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The US Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation ticked higher last month, according to government data published Friday, indicating that its long-running battle against rising prices is not over yet. The latest announcement will likely ensure the US central bank keeps interest rates on hold at its next decision announcement on Wednesday, as policymakers continue talks on when to start cuts. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose at an annual rate of 2.6 percent last month, unchanged from November, the Department of Commerce said in a statement. On a monthly level, headline PCE inflation rose by 0.2 percent...

Rising interest rates, the remote work trend, and the dominance of e-commerce sellers have combined to hammer the commercial real estate market over the past few years. Sky-high office and retail space vacancies are plaguing owners in this new environment, rents are plummeting, and borrowing costs have soared. As a result, U.S. commercial real estate prices have fallen 11% since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022, the IMF reported last week, the worst decline in over 50 years. The outlook for the sector is now so bleak that Cantor Fitzgerald’s billionaire chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick...

In short, because they’re everywhere. The Fed knows that they’ve created the mother of all ticking time bombs and there’s only two options: let it explode in the most violent deflationary event since the Panic of 1907 or diffuse this monstrously large bomb by throwing it in an equally large liquidity bath.”

American homebuyers are going down the road of Bidenomics and feeling bad. Is this the roadmap for the US?? Existing Home Sales fell 1.0% MoM in December, worse than the +0.3% expected, leaving sales down Source: Bloomberg Total Existing Home Sales in December 2023 were 3.78mm – the lowest SAAR since 2010… Source: Bloomberg But, on an annual basis, this is the worst year on record (back to at least 1995).. Source: Bloomberg “The latest month’s sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates are meaningfully...

The Federal Reserve quietly lost a fortune in 2023 as interest it pays out to banks swamped the interest it earns on its bond portfolio, data released by the central bank Friday showed. The Fed said it lost roughly $114.3 billion in 2023, its largest-ever annual loss. The losses occurred because the money the Fed pays banks for reserves held at the central bank exceeded the interest earned on the mortgage bonds it holds. The Fed has been raising the interest rate paid on reserves alongside the hikes on the benchmark federal funds rate to stem the worst inflation in...

The Federal Reserve has line on you! The Federal Reserve has tightened their monetary manipulations to combat inflation caused by loose monetary policy and excessive spending by Biden and Congress. The result? US conforming 30-year mortgage rates are up 8.3% since last year and up a whopping 141% since the beginning of 2021 (the year Biden was selected to be President). Check out mortgage rate GROWTH (blue line) as M2 Money growth *green line) went negative (orange box). This graph corresponds nicely with this chart of YoY changes in The Fed Funds rate. Which is still rising at a rate...

Other people who were accused of doing what Ray Epps is on video doing were given a decade in prison. After he was finally charged, he gets a slap on the wrist. Do the math. Politico: A Jan. 6 rioter who was falsely accused by Donald Trump of being a government agent was sentenced Tuesday to a year of probation for his actions during the attack on the Capitol.

Inflation is feelin’ hot, hot, hot! Although core inflation declined in December (CPI all items less food and energy), it is still hot, hot, hot at 4% Year-over-year (YoY). This raises the following question: Is The Fed tightening too much? Aka, yet another Fed policy error?? Since The Fed target rate is 5.50% and core inflation is now 4%? Headline Consumer Price Inflation printed hotter than expected in December, +0.3% MoM vs +0.2% exp and +0.1% prior, pushing the YoY headline CPI up to +3.4% (from +3.1% prior and hotter than the +3.2% exp)… Source: Bloomberg Services (Shelter mostly) costs...

‘Scuse me as I readjust my conspiracy hat here. The back strap’s gotten so stretched it was starting to slip, and I definitely need the thing snugged down to digest the rest of this bit of news. And, yes, the Daily Mail seems to be caught in a bit of an epic understatement when they tentatively posit about the severity of Mr. Epps’ sentence.Ray Epps, the January 6 protestor who was famously caught on video instructing people to go into the Capitol building, has been sentenced to one year of probation.His sentence will also include a $500 restitution payment, and...

It must be quite a privilege to be Ray Epps. You can incite riots on video, encourage people to storm government buildings on video, use “force” against police on video, and still be treated like both a victim and a hero. It’s truly remarkable when you think about it. We’ve seen non-violent grandparents, who did nothing more than stroll through the Capitol with a police escort, being treated like ISIS terrorists. Meanwhile, Mr. Epps, who’s on video repeatedly calling for what the left labels an “insurrection,” is handled with velvet gloves by federal authorities and the sham J6 committee. But...

