Independent thinking for complex markets and current events
by Michael U.S. households are being financially squeezed at a level that we have never seen before. I have often said that we are in a long-term cost of living crisis that never seems to end, and that is not an exaggeration at all. Just about everything has been getting more expensive in recent years, …
War-risk premiums and shipping surcharges caused by the Hormuz crisis are now acting as a de facto permanent tax on finished goods entering the global market. The narrative claims maritime resilience while trade lanes shrink by the day Reality is that Hormuz is now an active barrier to international commerce Exporters are being driven to …
TicTocTick and texasrunnerDFW lay out the brutal numbers… Half of all claims get zero payout or straight denial… File one and your insurer cancels you then blacklists you everywhere… Texas and Florida homeowners shell out 500 dollars monthly for this coin toss… Rates spike 20 to 80 percent even with zero claims on record… Companies …
Millions of working Americans now face this exact reality — paying $1,700+/month for bare-bones insurance while ERs overflow with non-citizens getting free care, as seen across California where one-third skip paying. This woman is a perfect example of the problem. Notice how she shakes her head continuously, and checks to see if others can see …
Kyle Busch wins 8.5 million dollar insurance settlement just two months earlier… Insurance industry and officials duck full investigation demands while suspicious timing gets buried… he looked healthy and just raced but now everyone wonders what really happened behind closed doors… Kyle Busch exposed one of the biggest insurance scams of all time! He went …
Small business owners across several states are reducing employee hours and in some cases staff numbers because of sharp increases in liability and health insurance premiums. Many report premiums jumping 20-40 percent in the past year. This is forcing difficult decisions to keep the doors open. Some owners say they are barely breaking even after …
insurance isn't covering your costs. it's covering their costs. pic.twitter.com/pnCqRp7vHe — SLEPE (@SlepeOnBase) April 26, 2026 Health insurance is a scam. pic.twitter.com/dYzwO4jcge — Dr. Wojak, M.D. (@DrWojakMD) April 26, 2026
Everyone’s watching the $VIX. Almost nobody’s watching the VVIX. $VIX drops 13% and the timeline relaxes. But options on the $VIX itself? Still at the 88th percentile. That’s institutional hedgers quietly keeping their crash insurance fully loaded. Surface calm. Expensive tail protection underneath. That’s not contradiction. That’s a tell. $IWM round-tripped its entire intraday rally …
via Ok_Chemical9 I found this out the hard way last month when I picked up my generic blood pressure medication. My insurance copay was $47. On a whim, I asked the pharmacist what it would cost without insurance. $12. **Why YSK:** Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) negotiate prices between insurance companies and pharmacies, and sometimes those …
John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad This is potentially the biggest Iran story nobody is talking about: the global insurance market may be heading toward a systemic crisis. Here’s why… Most people don’t realize London isn’t just a financial center it’s THE center of global insurance. Lloyd’s underwrites ~40% of the world’s marine cargo. Ship sinks, …
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/28/berkshire-hathaway-brka-q4-2025-earnings.html Berkshire Hathaway reported a big decline in its operating earnings for the fourth quarter, due in large part to weakness in the conglomerate’s insurance business. Earnings from operations totaled $10.2 billion in Q4. That’s down more than 29% from $14.56 billion in the year-earlier period. This was the final quarter under Warren Buffett as …
Job openings in finance and insurance are imploding. Is this related to AI or something else entirely? pic.twitter.com/fbz3yOh3Ny — Markets & Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) February 27, 2026
President Donald Trump has said he “might” veto a bill that passed through the House on Thursday that would extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, the president was asked if he would veto the bill if it passed …
A tight vote, but they just handed Americans a new way to beat high premiums. BREAKING 🅱️ US House ADVANCES GOP healthcare bill that lets people buy insurance in groups to save money on premiums, WITHOUT Democrats' ACA subsidies extension for Big, Rich Insurance. Allows Americans to band together in groups for cheaper insurance premiums, …
Woman loses her home in fire. She asks insurance to rebuild the same home — no upgrades, no expansion. Insurance says NO. byu/TonyLiberty inFluentInFinance
