The writing is on the wall, but retail investors refuse to see it. Beneath the glossy façade of consumer spending lies a crumbling foundation. Housing defaults are soaring. Single-family mortgage delinquencies hit 3.5% in November 2024, climbing sharply from 3.0% just two months prior. Chapter 13 bankruptcies fell 25.13% year-over-year, from 4,398 in 2023 to 3,293 in 2024, but don’t be fooled. Credit card defaults are shattering records, with 12% of debt now in severe delinquency—the worst since the Global Financial Crisis.
Yesterday delivered a brutal one-two punch. Jobless claims spiked to 242,000, a high for the year. Inflation surged to 3.8% in November, up from 3.2% the previous month. Meanwhile, U.S. household debt reached $17.3 trillion as of December 2024. These aren’t just statistics—they’re glaring warnings of an economy stretched beyond its limits. Severe credit card delinquencies are climbing relentlessly, exposing the growing financial strain on everyday Americans.
Yet the Federal Reserve plans to cut rates next week. The stock market revels in all-time highs, but it’s an illusion. Beneath the surface, millions of Americans are drowning in debt and defaults. Reduced consumer spending is inevitable. Businesses will feel the pain, setting off a cascade of layoffs and closures. Rising jobless claims and stubborn inflation only worsen the storm, signaling a labor market in decline and crushing costs of living.
Insider selling casts an ominous shadow. Corporate titans are fleeing. CEOs and executives at Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla have offloaded hundreds of millions in shares this quarter. When insiders bail out at record levels, it screams danger. Their mass exodus shatters market confidence, leaving retail investors to weather the fallout. Prices may dip temporarily, but the long-term sentiment damage is unmistakable.
The parallels to 2008 are chilling. Ballooning debt and skyrocketing defaults foreshadowed the last financial meltdown, and the patterns today are eerily similar. Housing defaults are climbing. Credit card delinquencies are breaking records. The Federal Reserve’s rate-cut gamble feels like déjà vu—a desperate attempt to stave off the inevitable. It didn’t work then, and it likely won’t now.
The consequences are already rippling through the economy. Strapped consumers are cutting spending, choking businesses reliant on steady demand. Inflation eats away at disposable income, while stagnant wages fail to keep pace. Add record-breaking debt to the equation, and the picture becomes undeniably grim. The economy cannot sustain this pressure.
Retail investors need to wake up. Stock market highs don’t equal stability. Beneath the surface lies a dangerous reality—one of unchecked debt, rampant defaults, and eroding trust from within. The signs of a crash are not just visible—they’re screaming for attention. Ignore them at your peril. This isn’t just a correction waiting to happen; it’s the slow, inexorable march toward financial chaos. Prepare now, or pay the price later.
Buckle up everyone, don't forget who warned you https://t.co/ghV4ygjbJp pic.twitter.com/EYU2KetMyu
— Darth Powell (@VladTheInflator) December 12, 2024
BREAKING: Corporate executive stock sales have hit an all time high, per FT: pic.twitter.com/w8IaypFOIB
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) December 12, 2024
Length of the inversion is correlated to how bad the stock market crash is https://t.co/Ztu5nNx57D pic.twitter.com/gO1I9gJXoP
— Darth Powell (@VladTheInflator) December 12, 2024
The Dow Jones has fallen for 6 consecutive days.
If we're following the 1929 pattern, the descent will pause for a week starting Monday. https://t.co/xITixdaIfp pic.twitter.com/XLtgavk35e
— Financelot (@FinanceLancelot) December 12, 2024
Trump who pumps the market daily when he was president, says he wouldn’t buy stocks at todays price in case of a “dip”
— The Coastal Journal (@1CoastalJournal) December 12, 2024
WARNING: Housing defaults have just skyrocketed
This is unlike anything we’ve seen in a decade pic.twitter.com/C2g248Fxgj
— Bravos Research (@bravosresearch) December 12, 2024
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the largest divergence ever between the real economy and the stock market.
Nothing can make stonks go down. pic.twitter.com/sXzMp6b2op
— Guilherme Tavares (@i3_invest) December 12, 2024
This society can't even predict what's already happening, that's how dumb they've become.
Maybe Bitcoin will be a safe haven from global depression. pic.twitter.com/8CKrlwABqq
— Mac10 (@SuburbanDrone) December 12, 2024
Hedge fund managers are back to a dangerous level of risk allocation, while Momentum Tech comes in for a hard landing.
Unforeseen by everyone. pic.twitter.com/S3uAtz0hWP
— Mac10 (@SuburbanDrone) December 12, 2024
Wall Street is tripping over themselves to up the ante on price targets for 2025. Let's make this interesting and predict that stocks and Bitcoins give up all 2024 gains by Dec. 31st, 2024. Leaving every bullish pundit dick in hand for 2025. pic.twitter.com/G5n0L3ybjL
— Mac10 (@SuburbanDrone) December 12, 2024
Centralized exchanges are seeing the largest crypto outflow in history.
It happened in 2018 and 2021 — and the outcome was explosive.
Here’s what it means and why you need to pay attention 🧵 pic.twitter.com/HYZitnOp7b
— Alex Mason 👁△ (@AlexMasonCrypto) December 12, 2024
3 / In 2024, we're seeing the highest outflows in history from centralized exchanges.
This last happened in 2018. Remember what followed?
A massive bull run.
But why do outflows matter so much? pic.twitter.com/pl58kfkdc4
— Alex Mason 👁△ (@AlexMasonCrypto) December 12, 2024
Seven years ago almost to the day — Never, ever forget. Bitcoin lost 70% of its value in just TWO months (December 2017 to February 2018). Opportunities ahead. pic.twitter.com/78iDtdv19f
— Lawrence McDonald (@Convertbond) December 12, 2024
We are NOT Bitcoin bears. There is an entire, very favorable chapter in our book – "When Markets Speak." We are simply pointing out the reality of the situation, something the strippers and the pumpers at the highs don't discuss.
— Lawrence McDonald (@Convertbond) December 12, 2024
Data from @BLS_gov
Food up 1 month change fruits & vegetables up 22% & 31%
Repeat 1 MONTH PERCENT CHANGE. pic.twitter.com/JL52lU2dEE
— The Coastal Journal (@1CoastalJournal) December 12, 2024
Inflation jumps to 3.8% annualized on the CPI.
One more lit fuse they’re handing Donald Trump.
The reason is federal spending never went down, but the Fed ran out of hikes.
Trump will need massive spending cuts. Or massive economic growth. pic.twitter.com/z1vXlEHBnV
— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) December 12, 2024
ALERT: Credit card defaults from small lenders hit RECORD levels
Surpassing even the Dot Com bubble & Financial Crisis peaks
Consumers are nearing trouble… pic.twitter.com/IM1PQqcwGP
— Bravos Research (@bravosresearch) December 12, 2024
WARNING: Housing defaults have just skyrocketed
This is unlike anything we’ve seen in a decade pic.twitter.com/C2g248Fxgj
— Bravos Research (@bravosresearch) December 12, 2024
Percent of credit card debt in severe delinquency continues rising, at levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis; note that most student loan delinquency isn't being reported right now, but is set to explode in coming months once the Biden rule against reporting expires: pic.twitter.com/ImLLkI47iS
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) November 13, 2024
Not to interrupt all the bull cheering, but the $DJIA has casually dropped over 1,000 points since last week's peak and nobody's even taking about it… pic.twitter.com/xvgg1R6Pif
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) December 12, 2024
Sources:
https://www.bankruptcywatch.com/statistics
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DRCCLACBS
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-credit-trends/credit-card-delinquency-rates/
https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/
https://finbold.com/record-insider-selling-is-the-stock-market-in-trouble/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/85b6b061-6c25-377c-8c09-d33a0831414b/insiders-are-selling-stock-.html