Guns Of August? Home Prices Rise Again In August, +2.57% YoY (Illegal Immingrant Destinations Like Chicago, New York And Detroit Are Up The Most)

Bidenomics is best represented by the novel “The Guns of August” since American’s middle class is getting blasted by Biden’s economic policies and The Fed’s rate rate hikes. Find out where Texas Governor Abbot is bussing illegal immigrants and buy in the market!!

Home prices rose for the 5th straight month in August (the latest data released by S&P Global Case-Shiller today), up 1.01% MoM (better than the 0.8% rise expected).

Source: Bloomberg

The ongoing MoM rises pushed the YoY gain in home prices at America’s 20 largest cities up 2.16%, the most since January 2023. The National Home Price index rose even faster at 2.57% YoY.

Illegal immigration destinations Chicago, New York, and Detroit all saw major home price rises (+5.0%, +4.9%, and +4.8% YoY respectively). Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Francisco remain lower YoY (-4.9%, -3.9%, -2.5% respectively).

But, judging by the resumption of the rise of mortgage rates since the Case-Shiller data was created, we would expect prices to also resume their decline…

Source: Bloomberg

Inventory is going nowhere, buyers and sellers are stuck (affordability for the former and the mortgage cost gap for the latter), and The Fed isn’t cutting rates any time soon. Not pretty…

The Crazy World Of Bidenomics! Actual Cost Of Charging An Electric Vehicle Is $17 Per Gallon, Automakers Losing $36,000 Per EV Sold (Big Boondoggle For China)

Biden is the God of Hellfire! Forcing Americans to support China.

The actual cost of charging an electric vehicle is $17 per gallon, and automakers are losing $36,000 per EV they sell. Its enriches China and makes the US dependent on Chinese batteries and minerals controlled by China.

Ford EV sales are almost nonexistant. High prices, big losses per vehicle sold, a dearth of charging stations for travel.

At least Biden will say the pain he is causing actually “hurts so good.”

Here is California governor and greaseball Gavin “Gruesome” Newsom test driving a Chinese EV on his trip to China to undercut Biden’s dying reelection prospects.

Shapes Of Things Under Bidenomics! Russell 2000 Hit Lowest Level Since Nov 2020 As Bidenomics Bites Hard (Mortgage Rates UP 181% Under Biden, Home Prices UP 32.3%)

Shapes of things under Bidenomics! More like Over, Under, Sideways Down.

The benchmark small cap index, the Russell 2000, has hit the lowest levels since November 2020, when the world was still without a vaccine and shut down from Covid. And before Biden’s/Congress wild spending spree and debt volume explosion creating massive inflation causing The Fed to hike rates.

Speaking of over, under, sideways, down under Bidenomics, mortgage rates are up 181% and home prices are up 32.3% under Biden.

Biden: “WTF? He doesn’t smell like a little girl!”

Simply Unaffordable! Income Needed To Buy A Home Is $111k While Median Household Income Is Only $78k, Credit Card Delinquencies Highest Since 1991, REITs Down > -10% YTD (Bitcoin, Gold UP YTD!)

Bidenomics is a windfall for the donor class (high rate of return on campaign contributions) while the middle class gets beaten to a pulp. Waiting for Biden to lean over and creepily whisper “It’s working!” Even though it is clearly not working, at least for the middle class.

Evidence that Bidenomics is not working and destructive? Try the surging income needed to buy a house under Biden. Home prices are rising faster than median household income. As in $111,000 income needed to buy a house, while median household income is only $78,000. So, housing is simply unaffordable under Bidenomics. The Biden era is outlined in pink.

Mortgage purchase applications have collapsed to 1994 levels.

Meanwhile, stressed households are seeing credit card delinquencies at the highest level since 1991.

And thanks to Uncle Spam (given how Uncle Sam is destroying the middle class it is now Uncle Spam), 2023 interest payments are the same as the total debt from 1980! Spam, which the Federal government has devolved into, is very high in fat, calories and sodium and low in important nutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals.

2022 was a bad year for investments under Bidenomics. 2023 year to date is showing huge gains for Bitcoin, the NASDAQ and gold. Bringing up the rear are long duration Treasuries and REITs (real estate investment trusts), both earning negative returns thus far of less than -10%.

When will we see rats fleeing the sinking SS Bidenomics as it sinks? JPMorgan Chase stock slips after bank says CEO Jamie Dimon is selling 1 million shares.

Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jay Powell have a bad case of screwing you (Doctor, Doctor).

Back In Red! Personal Savings As % Of GDP In The Red Under Bidenomics, Fed Losses Staggering As Deficits SOAR! (Bitcoin/Gold SOAR)

To paraphrase AC/DC, the US is back in red.

Let’s start with personal savings as a percentage of disposable income. It has been in the red (meaning very low) under Billions Biden.

And The Fed is really in the red under Biden’s inflation rattling spending with losses leading to a surge in remittances.

And then we have the growth in the Federal deficit as a % of GDP in the red.

And the S&P 500 is in the red since August.

Even Biden’s pro-censorship buddies in the tech world are in the red since July.

On the black side of the ledge, Bitcoin (along with gold) are through the roof.

The first inflow to golf since May ’23.

But at least Bidenomics has helped the donor class get wealthier and has helped the lessers get part-time jobs.

Yes, Bidenomics is a highway to hell for the 99%. But a stairway to heaven for the donor class and 1%. And the donor class (and defense/banking/tech/drug industries) have Biden under their thumbs.

My foolish US Senator Sherrod “The Mad Marxist” Brown claimed that he hasn’t noticed illegal immigrants.

Of course, Senator Brown could travel with Biden to the border to witness military age men crossing the border under Biden/Mayorkis “:Operation US Chaos.”

Get me a bottle of cheap wine since it is all I afford under Bidenomics.

Bidenomics At Work! Savings Rate Plunges As Spending Soars, Inflation Slows As Govt Wage Growth Nears Record High (Commercial Office Delinquencie On The Rise, San Francisco Soars To 30.4% In Q3)

Biden’s leading “economist” Lael Brainard loves to brag about the strong economy under Bidenomics, and then pulled a brain freeze when asked about crashing savings rates as consumers struggle with inflation.

The good news? One of The Fed’s favorite inflation indicators – Core PCE Deflator – slowed to 3.7% YoY in September (its lowest since May 2021). Headline PCE was flat at 3.4% YoY. Both were in line with expectations… But 3.4% is still far too high compared to The Fed’s target of 2%.

Source: Bloomberg

Now for the bad news. However, while the YoY data slowed, Core PCE rose by 0.3% MoM – the biggest MoM jump in four months.

Services inflation excluding housing and energy accelerated to 0.4%, from 0.1% in the prior month.

The overall PCE price index, meanwhile, rose 0.4%, bolstered by higher energy prices.

Even more focused, is the Fed’s view on Services inflation ex-Shelter, and the PCE-equivalent shows that it is slowing/trending lower but very much still stuck at high levels (and rose a large 0.4% MoM)…

Personal Consumption soared 0.7% MoM while incomes grew at only 0.3% MoM…

Source: Bloomberg

Focusing on the income side alone, private workers wages plunged to 3.9%, down from 4.5% and the lowest since Feb 2021.

So where is the offset to hot wages you may ask? Why government workers: wages of govt workers are up 7.8% YoY vs 7.4% in August and approaching the record high of 8.7% in Oct 2021

All of which means the personal savings rate collapsed even further, from 4.0% to 3.4% of DPI…

Source: Bloomberg

The savings rate is down 4 straight months, back near record lows… AND this is after artificial revisions that artificially boosted the savings rate 3 times in the past year (see above chart)

Bidenomics, hard at work.

On the commercial real estate front, office delinquencies are on the rise again. But in San Francisco (queue the late Tony Bennett), the office vacancy rate soared to 30.4% in Q3.

And if you’re going to San Francisco, be careful where you walk because of exploding crime, feces on the sidewalk, homelessness and used needles.

US Pending Home Sales Fell 7.1% In August, Near Record Low (Down 11% YoY Under Bidenomics As Mortgage Rates Highest Since 2000)

Bidenomics is the gift that keeps on giving … if you are one of the top 1% of income. But if you are in the middle class, Bidenomics is like a horror movie.

Pending home sales fell 7.1% in August 2023, with all four regions of the U.S. posting month-over-month and year-over-year declines in transactions. Rising mortgage rates have reduced the pool of home buyers, who are having to readjust their expectations about the location and type of home they can afford.

Transactions were down 11% from last year.

Pending home sales came off of the lowest print in recent history, but just barely.

On Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce:

Addicted To Gov? US Added $600 Billion In Debt In One Month And $10.47 TRILLION Since Covid Outbreak, Credit Card APR Now 28.93% As Credit Card Debt Exceeds $1 TRILLION, Family Healthcare Costs Surge 7% To $24,000, Q3 Real GDP Rises 4.9%

Bidenomics new theme song is “Addicted To Gov.” Bidenomics needs lots of Federal spending and borrowing to survive. But all this spending and borrowing is causing rapid price increases and other distortions.

The US Federal government just added $600 billion in debt in ONE MONTH. And The Fed’s have borrowed $10.47 TRILLION since Covid in Q1 2020.

Meanwhile, retail credit card APR average just hit 28.93%! While credit card debt outstandnig just exceeded $1 trillion.

On the healthcare front, a family’s health insurance costs nearly $24,000 this year after the biggest increase in more than a decade.

.On the GDP front, Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 2.1 percent.

Here is the breakdown.

But inflation is reaacelerating, harming the middle class.

Real weekly earnings growth is falling again, down to 0.8% YoY.

And the US Dollar purchasing power keeps on falling. All together now!

Gavin Gruesom has a great smile like Joe Biden. Perhaps that is all you need to be a Democrat. President. Like Obama.

About Biden’s Claims About Job Creation: Trump Actually Created More Full-time Jobs (10.8 Million) In 8 Months Than Biden Has (9.1 Million) In Almost 3 Years

I admit, Biden lies about everything. Like Biden saying he met with Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir during 1967’s Six-Day War, in which he claimed he served as a “liaison” between Israel and Egypt. He made the remarks during a menorah lighting at the White House Wednesday, apparently referencing a meeting he had with Meir just before a 1973 conflict, Fox News reported. Too bad Biden wasn’t sworn in to the US Senate until 1973.

Then we have Biden lying about job creation under his (disastrous) watch. Biden claims he has created more jobs than any administration in history! Note! Neither Biden or Trump created jobs per se, but help with job creation through policies.

Its all about “How To Lie With Statistics.”

After the Covid outbreak and the government shutdowns (causing a recession), 10.8 million jobs were added under Trump simply by allowing local economies (and schools) to open again. Thanks to ridculous changes in voting laws because of Covid (e.g., online and mail-in ballots), Trump lost the election to Biden. Since Biden’s swearing in, the economy almost 3 three has added 9.1 million FULL-TIME JOBS.

Even FactCheck.org screwed this one up. They claim that 13.9 million jobs were created under Biden, but if we subtract out full-time jobs (9.1 million), that leaves 4.8 million PART-TIME JOBS created. Biden’s new slogan should be “Would you like fries with that burger??”

Biden’s bible. Or just how to lie, which Biden is a master at.

Bidenomics! New Home Sales Exploded In September, As Homebuilders Eat Soaring Mortgage Costs (Highest Mortgage Rate Since 2000 And Still Plenty Of Fiscal Stimulus Distorting The Market)

Bidenflation, a name for the combination of reckless Federal spending and excess monetary stimulus related to Covid, is still causing severe pain for the middle class. The massive Federal spending splurge is still working its way through the economy and causing distortions, like surging new home sales despite higher mortgage rates.

Some background color before the big number – The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of home-purchase applications tumbled 2.2% WoW to 127 – the lowest level since 1995 – as mortgage rates hit 8% for the first time in 23 years.

Source: Bloomberg

With all that in mind, it was a surprise that new home sales were expected to rise 0.7% MoM (although sales did puke 8.7% MoM in August). Instead – because you just can’t make this shit up – new home sales soared 12.3% MoM in September (and August was revised up from -8.7% to -8.2%). That is the biggest MoM rise since August 2022. and smashed YoY sales up 33.9%…

Source: Bloomberg

That is the highest new home sales SAAR since Feb 2022, as existing home sales hit double-decade lows…

Source: Bloomberg

As rates soar, so homebuilders are eating all that cost!!!

Source: Bloomberg

Mortgage loans have been increasing in size linearly but the last 3 years have seen home-prices rising exponentially… until now…

They should, given that homebuilders can’t be filling this gap – between the current 30Y mortgage rate and the effective rates that borrowers are currently paying on their home loans – (i.e. subsidizing new home sales) forever…

Source: Bloomberg

Supply is tumbling (from 7.7mths to 6.9mths – the lowest since Feb 2022…

With a lack of home-building (as builders’ incentives are crushed), we don’t think Powell will be getting his ‘affordability crisis’ under control (especially if he cuts rates drastically… because imagine what that does to prices).