As Twitchy reported, Ray Epps' sentencing Tuesday was a clown show. Epps, who is on video inciting people to enter the Capitol, was sentenced to a year's probation and a $500 fine. President Joe Biden gave his January 6 anniversary speech a day early and bragged last week that the "insurrectionists" had been sentenced to a collective total of 840 years in prison. That total stands, as Epps won't spend a single day in jail. Grandmothers who simply walked into the Capitol Building a stood there have been sentenced to a year's probation and a $500 fine after being found...

Seriously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Post See new posts Conversation Greg Price @greg_price11 BREAKING: Ray Epps, the only January 6 protester who actually told people to go into the Capitol, has been officially sentenced to one year probation, $500 restitution, and 100 hours community service. While many J6 protesters are rotting in jail for non-violent crimes, Epps escapes a prison term entirely. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie Ray Epps, the man who directed people to go into the Capitol and privately claimed credit for orchestrating the Capitol breach, gets one year probation. Nothing to see here! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remember this? Ray Epps, the one guy...

Joe Biden can be called “Sloppy Joe” because of the economic havoc he has sprung on an unsuspecting middle class. The following seven charts are what keeps me up at night (unlike what keeps multimillionaire Michelle Obama up at nights). First, US interest payment on Federal debt is rising faster than our bloated military budget. Thanks mostly to The Fed raising rates to fight inflation under Biden. Second, contrainer shipping rates are soaring thanks to Iran’s interference in the Middle East and Biden’s failed diplomacy with Iran. Third, food prices are over 20% more expensive under Biden while gasoline prices...

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice published a sentencing memo recommending that Ray Epps serve six months in prison on misdemeanor charges related to his behavior on January 6th. Back in September, we reported on the bizarre situation in which Ray Epps, nearly three years after January 6th, is hit with a misdemeanor charge for which the DOJ notifies him in advance and to which he pleads guilty.For a sense of perspective regarding the DOJ’s 6-month prison recommendation for Ray Epps, consider that Enrique Tarrio, who wasn’t even in DC on January 6th, was sentenced to 22 years in...

Yes, the US is engulfed in a fiscal inferno! US government debt is now bigger than the US economy. This was unseen until 2012 when debt surpassed GDP for the first time. In addition to almost $34 trillion in debt from our crazy spending, out-of-control government, we are on the hook for almost $213 TRILLION in unfunded liabilites (promises made to Americans that will likely not be honored). The sad thing about the US Debt Clock summary is the $632,195 share per citizen of unfunded liabilties. That raises two questions. First, how can California’s Ken doll Governor Gavin “Greasy” Newsom...

Bidenomics is the pride of the donor class. After all, much of the Federal spending splurge in green energy has gone to big donors, including the Chinese. The top 1% of US earners now have more wealth than the middle class. Biden’s song. All he wanted to do was destroy the US middle class. And The Fed’s snakejuice flows to the 1%.

The Federal Reserve’s recent dovish turn, suggesting a possible recession or political strategy, has added a layer of complexity to the challenges faced by the Biden administration. President Biden, grappling with declining poll numbers and economic uncertainties, relies on the Fed’s decisions to shape the narrative leading up to November’s elections. Amid positive economic indicators, such as low unemployment and robust growth, the unexpected move towards falling rates strategically aims to bolster the administration’s appeal to voters. The potential of seven rate cuts underscores the severity of the looming economic downturn.

On December 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the law creating what would become the world's most powerful financial institution. For me it's probably the most destructive institution that has been created As long as the Fed has been around, it has swung the economy between inflation and recession. Politicians created a fully government-run institution to bail out government and bad banks alike: the Federal Reserve. Since its founding, the Fed has stolen 98% of the value of a dollar. It has used those profits to repetitively launch boom-bust cycles. Click excerpt link for more...

There is a sudden fire in housing as housing starts soar in November. Housing Starts: Privately‐owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,560,000. This is 14.8 percent above the revised October estimate of 1,359,000 and is 9.3 percent above the November 2022 rate of 1,427,000. Single‐family housing starts in November were at a rate of 1,143,000; this is 18.0 percent above the revised October figure of 969,000. The November rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 404,000. Building Permits: Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in November were at...

Two things challenge this idea. First, in August 2019, Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley wrote an opinion column for Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2019-08-27/the-fed-shouldn-t-enable-donald-trump) where he insisted that the Fed allow the economy to suffer to prevent then-President Trump from getting re-elected in the 2020 election.