May 26, 2023 There’s no denying that things have gotten weird where the culture landscape goes. This is a financial letter so I try to stick to topics of that nature. I don’t judge people’s personal beliefs. And I don’t want to make this about social issues per se… but the overlap between finance and …
May 19, 2023 Have consumers finally gone full walking dead? Last December I wrote about the rise of “zombie consumers” in today’s economy. How shrinking personal savings — thanks to depleted stimulus windfalls, falling real wages and “still-not-transitory” inflation — was impacting both consumers and threatening the economy as a whole. Given certain recent reports, I …
“Zombie Consumers” Are Clinging to Life (and Prepping for the Worst…) Read More »
May 12, 2023 “From the perspective of monetary policy, our focus remains squarely on our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people. My colleagues and I understand the hardship that high inflation is causing, and we remain strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2 percent goal. …
April 28, 2023 Last week it was all good and full steam ahead from certain corners of the Fed: Of course opinions are like… well you know. Everyone’s got one. But sometimes those opinions just don’t match what’s going on in the real world. Like now for example… Fake Economies are Fragile Economies… Last July I …
More Cracks in the Banking System… (And One Really Bad Chart) Read More »
April 21, 2023 Another major tremor rattled through the economy this past week — this time it was in the commercial real estate (CRE) market. Multiple news outlets, led by Bloomberg, reported: The details were pretty unsettling. (All emphases are mine.) (Bloomberg) — Brookfield Corp. funds have defaulted on a $161.4 million mortgage for a dozen …
April 14, 2023 These days there’s a lot of chatter going on about the dollar — namely the fate of its reserve status. Many who write about that declining status, employ a little tactic known as “fear porn.” “Fear porn” is content that specifically plays to target people’s fears on a particular topic. Where the …
Should You be Worried About the Fate of the Dollar? Read More »
April 7, 2023 It was a tough week for Fed Chairman Powell. I’ve written before that being in charge of US monetary policy (and effectively US economic growth) is no small job in and of itself. But JPow has been facing some exceptional challenges throughout his term. First, the era of easy money was fast …
March 24, 2023 Things didn’t get any easier for the Fed going into this week’s FOMC meeting. This week some further developments came to light in the wake of the SVB and Signature Bank meltdowns. Developments that I believe shed a little more light on the state of the banking system. Last week I opined… …
March 17, 2023 What a difference a week makes! On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, Fed Chair Jay Powell stepped out onto his financial tightrope in front of Congress and tried to placate both Wall Street (zero-interest rate fans) and Main Street (low inflation fans). He was performing a balancing act, caught between the …
March 10, 2023 Years back there was a famous tightrope walking family known as The Flying Wallendas. Led by patriarch Karl Wallenda they performed breathtaking feats of daring. I don’t need to tell you, traversing a highwire 40, 50 or even 100-plus feet in the air is a dangerous business. One misstep can lead to …
