“Big Four” Audit Oligopoly Strikes Back at Plans to Break it Up by Don Quijones • Jul 14, 2018 • 0 Comments Audit firms face a crisis in the UK.
How Amazon Rules by Wolf Richter • Jul 14, 2018 • 72 Comments It owns 33% of the internet “cloud,” 49% of US e-commerce, and is elbowing into other sectors.
NIRP Did It: I’m in Awe of How Central-Bank Policies Blind Investors to Risks by Wolf Richter • Jul 13, 2018 • 36 Comments “Reverse-Yankee” Junk Bond Issuance Hits Record.
Stock Markets See the US Winning the Trade War, Defying Corporate Lobby & Media Propaganda by Wolf Richter • Jul 12, 2018 • 173 Comments Moody’s chimes in.
But Who Pays the Price of All This Inflation? by Wolf Richter • Jul 12, 2018 • 63 Comments We already know who.
It “Hit the Mortgage Market Over the Head with a Baseball Bat” by Wolf Richter • Jul 11, 2018 • 54 Comments 8 boots-on-the-ground findings about Sydney’s deflating housing bubble.
With this Inflation, What Will the Fed Do? by Wolf Richter • Jul 11, 2018 • 46 Comments Even the last doves are coming around to more rate hikes.
As Erdogan Cements His Hold Over Turkey’s Economy, Global Investors Begin to Panic by Don Quijones • Jul 11, 2018 • 23 Comments His Toxic Mix: destruction of the lira and a mountain of foreign-currency debt.
What the Sadly Deflating Bubble of Manhattan Office Buildings Looks Like by Wolf Richter • Jul 10, 2018 • 15 Comments This is what happens when Chinese conglomerates get sidelined by unfortunate events.
What IBM Said about the IT Chaos at UK Bank TSB and Owner Sabadell, Now in its 12th Week by Don Quijones • Jul 10, 2018 • 37 Comments Contracted to fix the fiasco, IBM estimates costs at $1.25 billion: sources. There’s even talk of divorce, after just 3 years of corporate marriage.
Leveraged-Loan Risks Are Piling Up by Wolf Richter • Jul 10, 2018 • 46 Comments Rising interest rates have a peculiar effect.
What the Heck’s Going on in San Francisco’s Housing Market? by Wolf Richter • Jul 9, 2018 • 63 Comments After the blistering spike earlier this year.
How Bad Is Iran’s Oil Situation? by Nick Cunningham • Jul 9, 2018 • 27 Comments “There’s a really big gap between what foreign governments are saying and what companies are saying.”
Nuts & Bolts of the Car Business: Tariffs, Subprime Defaults, EVs, Buy New or Used, & Why I Drive a Gas Guzzler (Ha!) by Wolf Richter • Jul 8, 2018 • 2 Comments A wide-ranging interview on the auto industry, housing, retail, and more.
“Big Three” Korean Shipbuilders & Their Huge Shipyards in a World of Overcapacity and Collapsed Orders by MC01 • Jul 7, 2018 • 55 Comments Years of “growth at any cost” led to accounting fraud, huge government bailouts, and murky restructuring plans.
Banks Squeal as Spain’s New Government Threatens to Do Unthinkable: Raise Taxes on Their Profits by Don Quijones • Jul 7, 2018 • 14 Comments Payback time for the financial sector that was bailed out by taxpayers, the new government thinks.
Update on the Fed’s QE Unwind by Wolf Richter • Jul 6, 2018 • 94 Comments With QE, the Fed created money to buy securities and pump up asset prices; now it sheds securities to destroy this money.
Heavy-Truck Orders Explode, Trucking Companies Struggle with “Capacity Crisis,” Truck Makers & Supply Chains are Inundated, Backlog is Ballooning, But it’s a Cyclical Business by Wolf Richter • Jul 6, 2018 • 42 Comments “Fleets are desperate for more equipment, but trucks are in short supply due to the supplier constraints.”
As the Yield Curve Flattens, Threatens to Invert, the Fed Discards it as Recession Indicator by Wolf Richter • Jul 5, 2018 • 51 Comments This Fed is getting seriously hawkish: It revealed that instead of thinking about backing off rate hikes, it’s replacing the yield curve.
Already Troubled Pemex & Mexico’s Oil Industry Wake Up in a New World by Don Quijones • Jul 5, 2018 • 19 Comments Tectonic shifts and clouds of uncertainty after Sunday’s election.
Bank of Japan Takes Away Punch Bowl, Balance Sheet Declines by Wolf Richter • Jul 4, 2018 Was “QQE” just a pretext for bringing the government bond market under absolute control to avoid a Greek-style debt crisis?
Here’s Why Vacant Stores, Zombie Malls Are Much Bigger than Mall Vacancy Rates Indicate by Wolf Richter • Jul 3, 2018 Zombie malls and shuttered stores don’t count.
Saudi Arabia Won’t Bring 2 Million Bpd Online by Nick Cunningham • Jul 3, 2018 President Trump said they would. Here’s why they won’t.
PwC Hit with $625 Million in Damages for Negligence in Bank-Fraud Case Brought by the FDIC by Wolf Richter • Jul 2, 2018 When it gets too complicated for senior auditors, send in a “college-aged intern.”
Update on Deflating Property Bubbles in Sydney & Melbourne by Wolf Richter • Jul 2, 2018 “Recent home buyers could be facing negative equity”: CoreLogic.
Google, Microsoft, Oracle et al. Gang Up on Amazon for $10Bn Pentagon Prize by Safehaven • Jul 1, 2018 But they’re firing blanks.
US Dollar Hegemony Tripped Up by Chinese Renminbi? by Wolf Richter • Jul 1, 2018 Um, no. Central banks not enthusiastic about the renminbi.
Despite Wave of Cyber Attacks, Banks in Mexico Double Down on Biometric Tracking of Customers by Don Quijones • Jun 30, 2018 For hackers, biometric data is the Holy Grail. Now banks, including the ones that got hacked, will require it from their customers.
Update on the Rental Bubbles & Crashes in US Cities by Wolf Richter • Jun 29, 2018 Rents in Southern California go nuts. Bay Area & Seattle “mixed.” Chicago & Honolulu in free-fall. New York City sharply lower. Washington DC loses grip. But rents soar 10-15% in many markets.
