Panic Below The Surface: “Banks Are Selling Energy Loans At Cents On The Dollar To Ensure Their Own Survival”
In his latest note, Wicklund takes the gloom level up a notch and shows that for all the bank posturing and attempts to preserve calm among the market, what is really happening below the surface can be summarized with one word: panic, and not just for the banks who are stuck holding on to energy exposure, or the energy companies who are facing bankruptcy if oil doesn’t rebound, but also for their (now former) employees. Curious why average hourly earnings refuse to go up except for those getting minimum wage boosts? Because according to CS “It is estimated that ~250,000 people have lost their jobs in the industry in the last 18 months.”
Which is bad news: as we reported late last week, the restaurant “recovery” is now over, so as these formerly very well-paid and highly skilled workers scramble to find a job, any job, they’ll find that even the “backup plan” has failed, with not even the local McDonalds suddenly hiring.
From the latest Things we’ve learned this week
One Last Cigarette? Some comments that stood out to us during earnings include, “We are in a period of unprecedented uncertainty.” “We are managing our business week-by-week, crew-by-crew and unit-by-unit.” “We are in a generational downturn.”
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