Free Republic

Unlike what Grand-dad Joey Biden screamed at the State of The Union (SOTU) address, inflation is NOT been defeated. In fact, inflation has defeated Biden and The Federal Reserve. After January’s surprised upside shift, expectations have been adjusted up over the last month for another sizable MoM move in headline CPI. But that was not enough as the 0.4% MoM rise in the headline (as expected – highest since August) lifted CPI YoY up to +3.2% (hotter than the 3.1% exp)… Source: Bloomberg The 3-month annualized CPI rate was rose to 2.8% from 1.9%. The 6-month annualized core rate dropped...

It’s a pretty terrible sign of the times when a record number of Americans are forced to plunder their 401(k)s. “A record share of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals from their accounts last year for financial emergencies,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Overall, 3.6% of its plan participants did so last year, up from 2.8% in 2022 and a pre-pandemic average of about 2%.” The whole point of a 401(k) is to keep that money out of reach until you reach age 59 ½ or above. Removing that money earlier is about the worst financial move anyone can make....

President Joe Biden on Monday released a $7.3 trillion budget proposal, which sparked swift opposition from congressional Republicans. The proposed $7.3 trillion budget is for fiscal year 2025, which will run from October 2024 through September 2025. It contains many of Biden's 2024 campaign promises, such as tax credits and increased taxes on the wealthy, per Axios.

Apparently, The New Yorker isn’t confident President Joe Biden is capable of selling his atrocious economic policies on his own, so it has chosen to offer a propagandist’s helping hand by acting as his speech writer. New Yorker staff writer John Cassidy’s March 5 piece of drivel — “What Biden Should Say About the Economy During the State of the Union” — was literally a script written in Biden's voice to provide the president a template for how to effectively hoodwink the public into believing Biden’s economy to be anything other than the disaster it has been. “With the President’s...

President Joe Biden will reportedly brag during his State of the Union address on Thursday about the alleged success of “Bidenomics,” a term coined by the Biden administration to put a bow on the president’s economic agenda. If Biden does boast about his alleged economic success, it could come across as tone-deaf for Americans struggling to afford necessities. As citizens suffer from prices about 20 percent higher across the board since Biden assumed office, most taxpayers believe Biden’s economic policies will cause prices to rise, a recent YouGov poll found. Only 17 percent think his policies will make prices fall.

Consumers have been increasingly relying on credit cards to make ends meet, and it may be finally catching up with them. The national average credit score, which has steadily increased over the last decade, fell to 717 from a high of 718 in the beginning of 2023, according to a report from FICO, developer of one of the scores most widely used by lenders. FICO scores range between 300 and 850... “It’s a notable milestone,” said Ethan Dornhelm, FICO’s vice president of scores and predictive analytics. “This is the first time in well over a decade that the score went...

The Washington Post economics columnist Catherine Rampell seemed to forget a rule of thumb when analyzing polls: read the crosstabs. Either that or she deliberately twisted data to make it seem like Americans are happier with President Joe Biden’s decrepit economy than they actually are. Rampell’s blaring March 5 headline would make one believe that Americans did an about-face in their view of Bidenomics: “Americans are happier about the economy. Why are they crediting Trump?” Rampell declared, “The good news for President Biden: Americans are finally starting to appreciate the strength of the U.S. economy.” She pointed to at least...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The blowback has been strong since Wendy's announced last week it will soon start testing dynamic pricing. Wendy's is looking to test having the prices of its menu items fluctuate throughout the day based on demand, implementing a strategy that has already taken hold with ride-sharing companies and ticket sellers. The fast-food burger chain is now backing down on the idea. Right now, no matter when you pull up to a Wendy's restaurant, the price is the same. But during a conference call earlier this month, Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner said that the Dublin, Ohio-based burger...

The U.S. began adding $1 trillion worth of debt about every three months beginning last June, a Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett first pointed out in an investment note published last week. The national debt is currently $34.48 trillion and rising. It surpassed $34 trillion for the first time in U.S. history on Jan. 4. Three months prior, the debt first reached $33 trillion on Sept. 15, 2023. Three months prior to that, it first reached $32 trillion on June 15, 2023. “The national debt is the amount of money the federal government has borrowed to cover the...

