ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
September 23, 2022 | ‘Snow-Washing’ in Canada, Money Laundering All Star
I have long thought that a housing bust and ugly recession might finally catalyze a serious crackdown on money laundering in Canada. Apathy has been the status quo while asset prices were rising. Now, as prices plunge and pain spreads, public tolerance should shift. Realty reports show that many properties bought in early 2022 are […]
September 22, 2022 | Operation ‘Break Things’ To Continue
Hiking the US Fed funds rate a further .75 yesterday, now 3 to 3.25% (from 0 to .25% in March), Chair Powell acknowledged that unemployment will rise, adding: “Nonetheless, we’re committed to getting inflation back down to 2%.” Powell reiterated that his board plans to raise US base rates a further 1.25% (4.25 to 4.5%) by […]
September 19, 2022 | 2022: Three Quarters of Pain and Counting
As we start the third week of September, with the US Fed’s much-telegraphed rate hike on Wednesday (+.75 with some 30% betting odds of a full percent!), markets are peaked. Bitcoin (-71%) continues to lead the crypto Ponzi down the back side of heartbreak hill. So far, the S&P 500 -20%, the Nasdaq -29%, and […]
September 16, 2022 | $95 Billion in Monthly Liquidity Reduction to Begin Today
Starting today, the US Fed has pledged to run off its balance sheet (reduce liquidity in the banking system via ‘Quantitative Tapering’) by $95 billion a month–double the amount they were supposed to have been withdrawing (QT) since the start of June and about 5.5x the $17 billion per month they actually have withdrawn. We will […]
September 15, 2022 | Consumer Dreams Evolving
There’s an old saying: the best days of owning a boat are the day you get it, and the day you sell it. The sentiment is especially true when people borrow to buy recreational items. While usage of the lifestyle item is periodic, related expenses tend to be continuous. Recreational properties and equipment saw a […]
September 14, 2022 | Lower Prices Improve Affordability and Investment Prospects
Well before the rate increases this year, many would-be investment properties had rents insufficient to cover expenses, and owners were subsidizing the negative carry in hopes that capital gains would more than repay their costs over time. This helpful calculator allows us to compare relative numbers. In February 2022, with the average Canadian national sale price of […]
September 13, 2022 | EPB Macro: The Compounding Cost of Short-Term Thinking
This video offers an excellent overview of the compounding cost of short-termism and entitlement thinking in a world of corporations and households who expect endless government support and lower taxes. The U.S. Government is facing some serious fiscal and monetary issues that don’t seem to have a positive outcome. In this video we will see […]
September 12, 2022 | World’s Hottest Housing Markets Face Painful Reset
The rapid cooldown in real estate threatens to worsen a global economic downturn and is emerging as a key variable for central bankers who want to tamp down inflation. Here is a direct video link. Also, see The World’s Hottest Housing Markets Face a Painful Reset In Australia and Canada — two of the world’s bubbliest markets […]
September 10, 2022 | Synchronous Global Housing Downturn
This segment offers a good overview of the global housing downturn. Rather than thinking of it as a housing “crash” though, realists can see it as an inevitable mean reversion cycle following a massive speculative bubble. Home Prices across America are DROPPING FAST, according to New Data from Redfin. Metros like Austin, Dallas, San Jose, […]
September 9, 2022 | Mortgage Stress is International Saga
Recent Canadian mortgage data compiled by the Bank of Montreal gives a glimpse at the rate of change afoot for many Canadian property owners: Some 20% of all Canadian mortgages outstanding ($260 billion) are variable rate loans taken out near the interest lows at 1.5% into February 2022. With rates on offer now closer to 5%, many […]
September 8, 2022 | Desjardins: Canada the Most Debt Sensitive Economy in the World
Canada comes into this global downturn with a world-leading real estate bubble (property values accounting for some two-thirds of household net worth) and record-private debt levels at a whopping $7 trillion (households and businesses) in an economy tracking about $2.6 trillion in GDP. A bursting debt bubble in a poorly diversified economy largely dependent on […]
September 7, 2022 | Debunking the Volcker Myth
The USD Index (DXY shown below since 1980) above 110 this morning is a 20-year high not seen since April 2002. The Euro (58% of the dollar index) is below par and at the lowest since July 2002, while the Japanese Yen (14%) is at the lowest since 1998, and the British Pound (12%) is […]
September 6, 2022 | Quantitative Tightening is Supposed to Step up 5.5x This Month
Happy September!! Starting now, the US Fed is to run off its balance sheet (reduce liquidity in the banking system via ‘Quantitative Tapering’) by $95 billion a month–double the amount they were supposed to have been withdrawing (QT) since the start of June. In reality, though, rather than shrink its holdings by $45 billion a […]