Be In 'The Six-Figure Club' To Afford A House
Post Date: 2023-10-23 00:59:23 by 3-Dee
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You Must Be In 'The Six-Figure Club' To Afford A House BY TYLER DURDEN SATURDAY, OCT 21, 2023 - 11:15 AM The latest housing data shows soaring mortgage rates, elevated prices, and limited inventory continue to worsen the affordability crisis. New data from real estate brokerage Redfin Corp. indicates homebuyers now need a whopping $114,000 salary to afford a median-priced home of $412,000 in September - assuming a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 7.2% with 20% down. This is a near doubling in salary needed to afford a home since Covid, and since inflation wiped out real wages for two years, more Americans than ever can no longer afford the 'American Dream' of a ...
Subprime Auto Loan Delinquency Erupts, Reaching Highest Rate On Record
Post Date: 2023-10-23 00:49:23 by 3-Dee
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Subprime Auto Loan Delinquency Erupts, Reaching Highest Rate On Record Tyler Durden SUNDAY, OCT 22, 2023 - 08:20 AM We have been dutifully tracking the auto sector, considered a leading economic indicator, to pinpoint the arrival of the crushing auto loan crisis and even the possibility of the onset of the next recession. In late January, we cited data from Fitch that revealed consumers are falling behind on auto payments - the most since the peak of the Great Financial Crisis. Fast forward nine months later, to September, that rate just hit the highest level in nearly three decades. In what could be the beginning innings of the auto loan crisis, something we called a "perfect ...
Peter Schiff: The "Unsinkable" American Consumer Is Drowning In Debt
Post Date: 2023-10-20 08:41:36 by 3-Dee
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BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, OCT 19, 2023 - 01:50 PM Via SchiffGold.com, Every time retail sales come in higher than expected, the mainstream media breathlessly reports this as proof that the American consumer is strong and resilient. In his podcast, Peter Schiff explained that these retail sales numbers aren’t a sign of a strong economy. They just reflect Americans paying more for less. And what’s worse, they’re burying themselves in debt to do it. Retail sales were indeed stronger than expected in September, increasing by 0.7%. The expectation was for a 0.3% gain. Year-over-year, retail sales are up 3.8%. The media hyped the report. CNN said it was a sign that consumers ...
Average American Only Needs $658k To Retire, One Study Shows Tyler Durden's Photo BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, OCT 19, 2023 - 04:20 PM Well, if one new personal finance study is accurate, at least we might be seeing deflation somewhere... When it comes
Post Date: 2023-10-20 08:36:32 by 3-Dee
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Average American Only Needs $658k To Retire, One Study Shows Tyler Durden THURSDAY, OCT 19, 2023 - 04:20 PM Well, if one new personal finance study is accurate, at least we might be seeing deflation somewhere... When it comes to retirement, the figure $3 million is often thrown around. For example, this article from Bloomberg states that the answer to the question "how much is enough to retire comfortably?" is "somewhere between $3 million and $5 million". But online personal finance guide Moneyzine has crunched the numbers on this (on a State-by-State basis) and has figured out that this figure is far, far lower. In a new study, Moneyzine has said that "the ...
Want to buy a house? Here’s how much you need earn to afford one in these US cities
Post Date: 2023-10-18 03:05:44 by 3-Dee
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Want to buy a house? Here’s how much you need earn to afford one in these US cities by: Katlyn Brieskorn, Addy Bink TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA/NEXSTAR) — Buying a house in the U.S. isn’t cheap, and according to a report from Redfin, it is now harder than ever to afford one. Sky-high mortgage rates and rising home prices have made it more difficult than ever, especially for first-time home buyers, Redfin said in the report, which was released Tuesday. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.57% from 7.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said earlier this month. It’s the highest level in more than two decades. To afford a median-priced U.S. home ...
The New Hoovervilles? RV Villages And Make-Shift Tribes On The Rise As Inflation Bites
Post Date: 2023-10-18 02:35:24 by 3-Dee
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From 2020 to 2023, the median purchase price of homes in the US rose from $320,000 to over $420,000 – That's a 33% increase in only 3 years. In 2011, the average price of a home was around $200,000, meaning prices have doubled in a single decade. The average apartment rental price in the US is now $1300 per month, compared to $1000 in 2020, and home rentals have risen to over $2000 per month on average. The spike in the market is a reflection of inflation across the board, as well as increased demand due to more Americans being priced out of home ownership. Another interesting development during the pandemic years was a considerable rush to buy RVs, vans and tiny homes. This may ...
