Well, this is one way to get inflation under control … crash the economy. And inflation fears growing, we are seeing mortgage rates declining and mortgage applications increasing.
Mortgage applications decreased 5.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 1, 2022. This week’s results include a holiday adjustment to account for early closings the Friday before Independence Day.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
The Refinance Index decreased 8 percent from the previous week and was 78 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
Hey, I thought Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the US Transportation Secretary, was supposed to unclog the supply-chain crisis! Instead, we get heartaches on heartaches as diesel prices rise 118% under Biden AND now the bottle-necks may get a lot worse.
A US Supreme Court decision that could force California’s 70,000 truck owner-operators to stop driving is set to create another choke point in already-stressed West Coast logistics networks, a truckers’ organization said.
“Gasoline has been poured on the fire that is our ongoing supply-chain crisis,” the California Trucking Association said in a statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to deny a judicial review of a decision of a lower court, a process known as certiorari.
“In addition to the direct impact on California’s 70,000 owner-operators who have seven days to cease long-standing independent businesses, the impact of taking tens of thousands of truck drivers off the road will have devastating repercussions on an already fragile supply chain, increasing costs and worsening runaway inflation,” the CTA said.
The association asked the Supreme Court for a review of a case challenging California’s Assembly Bill 5, a law that sets out three tests to determine whether a worker is an employee entitled to job benefits or an independent contractor who isn’t. The trucking industry relies on contractors, and has fought to be exempt from state regulations for years because of federal law.
With few exceptions, the relationship between independent truckers and their carriers, brokers and shippers will be governed by the tests.
As if US consumers aren’t getting crushed by rising prices already. In response to the Covid outbreak, The Fed slammed its foot on the money accelerator along with Federal government stimulus. Throw in Biden’s anti-drilling executive orders, and we have a nightmare.
Consumer confidence is already crumbling under inflation and rising energy prices.
Crypto markets have slumped, adding to a decline that has wiped away some $2 trillion of market value and left market participants uneasy heading into the long Fourth of July weekend.
Bitcoin has fallen below $20,000 as the US Dollar strengthens.
At least Dogecoin is up today.
Enjoy your expensive 4th of July weekend! As long as you don’t eat much due to expensive food prices or drive anywhere due to high gasoline prices.
And government bonds on course for worst year since 1865 and President Abraham Lincoln (then President Andrew Johnson).
Which is bad news for Biden and Democrats after Q1’s bad GDP report of -1.6% “growth”, we now see the Atlanta Fed’s real-time GDP report for Q2 at -2.1%.
The US economy is slowing as inflation ravages consumers. US Regular Gasoline prices, for example, are up 104% under President Biden which helps to slow the economy.
US personal consumption expenditures fell to +0.2% MoM in May as “inflation” or real personal consumption expenditures PRICES rose +6.3% YoY as The Fed’s balance sheet (aka, Master Blaster!) remains.
As I mentioned above, US regular gasoline prices are UP 103% under President Biden, diesel prices (the cost of shipping goods to markets like … food is up 119% under Biden while CRB foodstuffs is up 55% under China Joe.
Now we have mortgage rates in the US falling for the first time in four weeks. The average for a 30-year loan was 5.7%, down from 5.81% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.
This year’s Fourth of July celebration is going to cost 18% more than last year’s celebration.
Lastly, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow real time tracker for Q2 is showing … -1% GDP “growth.”
The ECB is planning on a Blitzkrieg Bop, monetary style.
When Lagarde talks about the first line of defense, all I can picture is The Maginot Line in France, a failed defensive line that was easily bypassed by the German Wehrmacht (army).
The European Central Bank will activate the bond-purchasing firepower it’s earmarked as a first line of defense against a possible debt-market crisis on Friday, according to President Christine Lagarde.
Applying “flexibility” to how reinvestments from the ECB’s 1.7 trillion-euro ($1.8 trillion) pandemic bond-buying portfolio are allocated is aimed at curbing unwarranted turmoil in government bonds as interest rates are lifted from record lows to curb unprecedented inflation.
Net buying under a separate asset-purchase program is also set to end on Friday.
In other words, Euro-area inflation has exploded in 2021, just like the USA.
But the US also has an inflation problem caused in part by Covid and the government’s reaction to Covid: economic shutdown and massive Federal monetary and fiscal stimulus. The stimulus is still in play.
The bond market is already anticipating an about-face by The Federal Reserve (implied overnight rate peaking at the March 2023 FOMC meeting, then receding.
Again, nothing has been the same since the Covid outbreak of 2020 and Fed monetary blitz. Here is the US Dollar Swaps curve before Covid (yellow line) and today’s Fed-enhanced curve (green).
Mortgage rates in the US have climbed to 6% then backed-off slightly. The good ole Back-off Boogaloo as The Fed attempts to unwind its monetary stimulypto.
The French Maginot Line, easily bypassed by German tanks. The Federal Reserve is the US’s Maginot Line. The Yellenot Line??
As a recession approaches, we are seeing the WIRP implied Fed o/n rate (green line) declining. And with The Fed chickening-out, we saw a surge in equities (NASDAQ composite index in blue).
Gasoline prices are falling too (orange line), but due to rising global economic slowdown. But notice that The Fed’s balance sheet (yellow line) is still growing despite repeated signals that Covid stimulus would be removed (I call this Quantitative Frightening).
As I mentioned above, The Fed has stopped trimming their balance sheet despite signals to the market of getting rid of the Covid stimulus. As Billy Preston sang, “Nothing From Nothing.”
The Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q2 forecast is for … 0% GDP growth despite the massive monetary stimulus and fiscal stimulus from Biden/Pelosi/Schumer.
And yes, the S&P 500 has officially entered a bear market under the leadership of Joe “The Bear” Biden.
So, Biden’s economic agenda (read, just spend more money and inflation declines?) is failing. Hence, The Fed is backing off a bit helping to drive up stock prices.
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