All nations rise and fall based upon their junk ideologies. The definition of insanity is trusting the same psychopaths over and over again, each time expecting a different result...
The jobless consumer is the mythical Ayn Randian protagonist and beneficiary of all *Free* trade agreements. This incredible individual is able to withstand serial job/income "right sizing" and boom/bust cycles while maintaining his/her prior spending, merely by borrowing themselves into oblivion. It's the dumbest fucking idea ever conceived, but then again look who we're dealing with.
The jobless consumer is the mythical Ayn Randian protagonist and beneficiary of all *Free* trade agreements. This incredible individual is able to withstand serial job/income "right sizing" and boom/bust cycles while maintaining his/her prior spending, merely by borrowing themselves into oblivion. It's the dumbest fucking idea ever conceived, but then again look who we're dealing with.
Today, Walmart confirmed that the jobless consumer is tapped out. It appears that Trump's tax cut "plink" and collapsing personal savings rate were not enough to offset rising interest rates at the end of the credit cycle. Who knew? Not one economist, we know that much.
Any questions?
Of course, this news from Walmart only confirms what we learned last week from the Commerce Department. Wherein, retail sales implausibly missed all expectations, posting their biggest decline in 11 months.
As usual, gamblers are seeking the safe haven of 300 P/E Amazon, the only retailer not expected to turn a real profit - during their 25-year "monopolistic grace period" during which time they are destroying the rest of the retail sector. Regulators used to call that predatory competition. Unfortunately the regulators left the building when the adults departed this farce decades ago.
Unfortunately, there is one fly in the ointment:
Hiding in 300 P/E stocks at the end of the risk cycle is a bad idea. Don't ask me how I know...
