Monthly Archives: October 2021

Book Bits: 30 October 2021

Sunbelt Blues: The Failure of American Housing
Andrew Ross
Essay by author via Orlando Sentinel
The affordable housing crisis is about to become an emergency. According to a recent Zillow forecast, by December, the typical renter in the U.S. will be paying landlords more than 30% of their pretax income. That’s the official threshold for “housing-cost burdened.”
With housing prices and rents still climbing, and eviction moratoriums largely ended, millions of these tenants are at risk of becoming homeless.

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Macro Briefing: 29 October 2021

* Biden arrives in Europe for COP26 climate summit
* Dems’ infrastructure spending package still in limbo as October comes to a close
* Apple and Amazon earnings disappoint
* Treasury Sec. Yellen: spending bills will be anti-inflationary by lowering key costs
* Eurozone inflation rises above 4%, creating more pressure for rate hike
* US jobless claims fell again last week, reach new pandemic low
* Market starting to price in Fed rate hikes for 2022
* Pending home sales for US post surprising drop for September
* US GDP growth slowed to 2% in Q3–smallest gain since expansion started:

Macro Briefing: 28 October 2021

* Quick deal on Dem’s social-spending agenda falls apart
* US reportedly training troops in Taiwan
* Top US general says China’s hypersonic weapons test is “very concerncing”
* One-third of China’s property developers will struggle to repay debts
* Chip shortage takes toll on profits at GM and Ford
* US economic growth projected to slow in Q3, but a rebound is expected
* US trade deficit for goods surged in September as exports fell
* New US orders for durable goods fell in September at headline level:

Macro Briefing: 27 October 2021

* Democrats unveil plan for 15% minimum corporate tax
* Democrats are considering a novel capital-gains tax on billionaires
* Microsoft and Alphabet beat expectations for revenue growth
* US is now the leader in bitcoin mining after China crackdown
* Treasury market’s 5-year inflation forecast rises to 2.99% for the first time
* Hot US housing market may be starting to cool, based on S&P Case-Shiller Index
* New home sales rebounded to six-month high in September
* US Consumer Confidence rises in October, following three months of decline:

Macro Briefing: 26 October 2021

* Biden’s billionaire tax runs into criticism as too cumbersome
* Markets increasingly pricing in risk that inflation isn’t transitory
* Blackstone’s Schwarzman says energy shortages could cause social unrest.
* Ark Invest’s Cathy Wood says falling money velocity will keep inflation in check
* Apple’s new privacy rules take a bite out of Facebook’s ad growth
* Tesla’s market cap reaches $1 trillion as Hertz orders 100,000 Teslas
* Dallas Fed Mfg Index: sector growth slows in October as “costs soar”
* US economic growth continued to slow in September via Chicago Fed index: