ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
September 23, 2022 | The Bank of England All but Admits Recession
The Bank of England (BoE) all but admitted the UK is officially in a recession. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey stated weeks ago that there was nothing the central bank could do to prevent a recession at this stage. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to raise rates by half a percentage point to 2.25%, marking […]
September 23, 2022 | The Fed Talks Tough as the Inflation Fighter
The Federal Reserve jumped its policy interest rate to 3 percent this week, from 2.25 percent. The Fed reiterated its commitment to getting inflation back to the target level of 2 percent, from its current pace of around 8 percent. The Fed is talking tough. Can the Fed walk the walk or is it just […]
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 23, 2022 | The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in Canada, September Update: House Prices Plunge
In Hamilton, Ontario, after a ridiculous mind-bending spike, prices plunged 5.8% in August from July, and are down 10.5% in three months. In Toronto, prices plunged 4.0% in August from July, and are down 8.3% in three months. In Vancouver, prices dropped by 2.0% in August from July; in Ottawa by 3.1% in August; in […]
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 21, 2022 | Putin is at War with the West – Not Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s recent speech is making headlines as people falsely claim Russia is about to launch an all-out nuclear attack. Putin is sticking to his same plan and says it in his opening statement: “The subject of this address is the situation in Donbas and the course of the special military operation to liberate it […]
September 21, 2022 | Look Out Below!
The Fed voted unanimously to raise the Fed Funds rate by 75 basis points today – up to a range of 3.0 to 3.25%. This is the third straight rate hike in a row of this size. With inflation at 8.3% in August, “high inflation is very painful for people at the lower end […]
September 20, 2022 | Canada Seeking Covid Patient Guards
(click image for a better view) Paladin Security recently posted a job for a position that did not previously exist. The company is seeking “patient watch attendants” to guard COVID patients. Are they looking to set up COVID camps as Australia did? They are looking for positions around-the-clock to monitor COVID patients constantly. It would […]
September 20, 2022 | Housing Bubble Woes: Home Builders Cut Prices, Pile on Incentives, amid Plunging Traffic of Buyers, Spiking Cancellations, Holy-Moly Mortgage Rates
“Buyer traffic is weak in many markets as more consumers remain on the sidelines due to high mortgage rates and home prices that are putting a new home purchase out of financial reach for many households,” according to the National Association of Home Builders this morning regarding its survey of home builders. Incentives: “In another […]
September 20, 2022 | A One-Term President?
The debate continues on whether Joe Biden will run for re-election in 2024. Any sane citizen clearly would not encourage him to continue ruining America. The Democrats have even voiced concerns over Biden’s effectiveness as a two-term president due to his frequent blunders and low poll ratings. His age and declining mental health have made […]
September 19, 2022 | Bringing Down The House
Higher interest rates continue to slow the nations housing market. National home sales, as reported by CREA, fell 25% year-over-year in the month of August. It was also the sixth consecutive monthly decline in home sales. While new listings remain weak as sellers resist selling at recent valuations, inventory is still climbing and prices continue […]
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 19, 2022 | Canada’s Private Sector on the Decline
Canada’s job recovery last year seemed strong according to standard measures. However, it was recently revealed that the majority of jobs were created in the public sector. Nearly 9 in 10 jobs created between 2020 and 2021 were in the public sector. Government, not business, is expanding. Between February 2020 and July 2022, private sector growth […]
September 18, 2022 | Inflation Sinks In
Remember when inflation was going to be transitory? Good times. I was in that camp myself early on, as were some serious analysts I greatly respect (and still do). Then the data began to show core inflation would be stickier than expected, and I turned in my Team Transitory T-shirt. I appreciate people who admit their […]
September 18, 2022 | Hope and Confidence Are on the Downslope Now
I’ve been reluctant to give permabears the all-clear because, being one myself, I’ve seen the bull market roar back from death a dozen times since 2009, turning my smug eulogies into embarrassments. The most punitive and outrageous of the rallies was the monster eruption begun in March 2020, when stocks exploded from the depths of […]
September 17, 2022 | Trading Desk Notes For September 17, 2022
Expectations of more Fed tightening is the “most important thing” for financial markets Markets reacted dramatically to the “stronger than expected” CPI report Tuesday morning. The DJIA futures dropped ~800 points in five minutes and was down >1,650 points later in the day. Friday’s low was ~2,150 points below Tuesday’s high. It was the biggest weekly loss since the […]
September 17, 2022 | Putin & October
Despite all the propaganda that was put out by John McCain, Putin was selected by Yeltsin because he was being blackmailed on the one side by the oligarchs in July 1999 and the communists on the other who introduced a motion in the Duma to impeach him for corruption that was related to the […]
September 16, 2022 | Migrant Buses Arrive Outside Kamala Harris’ Home
Since Kamala Harris is smugly confident that the border is “secure,” Texas sent her a gift. Two buses filled with 100 migrants from Texas arrived outside Harris’ home in Washington, DC. This is a tiny fraction of the number of people who cross the border into the US every day. At the beginning of the […]
September 16, 2022 | CPI Shocks The Financial Markets
The U.S. CPI for August shocked the markets this week, leading to an almost 4 percent decline in stock markets. The CPI showed a small decline, but the “core” CPI increased. Will inflation persist at these high levels? The market was expecting a moderation in the inflation number but got a shocking increase in some […]
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 | Switzerland to Imprison People for Heating Homes
Imagine going to jail for three long years for heating your home or business. That now may become a reality in Switzerland, where heating your home above 19 C (66.2 F) is considered excessive and a punishable offense. Water may not be heated above 60C (140F), and saunas and hot tubs powered by radiant heaters are […]
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 | Debt Diplomacy – Is China the East IMF?
The International Monetary Fund is not the only option for countries in desperate need of funding. The Financial Times recently reported that China has been sending out tens of billions in secretive “emergency loans” to countries facing financial hardship. China and others have been known to invest in emerging or struggling economies, but China seems […]
September 14, 2022 | Gasoline Demand Destruction Accelerates Despite Plunge in Prices: Consumption Drops to August 1997 Level
Over the four weeks through September 9, gasoline consumption dropped by 11.7% from the same four-week period in 2019, to 8.56 million barrels per day on average, below the same periods in 2020 and 2021, according to EIA data today. The EIA measures gasoline consumption in terms of barrels supplied to the market by refiners, […]
September 14, 2022 | Hellbent on Flatlining the Economy
As expected, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates another 75bps this past week. The overnight rate is now up a whopping 300bps year to date, the quickest tightening of monetary policy on a percentage basis since the 1980’s. While there was no additional commentary from BoC Governor Tiff Macklem, the official press release notes, […]