Independent thinking for complex markets and current events
Nobody in DC gives a fuck about your wallet. Consumers face brutal inflation and crumbling dollar value. And a 97% loss since 1913 (founding of the Fed) and an 88% loss since 1971 (closing of the gold window and 100% fiat currency) in the purchasing power of the dollar — by government measurements, which are …
Financial records show that the U.S. dollar is worth significantly less today than it was in 2020. Because of cumulative inflation over the last six years, $1 from 2020 now has the buying power of roughly $1.29. This means consumers need to spend about 29% more money today to buy the same goods and services …
Official data now screams the economy is in freefall. Annual jobs numbers this low only happen in full-blown recessions. we are in a consumer recession for the bottom 80%. top 20% are crushing it. — Jon Brooks (@jonbrooks) May 8, 2026 "consumers are literally running out of money" — Heinz CEO You can’t budget your …
Hassett on American consumers: "Credit card spending is through the roof. They're spending more on gasoline, but they're spending more on everything else too." pic.twitter.com/zayCSaxhwr — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 6, 2026
Total Personal Outlays jump $195B in single month as utility and fuel bills spike… Savings Rate craters to 3.6%; consumers “burning through” cash to maintain lifestyle… Wall Street Reacts: Nasdaq futures drop 200 points on “Higher for Much Longer” reality… Bond Market Carnage: 10-year Treasury yield breaches 4.85% as “Pivot” narrative dies… Stats from today’s …
U.S.-Iran war ‘tax’ begins to hit American businesses and consumers Nick Friedman, co-founder of Tampa-based College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving, says his business has been facing multiple headwinds. High mortgage rates have dampened the real estate market, while rising insurance premiums are eating into operating costs. Now there’s the U.S.-Iran war and a surge …
Rising oil prices won't cause higher inflation. More expensive oil means Americans will have less money to spend on other things. Reduced spending will cause a recession, which will result in larger budget deficits, rate cuts, and QE. That's what will cause higher inflation. — Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 23, 2026 They are shorting crude …
Over half of Americans say health care, a weeklong vacation and a new car are unaffordable, per ABC — unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 17, 2026 JUST IN: US 30-Year Mortgage Rate jumps to 6.86%, the highest level since November byu/RobertBartus inEconomyCharts Another out of context quote. Full quote shows Hassett saying this is “going ahead of …
Macro vulnerability increasing ahead of automation wave. The consumer most exposed to AI displacement already has no financial runway. Before a single layoff announcement, 401k hardship withdrawals are 365% above baseline. Emergency savings at a 15-year low. Credit card delinquency in the 40-59 cohort at 12.7%. The shock absorber… — Craig Shapiro (@ces921) February 22, …
It's plausible deniability through pretend stupidity. There's no way someone that smart about money didn't know that the covid bank bailout was going to cause rampant inflation. pic.twitter.com/ObOqknbTns — Ilgephelfis 🐸🤡👽🎻🎶 (@ilgephelfis) January 12, 2026 That Powell is forced to defend himself and the Fed from Trumpian intervention in this way is why foreign institutions …
This is the part where everyone points to spending and jobs like proof everything’s fine, right before both roll over at the same time. THE STOCK MARKET CRASH IS SET UP PERFECTLY! 1. Consumers are still spending money they don’t have. – Consumer spending makes up 70% of GDP – But personal savings are near …
2025 treated the market well. What a great year for stocks. S&P 500 +16.9%Dow +13.5%Nasdaq +20.8%Russell 2000 +11.3% The recipe for a great year for #stocks =The AI BoomResilient (higher income) consumersCost cuttingGood supply chain management to minimize tariffs… pic.twitter.com/YLMOg7Sh6m — Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) December 31, 2025 Today, both of our independent measures of inflation, …
https://twtter.com/cherrygarciafan/status/1992698170460225737 The nation is suffering a serious affordability crisis. Prices for many necessities, from groceries to a car, have increased significantly since the pandemic, and most prices continue to rise at an uncomfortably quick pace. Consumer price inflation is near 3%, well above the Fed’s inflation target, and everything points to even higher inflation dead-ahead. …
Mark Bertolini, Oscar Health CEO, Verizon chairman and former Aetna chairman and CEO, joins ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss the state of the health insurance industry, why insurance premiums are going up, future of the ACA, skyrocketing health care costs, ways to fix the U.S. health care system, and more.
by Michael Millions of Americans are discovering that at some point the money runs out and the party is over. Vehicles are being repossessed at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis, foreclosure filings are up 18 percent compared to last year, and student loan delinquencies have soared into unprecedented territory. Nobody can deny …
JUST IN 🚨: U.S. M2 Money Supply jumps to a new all-time high of $22.2 Trillion 🤑 pic.twitter.com/tAVX6YZsWm — Barchart (@Barchart) September 23, 2025 Every new dollar weakens the old ones and people feel it every day when groceries cost more, when rent eats paychecks, when savings vanish in silence. This is how empires rot, …
CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports on the latest news regarding the Chinese economy.