The debt load of the U.S. is growing at a quicker clip in recent months, increasing about $1 trillion nearly every 100 days. The nation’s debt permanently crossed over to $34 trillion on Jan. 4, after briefly crossing the mark on Dec. 29, according to data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It reached $33 trillion on Sept. 15, 2023, and $32 trillion on June 15, 2023, hitting this accelerated pace. Before that, the $1 trillion move higher from $31 trillion took about eight months. U.S. debt, which is the amount of money the federal government borrows to cover...

One-quarter of American ultra-high-net individuals plan to buy a home this year... The ultrawealthy ranked “lifestyle” and “investment” at the top of their list of priorities, followed by taxes and safety... .... One-quarter of American ultra-high-net individuals, or those worth $30 million or more, plan to buy a residential property this year, according to the Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Wealth Report. The average ultra-high-net-worth individual already owns four homes, according to the report. One-quarter of their residential portfolio is outside their home country. When it comes to priorities for their next big purchase, the ultrawealthy ranked “lifestyle” and “investment”...

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser got a 6% pay bump for her performance in 2023, a year the bank's profits dropped 38% and Fraser began a dramatic restructuring that will result in an estimated 20,000 job cuts. The board awarded her total compensation of $26 million, ... The $26 million for Fraser was the lowest among CEO rivals at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, who received between $29 million and $37 million. Bank of America's Brian Moynihan was the only CEO among this group to experience a compensation decline. ... Fraser had a lot...

The mortgage market has reached stall speed thanks to Bidenomics (inflation begat Fed tightening that begat 7%+ mortgage rates). Mortgage applications decreased 5.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 23, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase...

The numbers: Orders for durable or long-lasting goods sank 6.1% in January, but the decline was exaggerated by a brief lull in orders for Boeing passenger planes. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 5% decline. New orders fell by a mild 0.3% last month if planes and cars are stripped out. Orders minus transportation give a more accurate view of how well businesses are performing.

Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. Traditionally depicted dressed in Lincoln green, he is said to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor. Politicians have created the new “Forgotten Man” by Amity Shlaes. Part of the problem with the reverse Robin Hood model is the Federal Reserve itself. They helped punish the 99% with inflation due to excessive money printing. The share of total net worth held by the top 1% has exploded since The Fed’s rate cuts following the 2001 recession. The...

For basically the entire Biden presidency, the corporate media have been trying to sell Americans on the idea that the economy is as good as it could possibly be, given the circumstances. But the messaging hasn’t resonated with voters, and the President’s poll numbers on the economy remain well underwater. In response, Biden’s frustrated media allies have started complaining about voter ignorance and bemoaning that he has been denied “credit” for the “fantastic” economy. Unfortunately for these self-appointed Biden surrogates in the media, telling voters not to believe their lying wallets is not a winning campaign strategy. If Americans continue...

Is it sundown for the US mortgage market? Mortgage applications decreased 10.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 16, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 8 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 10 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was...

That’s Bidenomics for you! The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) continued its decline in January, dropping 0.4% MoM (notably worse than the -0.1% MoM expectations), and December’s 0.1% declin e was revised down to a 0.2% decline. The biggest positive contributor to the leading index was stock prices (again) at +0.10 The biggest negative contributor was average workweek at -0.18 This is the 22nd straight MoM decline in the LEI (and 23rd month of 25) – equaling the longest streak of declines since ‘Lehman’ (22 straight months of declines from June 2007 to April 2008) “The U.S. LEI fell...

Burn on, Bidenomics! The Biden administration is reportedly considering easing tailpipe emissions regulations, a move that was designed to force Americans from gas and diesel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, according to The New York Times, citing three people familiar with the plan. This potential policy adjustment is in response to concerns from major automakers and labor unions and comes amid sliding EV demand, recently prompting companies such as Ford Motor Company to reduce EV production and lay off workers. “Instead of essentially requiring automakers to rapidly ramp up sales of electric vehicles over the next few years, the administration would...

This headline from Zero Hedge makes me so glad I have eaten heart-healthy Quaker Oats and Cheerios every morning for the last 20 years! Study Finds 80% Of Americans Exposed To Fertility-Lowering Chemicals In Cheerios, Quaker Oats. The chemical (chlormequat chloride) was detected in “92 percent of oat-based foods purchased in May 2023, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios.” But that was nothing compared to this Zero Hedge headline: EU “Suicide Pact” Threatens To Flood Continent With 75 Million More Migrants. Makes me wonder if Biden/Mayorkas are under orders from the UN/WEF/Soros to let immigrants pour across our southern border (including...