Ex-Walmart CEO Says US Consumers Reaching 'Breaking Point'
Post Date: 2023-10-15 02:53:42 by 3-Dee
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Ex-Walmart CEO Says US Consumers Reaching 'Breaking Point' BY TYLER DURDEN SATURDAY, OCT 14, 2023 - 11:50 AM Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The all-mighty American consumer, whose spending drives the economy, is reaching a breaking point and is on the verge of folding, according to former Walmart CEO Bill Simon. Mr. Simon told CNBC in a recent interview that a series of factors— political polarization, inflation, and high interest rates—were all working together to undermine consumers and their propensity to spend. “That sort of pileup wears on the consumer and makes them wary,” Mr. Simon told the outlet. “For the first ...
Regulation Favors the Elites
Post Date: 2023-10-12 00:11:23 by Charles_Byrd
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There are many arguments against government regulation of price and quantity. In competitive markets, regulation moves equilibrium away from the most efficient outcome. Regulation can produce black markets. There are administrative costs associated with regulation. One often overlooked consequence of regulation is that it adds to the complexity of decision-making. Thus government regulation tends to favor the better informed members of the community, over those who are less well informed. Click for Full Text!
The Bottomless Swamp of Regulatory Capture
Post Date: 2023-10-11 00:13:56 by Charles_Byrd
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In the great scheme of civilization, governments arose to consolidate resources, wealth and power, and protect these scarce and valuable assets from outsiders. Outsiders included invading hordes, competing states and self-serving entities within the realm guided by one goal: to maximize private gain by any means available. In the past, these entities included petty fiefdoms, warlords and brigands. In the present, corporations are the entities guided by one goal: to maximize their private gain by any means available. This pathological drive to profiteer, exploit and pillage goes by the polite term "increasing shareholder value." (I'm sure the warlords and brigands would be ...
'Bidenflation' Not 'Bidenomics'
Post Date: 2023-10-10 20:37:35 by Charles_Byrd
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As the world burns and President Joe Biden's inadequacies grow only more obvious, Democrats reassure themselves that voters next year will care most of all about domestic issues. And there, they think, Biden has something to be proud of: Bidenomics. Click for Full Text!
Federal Debt Uncreased by $2.2 Trillion in Fiscal Year 2023
Post Date: 2023-10-09 09:01:19 by 3-Dee
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Federal Debt Uncreased by $2.2 Trillion in Fiscal Year 2023 October 3, 2023 | Terence Jeffrey Daily Caller News Foundation The federal government’s debt increased by $2,238,422,431,416.43 in fiscal 2023, according to data published by the U.S. Treasury Department. On Sept. 30, 2022, the last day of fiscal 2022, the federal debt was $30,928,911,613,306.73, according to Treasury Department data. By Sept. 29, 2023, the last business day of fiscal 2023, it had climbed to $33,167,334,044,723.16. The $2,238,422,431,416.43 increase in the federal debt that took place in fiscal 2023 is the third largest fiscal-year increase on record. The largest fiscal-year increase in the federal debt ...
"If Tuesday Was Market Chaos, Wednesday Was Chaos On A Trampoline On Drugs"
Post Date: 2023-10-06 16:57:04 by Charles_Byrd
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The polite version is that weaker US labor market data (ADP employment +89K vs. 159K expected, and median pay up ‘only’ 5.9% y-o-y) saw the market reverse some of Tuesday’s bond sell-off and ‘pause’ to see what comes next. The ruder version is best summarized by the disturbing graphics in my 2023 outlook ‘The Pause That Doesn’t Refresh’ with its 1950’s-advert style ingredients: “INCLUDES: Geopolitics! Inflation! Policy errors! Recession! NO RATE CUTS!”, and its health warning: “This product does not contain: hopium, copium, asset-rich-income-poor, gold, crypto, or Petroyuan. Shake yourself well before use.” To summarize, US 10 ...
Ahoy! It’s crony capitalism sailing in and out of U.S. ports.
Post Date: 2023-10-06 01:40:04 by Charles_Byrd
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Wesley Jones, a Republican U.S. senator from Washington, 1909-1932, should be canonized as the patron saint of industrial policy. His contribution to such mischief, which is enjoying a rebirth of respectability, is in its second century of doing damage. Click for Full Text!
Almost Half Of All Young Adults In The US Are Living With Their Parents
Post Date: 2023-10-04 04:53:11 by 3-Dee
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BY TYLER DURDEN MONDAY, OCT 02, 2023 - 06:20 AM Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog, When are we going to wake up and admit that our system is failing? If close to half of our young adults find themselves needing to live with their parents, we have a major crisis on our hands. Yes, there are some young people that are simply lazy and don’t want to work hard enough. I definitely understand that. But most young adults in America today don’t actually want to live with their parents. Given the opportunity, they would love to have their own homes. Unfortunately, home prices have risen to absolutely absurd levels and housing in America is now more unaffordable ...
