Auto Loan Debt Soars as Borrowing Costs Crush Consumers

auto loan defaults are on the rise as debt soars amidst higher interest rates

The days of free money and easy credit are over. And, for many in North America, this means soaring loan servicing costs. But, for Americans who often equate owning a car with freedom, they can’t help themselves. And, now, more than 100 million Americans own a car – but, along with that ‘ownership’ comes $1.5 […]

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Copper and Zinc Prices Plummet Despite Supply Deficit

base metals prices decline amidst recession fears

We are all witnessing something rare. And that is when prices decline, even during a supply deficit. This is happening for base metals zinc and copper right now; amidst growing concern, the world is slipping into recession. As the U.S. economy rides disinflation into a recession and its resilient job market finally cracks, base metal […]

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The Fed’s Secret Interest Rate Risk

quantitative tightening is taking all assets lower

The Fed’s balance sheet is the key to market liquidity and performance. When it shrinks, the market and liquidity decline; when it expands, the opposite happens. So while the pandemic ushered in the greatest experiment of quantitative easing or QE in world history, we are now in a world of quantitative tightening or QT – […]

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10 Million More Americans Enter Poverty Between 2019 and 2021

poverty rate continues to increase in the U.S.

Rising inflation and interest rates are driving millions of Americans, once middle-class citizens, into the chains of poverty. The poverty rate in America and countries worldwide are soaring, and almost no one is talking about it. The signs are all around us: record high food bank usage, climbing foreclosures (lenders started foreclosures on 67,249 U.S. […]

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Venture Capital Funding Drops 52% in Q3, 2022 Year over Year

venture capital funding continues to decline rapidly

After the unbridled exuberance of 2021, which saw the crypto sphere top $3 trillion in total valuation and record VC activity (+$200 billion), money is suddenly hard to come by. Moreover, today inflation and economic weakness are destroying balance sheets and investors’ psyches. So after the biggest year ever (2021), venture capital funding is in […]

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America’s Saving Rate Points to Recession

Is the American economy weakening or already in recession? Or is the inflation squeeze leaving consumers with little left to save? We know that is true, but it is only part of the story. With the nation’s savings rate crashing to 2008 lows, households may not be saving much because they already have a cushion […]

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Covid-19 Economic Recovery Will Not Go as Planned

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no ‘V-shaped’ economic recovery coming. Not in the U.S., and especially not in Canada. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau stated, “. . .We’re facing a unique challenge. But I know that if we pull together, our economy will come roaring back after […]

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Bailout Nation – Six Trillion Lies – Markets Soar on QE Infinity

here comes the largest bailout in history

In what is becoming the largest bailout in US history, some investors are not rejoicing. While the markets soar and money rushes in, is anyone asking about the cost and the ability to repay the trillions upon trillions that the Fed and US taxpayers are now comitting to? Furthermore, what damage to the US dollar […]

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