An American goes to the ER for high blood pressure. He’s there less than TWO hours. No surgery. No scans. The bill comes back at $41,297 — even AFTER he’s paid his FULL out-of-pocket max. This isn’t healthcare — it’s extortion. pic.twitter.com/8czWauKyG8 — MatrixMysteries (@MatrixMysteries) December 24, 2025
Why Americans are canceling health insurance in 2026 as premiums explode, deductibles rise, and inflation continues to squeeze household budgets across America. As the cost of living crisis worsens, more Americans are discovering they can no longer afford coverage without sacrificing rent, food, utilities, or savings. In this video, we explain what’s driving massive premium …
“Many dentist offices will still take most major insurance but they dropped the in-network contracts. In Network Insurance says a cleaning can cost $75, the dentist can only charge $75. Insurance pays $75. You pay $0 Out of Network Insurance says a cleaning can cost $75. Dentist charges $200. Insurance pays $75. You pay $125 …
It’s concerning that insurance companies now have significant exposure to private credit based on questionable ratings Better systemic bank exposure, but still not great — Illiquid Insights (@IlliquidInsight) November 19, 2025 U.S. Insurers Are Binging on Private Credit, Moody’s Says A handful of insurers are buying much of the investments, which are hard to trade …
If this AI debt bubble ever pops, it won’t be just the Silicon Valley taking the first hit, it’ll be your pension and retirement funds. Why? Because the AI buildout has gotten so capital intensive that companies are relying heavily on debt rather than equity. Around $800 billion in private credit is needed for these …
NEW: Donald Trump has a plan to replace Obamacare by giving Americans cash to buy their own health insurance — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) November 13, 2025 President Donald Trump hinted at a potential replacement for the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, that could bear his own name. In a Monday night interview with FOX …
US car insurance costs are set to hit another record: Average annual premiums are expected to rise +4% by the end of 2025 to a record $2,402. The national average cost of full-coverage car insurance could climb as much as +7%, to $2,472. Premiums are projected to surge at least +12% in Rhode Island, Michigan, …
Here’s the bill: pic.twitter.com/TCu9sixz0T — Branislav Slantchev (@slantchev) November 8, 2025 View post on imgur.com 🚨 JUST IN: Rep. Tim BURCHETT exposes that Chuck Schumer’s plan to reopen the government includes “giving insurance companies $35 BILLION.” “Holding Americans hostage is wrong!” 💯 pic.twitter.com/IT7u5NMNce — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 7, 2025 If you are wondering why …
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/health-aca-obamacare-federal-government-shutdown.html “The Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress intervenes. If the ACA subsidies disappear, health providers could lose more than $32 billion in revenue and see an extra $7.7 billion in unpaid medical bills from uninsured patients, a new analysis finds. Average …
The warning signs were impossible to miss. They were dismissed, ignored, and buried beneath the language of actuarial tables and regulatory fog. In 2025, Americans are facing the largest health insurance premium spikes in fifteen years, with some plans climbing 18 percent https://www.forbes.com/advisor/d/aca-premiums-rising-short-term-insurance . This is not inflation. It is extraction. The timing is deliberate. …
Always ask how much self pay is before showing your insurance card — The Questionable Gardner (@T_Q_Gardner) August 28, 2025
by Michael You may be quite shocked by the numbers that I am going to reveal in this article. So many people are bitterly complaining about the rising cost of living, and so I decided to do some investigating. What does it really cost for a family of four to live the “American Dream” today? As …
Authored by Mike Shedlock via mishtalk, Our Insurance went up by $2,000. Then another $2,000. Here’s our story. Fire and Flood Insurance Is Missing, Not Just Understated Is home fire insurance a part of the CPI? This index includes contents coverage for both renters and homeowners, as offered in standardized policies. However, it’s important to note …
Centene filed to raise premiums by 54%. Blue Cross wants 25.5%. “The governor’s office released a statement Wednesday following filings from Centene Corporation and Blue Cross Blue Shield that show premium rates would rise on the insurance plans they offer in Arkansas by as much as 54% and 25.5%.” https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/arkansas-news/arkansas-gov-sanders-opposes-insurance-rate-hikes/ Sanders called the hikes “insane.” …