Trigger for Next Financial Implosion
Post Date: 2023-10-02 01:28:34 by Charles_Byrd
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The U.S. banking system and likely, the global banking system, is essentially bankrupt. They just won’t admit it and central bankers won’t let them admit it. These “brilliant” Harvard Business School and Wharton trained financial geniuses thought it was a great idea to load up their institutions with mortgage and Treasury bonds when they were paying 0.5%. Now the ten year Treasury is 4.58%. Even a dolt like AOC or Pelosi should know bonds lose value when rates go up. So here we are with banks almost $600 billion underwater in their bond holdings, waiting for our next Minsky Moment. Those living in a fantasy world of no consequences aren’t worried, because these ...
The End of the Road for the Dollar
Post Date: 2023-09-30 00:39:48 by Charles_Byrd
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With the Asian hegemons undoubtedly able to introduce gold standards, where does that leave the dollar? This article describes just how precarious the fiat dollar’s position has become. For now, the dollar appears to be buoyed up by rising bond yields. However, as they rise further portfolio losses for foreign investors are likely to increase, leading to dollar liquidation. It is not generally realised how many dollars and dollar securities are owned by foreigners, the bulk of them being held outside the US banking system. And the quantity of foreign currency owned by Americans to absorb this selling is very small in comparison. Click for Full Text!
Time to end the Fed and its mismanagement of our economy
Post Date: 2023-09-30 00:34:39 by Charles_Byrd
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Every major economic downturn of the last 110 years bears the mark of the Federal Reserve. In fact, as long as the Fed has been around, it has swung the economy between inflation and recession. Yet Americans, surprisingly, have tolerated it. But we shouldn’t expect that to go on forever. We had three central banks before the Fed and confined each to the ash heap of history. The problems inherent to central banking are cause to scrap the Fed as well. Click for Full Text!
FTC’s Amazon Complaint: Perhaps the Greatest Affront to Consumer and Producer Welfare in Antitrust History
Post Date: 2023-09-29 21:56:16 by Charles_Byrd
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The FTC—joined (unfortunately) by 17 state attorneys general—on Sept. 26 filed its much-anticipated antitrust complaint against Amazon in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Lacking all sense of irony, Deputy Director Newman, quoted above, bragged about the case’s potential to do greater good than almost all previous antitrust lawsuits. A quick perusal of the FTC’s press release announcing the suit reveals the basic claims the FTC will be making in court. While full details are set forth in the commission’s formal complaint, the press release provides one sufficient reason to believe that this high-profile antitrust complaint is ...
Julian Simon: Expressing the Imago Dei in Economic Terms
Post Date: 2023-09-29 21:53:15 by Charles_Byrd
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Julian Simon’s name does not mean much to many Christians today, but it should. Since his death 25 years ago, those who follow “the dismal science” of economics continue to study him, but most of the rest of us…well, not so much. He is, though, something of a model for how to promote unpopular ideas in the public square in ways that attract not just attention, but adherents. Click for Full Text!
It’s the Beginning of the End of This Whole Phony Economy
Post Date: 2023-09-29 21:50:49 by Charles_Byrd
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Interest rates continue to push relentlessly higher. As Peter Schiff explained in his podcast, that’s a big problem when the entire economy is built on a foundation of cheap money. But most people in the mainstream don’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. They don’t realize that we are at the beginning of the end of this whole phony economy. In a nutshell, the economy is buried under trillions in debt. The cost of the debt is rising. The economy simply isn’t built to handle an even moderately high interest rate environment. Click for Full Text!
The Problem with a Chicago Municipal Grocery Store
Post Date: 2023-09-29 21:41:30 by Charles_Byrd
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Chicago's new mayor, Brandon Johnson, is experimenting with a surprising new city policy— government-run grocery stores. The policy idea was announced by Johnson earlier this week. "I am proud to work alongside partners to take this step in envisioning what a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago could look like," he said. Click for Full Text!
When Shelter Becomes a Speculative Asset, Society Unravels
Post Date: 2023-09-27 20:11:41 by Charles_Byrd
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Let's begin by stipulating that speculation (i.e. gambling) is part of human nature. The role of regulations and policy is to limit the damage that gambling inevitably inflicts when "sure things" cliff-dive into losses. In other words, where the speculative frenzy and money flows matters. When the South Sea Bubble expanded circa 1713-1720, this flood tide of speculative capital did not distort the cost of shelter and bread in England; it was limited to a purely financial marketplace of shares in the company. When the bubble imploded in 1720, the losses fell mostly on wealthy investors like Isaac Newton. Click for Full Text!
The Multiyear Decline in US Economic Freedom
Post Date: 2023-09-27 19:41:39 by Charles_Byrd
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Economic freedom in the world has plunged in recent years, due mainly to the interventions and fiscal-monetary profligacy associated with COVID shutdowns, mandates, and subsidies. The global measure is given in Figure One. This is a significant reversal of freedom’s increase between 2010 and 2019. But the downtrend is much worse and more prolonged in the US. Click for Full Text!
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