The bills are sudden and jarring: $1,400 for a computer part from Germany, $620 for an aluminum case from Sweden and $1,041 for handbags from Spain. Some U.S. shoppers say they are being hit with surprise charges from international shipping carriers as the exemption on import duties for items under $800 expires as a part …
Corporate profits demand that suburban consumers subsidize the huge energy consumption of AI data centers byu/Boo_Randy_II ininflation
For those who struggle to understand what’s happening here, what the original “ AI cartel” $MSFT – $NVDA is trying to achieve is to attract Lenders so debt can be raised to purchase GPUs ( $NBIS will try to use this contract as a guarantee). I wonder whether they are finally… https://t.co/1zXQ9oQbZI — JustDario 🏊♂️ …
That earnings report was garbage. Now it’s being exposed. https://t.co/xnDHuxUjwZ — QE Infinity (@StealthQE4) August 21, 2025 They need to hike very soon before this runs away from them. PPI and inflation expectations both lead CPI. Prices paid are still rising. Tariffs coming in gradually and will unanchor expectations further. Just remember that I was …
$cava becomes the latest QSR to bite the dust on disappointing earnings… consumers too tapped out to afford burritos, bowls and Starbucks lates, but don’t worry the Fed is gonna cut 25 bps and Tom Lee is bullish pic.twitter.com/b9UkTCCiOc — Ross Hendricks (@Ross__Hendricks) August 12, 2025 The only earnings growth is coming from the MAG-7 …
As of June 2025, the cost of Trump’s tariffs is split clearly: U.S. companies have absorbed 64% of the burden, foreign exporters took on 14%, and U.S. consumers already paid 22%. Goldman Sachs’ analysis confirms this breakdown through mid-2025, showing who is really bearing the tariff costs. https://deepnewz.com/tariffs/goldman-sachs-u-s-companies-absorbed-64-tariff-costs-consumers-share-to-rise-f9d46ce8 As of June, foreign exporters absorbed 14% …
Tariffs began as taxes. First to raise revenue. Then to protect local industries. Later to enforce reciprocity. Three goals. One blunt tool. It never worked smoothly. “Looking at several centuries of tariffs, we can summarize their impact through three R’s: revenue, restriction, and reciprocity.” https://econlife.com/2025/01/the-three-rs-of-tariffs/ Push tariffs too high and imports collapse. Revenue drops. Push …
The Fed is about to cut rates while everything else hits all-time highs. Stocks, homes, rents, bitcoin, gold, household wealth — all at records. Unemployment sits at 4.2%. Inflation stays high. J.P. Morgan expects four rate cuts to bring the policy rate to 3.5%. https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-08-08/j-p-morgan-sees-fed-cutting-rates-at-each-of-its-next-four-meetings But Americans are struggling. Fast food sales dropped hard last …
Consumers are tapping out. pic.twitter.com/WuTvvk8QNU — Darth Powell (@VladTheInflator) August 7, 2025 Breakfast sales at McDonald’s and Wendy have declined year over year despite these items like McGriddle and Maple bacon croissant selling for like 2 dollars. Folks are eating Cheerios at home to save 2 dollars on breakfast! Is this strong economy folks ?$MCD …
U.S. firms are carrying most of the tariff cost for now, holding prices steady and shrinking margins. “American businesses have been absorbing Trump’s tariffs so far, but eventually the burden will be shifted on to American consumers” — Fed Chair Powell It looks like Trump made a mistake https://t.co/P25q5bjEba — sandile swana (@sandileswana) July 31, …
Economists are having trouble understanding why stocks are at all-time highs. Well, technically, they are not measured in currencies other than the US dollar, like the euro, but in local currency terms, yes. According to economic textbooks, tariffs hamper free trade, cause investment uncertainty, and lead to suboptimal economic outcomes. The reality is that US …
The final week of July 2025 is not a policy moment. It’s a collision of pressure points. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates at 4.25% to 4.5% for the fifth straight meeting. The decision lands Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. Trump’s push for cuts has intensified, with direct pressure on Powell and …
Retail is cooling. Not collapsing. But the heat is gone. The latest Redbook Index shows year-over-year growth of 5.2% for the week ending July 19. That’s down from 5.9% the week prior. The sample covers 9,000 stores and represents 80% of the Commerce Department’s retail data. It’s nominal. Not inflation-adjusted. So the real story is …