Category: Inflation

Foul Powell! Mortgage Applications Decreased 3.8 Percent Week-over-week

Foul Powell on the prowl!

Mortgage applications decreased 3.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 25, 2025.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index decreased 1 percent from the previous week and was 30 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

Between Powell keeping rates high and Biden’s grossly incompetent management, the mortgage market remains in the doldrums.

US GDP Jumps To 3.0% In Second Quarter (Trade At Whopping 4.99%!)

The Bureau of Econ Analysis reported that the first estimate of Q2 GDP came in at an unexpectedly brisk 3.0%, a complete reversal of the -0.5% decline in Q1.

Personal Consumption added 0.98% to the bottom line GDP, up from 0.31% in Q1.

Fixed Investment came at 0.08%, a big drop from the 1.31%, and perhaps the only concerning point in today’s report: was there really no major data center investments in the second quarter… and if so what are the hyperscalers doing?

The change in private inventories was a big drop, printing at -3.17% in the first estimate, up from 2.59% in the first quarter, and an expected reversal as retailers unloaded all that inventory they piled up ahead of tariffs.

Trade or net exports (exports less imports), came at a whopping 4.99% – the biggest addition to the bottom line GDP number – as imports collapsed and added 5.18% to GDP, a stark reversal to the -4.66% contraction in Q1.

Finally, government added just 0.08% to GDP, a reversal of the 0.10% subtraction in Q1.

So, the BEA reported 3.0% real GDP growth, `the Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now latest estimate was 2.9 percent. Pretty close!

Case-Shiller National Home Price Index Falls For 3rd Straight Month In May -0.3% MoM (Despite Fed Money Printing) 

US home prices fell for the 3rd straight month In May. The MoM decrease in the seasonally adjusted (SA) Case-Shiller National Index was at -0.29% (-3.5% annual rate).

Despite continued money printing by The Fed.

The Fed Lost Another $653 Million Last Week (Bring Total Realized Losses To More Than $236 Billion Since Sept ’22)

Nobody pisses away money like Washington DC.

The Fed lost another $653 million last week, bringing total realized losses to more than $236 billion since Sep ’22.

Nothing has been the same since the financial crisis and Bernanke’s overreaction.

California Governor “Greasy Gavin” Newsom wants to be President of the USA. He will fit right in with the other spendthrifts in Washington DC.

China, Fauci And Home Prices? Mortgage Demand Plummeted With Covid As Federal Spending Soared (New Home Sales Declined 6.6% YoY In June)

China unleashed the Wuhan virus on the globe, Anthony Fauci convinced Congress to binge spend like drunken sailors on Covid prevention and relief. Homes prices soared, mortgage demand sank and nothing has been the same.

Here is a chart of the Case-Shiller national home price index post Covid outbreak and the hysterical overreaction by Congress and the Administration (including Anthony Fauci).

Another example? New home sales are down 6.6% YoY.

Who do we blame? China? Yes. Anthony Fauci? Yes. Congress? Yes.

US Existing Home Sales Drop 2.7% In June As Median Price Hits Record Of $435,300 (Sales Near 15 Year Low)

US existing home sales dropped 2.7% MoM (vs -0.7% MoM expected) in June leaving existing home sales unchanged year-over-year.

The median sales price increased 2% in June from a year ago to a record high of $435,300.

Meanwhile, The Fed keeps on printing money.

This is a new world for housing and mortgage finance. Outrageous, unafforable housing for millions.

Simply Unaffordable! US House Prices At All-time High Relative To Inflation (At Least Wage Growth Is Higher Than Home Price Growth Under Trump)

Housing in the USA is simply unaffordable!

House prices have exploded since Covid, primarily due to massive Federal spending.

In terms of YoY growth, average hourly earning are exceeding home price growth.

Affordable housing is difficult to achieve at the national level since local politicians control local economies badly. Think LA Mayor Karen Bass who is taking Pacific Palisades which recently burned down and wants to build multifamily housing for low income households. This reminds me of the folly in Long Branch New Jersey where they built low income housing on the beach front. It failed, of course.

Doctor, doctor, we’ve got a bad casing of unaffordable housing.

Here is a picture of US affordable housing policy.

Gov’t Gone Wild! Bitcoin And Ethereum Soars As Central Banks Keep On Printing Money

Keep on printing is the song of The Federal Reserve. But its the same all over the world as global central banks are printing zads of money too.

Bitcoin keeps on growing in price as global M2 Money supply keeps on growing.

And the same is true for ethereum. It keeps growing as M2 Money keeps growing.

It is another example of government gone wild!

Import Price “Inflation” YoY Falls To -0.2% (So Much For Hysteria About Trump’s Tariffs)

The media and Democrat politicians love to fear monger about how Trump’s tariffs would cause inflation and unemployment. But June’s import prices showed no inflation at all. In fact, import prices FELL -0.2% YoY.

The latest jobs report revealed that U-3 unemployment FELL to 4.10%.

But don’t worry. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) will get hysterial about Trump firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. And, as usual, be wrong.