Auto Premiums Increase, Fed Update, SFR Strong
Auto prices have increased rapidly since the pandemic – 45% for used cars and 22% for new cars – but so have auto insurance premiums. Premiums are up 19% year over year (27% since the pandemic) while inflation is closer to 3.7% year over year. Auto Insurance Premiums have increased for 4 main reasons: Drivers […]
$600M Digital Heist, Fed Funds Rate Exceeds 10-Year Treasury Yield, Home Values Increase
In March of 2022 hackers infiltrated a crypto/NFT online game Axie Infinity and stole $600M worth of digital currency. As these currencies have open ledgers, they are traceable to a certain degree. In this case about 90% of it was traceable and 20% was recoverable. When the criminals attempt to launder the money through a […]
China’s Minimal ‘Revenge Spending’, Consumer Credit Crunch, Active Listings Increase
China’s Economy reopened in 2023 and many economists predicted there would be economic boom similar to the US when our economy opened post covid restrictions. China’s economy didn’t experience the same amount of ‘revenge spending’ that the US economy did. Guided tours booked in China are down from 3.7M pre-covid to 52,000 or a 99% […]
Student Loan Repayment, Loans Perform, Home Values Steady
Student Loan interest resumes in September and loan payments start in October after a 3.5 year hiatus. Many of the largest pre-pandemic loan servicers are gone and new repayment plans are available for low-income borrowers. Makes sure to log into the U.S. Government fed loan portal and figure out which repayment plan makes the most […]
Fee-Flation, Rents and Inflation Cool, Loans Perform
A $30 hamburger gives insight into $65B Americans spend on junk fees every year. I ordered delivery a few times during the pandemic and one time the fees were higher than the food ($31 in fees on a $29 order). It was a nasty bait and switch and strangely I haven’t ordered from a tech […]
Indicators, Inflation Declines, Home Values Increase
Indicators – Threads became the fastest adopted app in history with 100M users in the first week. Nasdaq is rebalancing its portfolio as the tech giants Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, and Tesla are making up too much of the pie (44% of the value). The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) takes action against another large […]
The Rise of LNG, Jobs Update
The Rise of American Natural Gas – in the early 1990s natural gas was a small player in the US power market and the US only imported. Around 2006-8 there was a revolution in shale drilling. The combination of Hydraulic fracking technology and stronger storms (like Katrina that caused gas prices to spike) created an […]
Fixed Rate Mortgages, Job, Inflation, & Fed Update
The 30 Yr Fixed Mortgage is a staple of the US housing market. During the first half of 2022 94% of homebuyers selected a 30 yr fixed mortgage. This amazing product that allows you to keep your rate for thirty years, despite market fluctuations, and you can even refinance it if rates go down. While […]
Oil Moderation? Trucking Declines, 135 Months
A Tempered Oil Boom? OPEC has slashed their production efforts causing a boom in the Texas oil fields that appears to be different than booms of the past. Is the sector learning moderation? Despite incredible profit levels, we are drilling at 60% of what we were last time the boom came. “Investors are actually demanding […]
Space Economy, Moderately Priced Homes Performing Well, Mixed Jobs Report
Space Economy and Mars Moonshot – you might remember the Rocket that SpaceX launched earlier this year that self-destructed over the Gulf of Mexico. This reusable stainless steel rocket is called ‘Starship’ and it is constructed with the intent of bringing a life-sustaining colony to Mars which requires a payload of 1M tones. While SpaceX […]