Stock market volatility reflects a weak economy and the end of a generational bull market. S&P 500 back to 1998 levels. Middle class thrown to the wolves in this stock market.
The economic crisis has ushered in the end of a generation long bull market. Most average investors ignore the fact that heavy market volatility is a sign of an unhealthy stock market. The stock market since the lows reached in 2009 has been on an unstoppable bull run. Yet the real economy where most Americans [...]
34 states saw tax collections decline in the first quarter of 2010. State budget deficits projected well into 2010 – Plunging tax revenues reflect a weaker economy dragged down by pervasive unemployment and underemployment. $112 billion in state budget gaps for fiscal 2011.
Big states with dismal budget short falls like California and New York have been making the news for the last couple of years. Yet the problems with state budget deficits go beyond the big and mighty. The banking system has been stabilized at a very high cost to average Americans but state budget deficits reflect [...]
Current state of the American housing market. What foreclosures and distressed borrowers tell us in hidden data. 2010 on path to having 4 million foreclosure filings. HAMP call center data at record levels while loan modifications dwindle.
Trying to get honest data from the banking industry regarding the current state of housing is a monumental task. We are left using multiple data sources to get an accurate picture of the current state of the American housing market. Even then, we are left trying to piece together data that is largely incomplete. For [...]
Middle class shackled by banking debt chains. 113 million households each owe an average of $113,000 in banking debt for mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and auto loans. $45 trillion in household sector debt, government debt, and domestic financial sector debt.
The middle class has been systematically shackled by large amounts of debt, banking debt to be exact in a new form of financial serfdom. Much of this started in the early 1970s on par with the deficits don’t matter policy that engulfed our monetary policy for the next four decades. Like any giant structure built [...]
Taxes coming for $1 trillion in commercial real estate. 1.2 million partnerships own over $1 trillion in CRE. Too big to fail dumping CRE debt.
The problems for commercial real estate are deep and significant and have the potential of stifling any sort of recovery. Rather than looking at commercial real estate (CRE) as a reason for more stimulus or bailouts the question should examine why so many CRE locations are defaulting. Can this be a sign that demand for [...]
FDIC flashes code red – Banking system insolvent and expecting more bank failures. Since 2008 247 banks with $616 billion in assets have failed. History of Federal Reserve designed to protect the big banks.
The FDIC which technically supports the nation’s banking system is for all practical purposes insolvent. I’m not sure the magnitude of this problem has sunk into the psyche of the American public. The FDIC insures accounts at banks that include checking, saving, and CD accounts from a bank failure. This has occurred with regular frequency [...]
Gear up for another lost decade in real estate. Housing will remain stagnate from 2010 to 2020. Demographic shifts, higher mortgage rates, and shifting consumer taste in real estate.
The dynamics for housing moving forward point to a very bleak future and a potential lost decade yet again from 2010 to 2020. Housing has a treacherous path moving forward and deep down demographic shifts will keep a lid on any significant housing appreciation moving forward. The economy is in the process of deleveraging from [...]
Fooled by financial randomness – Number of millionaires back to late 1990s levels and the end of a 30 year bull market. Real estate and stock market speculators luck out but want to believe in Wall Street religion.
It is hard to convince a generation of Americans built on the “greed is good” motto that we have just lived through a once in a lifetime bull market in stocks and real estate. I’m reminded of Michael Lewis and his semi-autobiographical book Liar’s Poker printed in 1990 that was to serve as a warning [...]
The financial raid against the middle class – 9 of the 10 largest occupations in the U.S. have median wages between $8 per hour and $14per hour. The middle class is inheriting a new serfdom drowning in mountains of debt. The new two income trap.
The war against the middle class is silent and has grown since the recession started. We don’t hear much about this because in large part, those falling out of the middle class don’t have the funds to purchase airtime with the media who is wedded to Wall Street. 40 million Americans now receive food assistance. [...]
Blame the real estate bubble on California and New York. Why the housing bubble centered around 4 states and spread across the nation. The Southwest and Florida sunshine real estate infatuation. 45 percent of foreclosure filings come from 4 states.
When we hear about the foreclosure crisis we tend to paint with a very broad real estate brush. Without a doubt the housing bubble bursting is rippling throughout the country. Yet to assume all states are being impacted equally is absolutely incorrect yet mainstream media analysis usually talks about the “foreclosure crisis” as if it [...]
