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This is How Consumers Turn into Debt Slaves
This is How Consumers Turn into Debt Slaves The Fed likes the word “credit.” Sounds less onerous than “debt.” Consumer debt rose by $19.3 billion in September to $3.71 trillion, another record in a five-year series of records, the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors reported on Monday. Consumer debt is up 6% from a year ago, […]
Why no economic boost from lower oil prices?
Why no economic boost from lower oil prices? Many analysts had anticipated that a dramatic drop in oil prices such as we’ve seen since the summer of 2014 could provide a big stimulus to the economy of a net oil importer like the United States. That doesn’t seem to be what we’ve observed in the […]
Deep “Freight Recession” Hits Railroads, Trucking, Air Freight
Deep “Freight Recession” Hits Railroads, Trucking, Air Freight “Consumers just don’t seem to be showing up….” As much as we would have liked to, the Dow Transportation Average wasn’t kidding. It has plunged 27% since its high on December 5, 2014. Nearly two-thirds of that plunge came over the past two months. Transportation companies are […]
The Velocity of the American Consumer
The Velocity of the American Consumer I was reading something yesterday by my highly esteemed fellow writer Charles Hugh Smith that had me first puzzled and then thinking ‘I don’t think so’, in the same vein as Mark Twain’s recently over-quoted quote: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what […]
Living a Lie
Living a Lie “Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” – Fyodor […]
The Wall Street Ponzi At Work——The Stock Pumping Swindle Behind Four Retail Zombies
The Wall Street Ponzi At Work——The Stock Pumping Swindle Behind Four Retail Zombies In the nearby column Jim Quinn debunks Wall Street’s latest claim that the American consumer is bounding back. He points out that on an inflation-adjusted basis retail sales are barely higher than they were a year ago, and, for that matter, are still only 4% greater in real terms […]
Whatever Became of Economists and the American economy
Whatever Became of Economists and the American economy According to the official economic fairy tale, the US economy has been in recovery since June 2009. This fairy tale supports America’s image as the safe haven, an image that keeps the dollar up, the stock market up, and interest rates down. It is an image that […]
‘Peak Debt’ At Work: Savings at the Pump Are Staying in Consumer Wallets
‘Peak Debt’ At Work: Savings at the Pump Are Staying in Consumer Wallets Americans are taking the money they are saving at the gas pump and socking it away, a sign of consumers’ persistent caution even when presented with an unexpected windfall. This newfound commitment to frugality was illustrated this past week when the nation’s […]
Dead malls: Half of America’s shopping centres predicted to close by 2030
Dead malls: Half of America’s shopping centres predicted to close by 2030 The obituaries are being written for what has been an intrinsic part of American culture for half a century, as the country’s ubiquitous shopping malls face a slow, painful death. As shopping and driving habits change, retailers are facing difficult times, and some […]
Manufacturing Hit by Oil-Price Plunge? Southeast Worst Since Financial Crisis
Manufacturing Hit by Oil-Price Plunge? Southeast Worst Since Financial Crisis Atlanta Fed suspects oil bust, strong dollar. Despite President Obama’s emphatic assurances in the State of the Union Address that “our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999,” there have recently been some uncomfortable squiggles, so to speak. The collapse in […]
What the Heck Is Happening to US Manufacturing?
What the Heck Is Happening to US Manufacturing? The worst month in the Southeast since the Financial Crisis. Despite President Obama’s emphatic assurances in the State of the Union Address that “our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999,” there have recently been some uncomfortable squiggles, so to speak. The collapse […]
Crushing The “Lower Gas Price = More Spending” Fiction | Zero Hedge
Crushing The “Lower Gas Price = More Spending” Fiction | Zero Hedge. Caveats to the equation: lower gas prices = more spending Aside from the long-standing issues of minimal income growth and lackluster job creation, consumers have become accustomed to an end-of-the-year price reprieve at the pump, and in some cases are simply using the increased […]
Consumers Simply Never Showed Up | Alhambra Investment Partners – We Are Different.
Consumers Simply Never Showed Up | Alhambra Investment Partners – We Are Different.. The largest calendar segments of the retail universe are back-to-school followed closely by Christmas. The peak month for back-to-school is August which is usually the third or fourth biggest month of the year in terms of raw retail sales; with October right […]
