Credit card debt continues to spiral higher as consumers struggle with rising prices and depleted savings.
In August, revolving credit increased by a staggering 18.1% as total consumer debt surged to a record $4.68 trillion, according to the latest consumer credit data from the Federal Reserve.
“I can scarcely contemplate a greater calamity that could befall this country than to be loaded with a debt exceeding their ability to ever discharge.” – Brutus
Well, here we are.
On Monday, the US national debt eclipsed $31 trillion for the first time in history.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) got it half right.
The UN agency warned that there is a high risk of a global recession due to central banks tightening monetary policy to fight inflation. But the solutions offered reveal that the UNCTAD has no idea what causes inflation.
If the Keynesians are right, Hurricane Ian will create an economic boom here in Florida. After all, breaking windows creates demand and that stimulates the economy. And after this massive hurricane cut through Florida, there were a lot of broken windows — and much worse.
This is starting to look a lot like the popping of the dot-com bubble with one big difference — inflation.
Beginning in mid-June, we saw a significant bear market rally in stocks. But the recent declines have wiped out those gains and more. For instance, the Dow jumped 14% during the 2-month rally. By the close on Friday, Sept. 23, it was once again down 20% from its all-time high. That same day, the NASDAQ closed just 2% off its June low after a 23% rally.
Given historically high inflation, why haven’t we seen a big rally in gold and silver?
There are a number of factors that have weighed on precious metals, but as the World Gold Council points out, it’s important to put gold and silver’s recent price movements in a broader perspective.
In fact, gold has been one of the better-performing asset classes in 2022.
Hurricane Ian is taking aim at Florida. That means there is already talk of “price gouging.”
People have a visceral emotional reaction to people raising prices during a disaster. But it is nothing but feelz. In fact, “price gouging” serves an important economic function. Not allowing prices to rise actually causes more harm.
During his post- FOMC meeting press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, “Hope for the best; plan for the worst.”
I think he meant, “Live in hope; die in despair.”
The Atlanta Fed has lowered its GDP estimate for the third quarter to 0.3%, and the trend is downward. That means the economy is teetering on the verge of another quarter of negative GDP growth. Would that be enough to raise recession alarms?
Federal Reserve rate hikes will add trillions to the national debt, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
