The State of the Economy Thread - “Falling inflation, rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery”

[CousinsCowgirl84]

2 hours ago, tshile said:

I mean I realize you have tons of time to waste, judging by how you participate in conversations. 
 

i, do not. 

This is how you talk to everyone. I hope you are a nicer person off the internet, because you are a terrible person on it.

[China]

Home prices up 15.4% in January from a year ago

 

Home prices climbed in January as inventory fell to a new record low.

 

The median price for a home last month was $350,300, up 15.4% from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was not the highest median price on record, which was $362,800 last June, but it is the highest for the month of January, which tends to be a sleepier time for home sales.

"Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher."

 

Sales of existing homes -- which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops -- surged 6.7% from December, but were down 2.3% from a year ago, largely because there were so few homes to buy.

At the end of January, the inventory of homes available to buy fell to an all-time low of 860,000, down 16.5% from last year. That's the lowest since NAR began tracking it in 1999. At the current monthly sales pace, supply would last just 1.6 months, which is also a record low.

"The inventory of homes on the market remains woefully depleted," Yun said.

But the availability and affordability of homes depends greatly on price level.

Homes priced at $500,000 and below are disappearing, Yun said, while supply has risen at the higher price range. Such increases will continue to shift the mix of buyers toward high-income consumers and push out first-time homebuyers, he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Ball Security]

19 minutes ago, China said:

Home prices up 15.4% in January from a year ago

 

Home prices climbed in January as inventory fell to a new record low.

 

The median price for a home last month was $350,300, up 15.4% from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was not the highest median price on record, which was $362,800 last June, but it is the highest for the month of January, which tends to be a sleepier time for home sales.

"Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher."

 

Sales of existing homes -- which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops -- surged 6.7% from December, but were down 2.3% from a year ago, largely because there were so few homes to buy.

At the end of January, the inventory of homes available to buy fell to an all-time low of 860,000, down 16.5% from last year. That's the lowest since NAR began tracking it in 1999. At the current monthly sales pace, supply would last just 1.6 months, which is also a record low.

"The inventory of homes on the market remains woefully depleted," Yun said.

But the availability and affordability of homes depends greatly on price level.

Homes priced at $500,000 and below are disappearing, Yun said, while supply has risen at the higher price range. Such increases will continue to shift the mix of buyers toward high-income consumers and push out first-time homebuyers, he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

We are coming up on a sell/rent decision on our investment property.  Our tenants move out in April.  I went to an open house in the neighborhood last weekend.  There are so few properties on the market and a lot of people came to the open house.  It’s hard to tell if we are coming up on a peak.  The rents are also going way up.  Hard to refinance now though.

[LD0506]

[Ball Security]

Went to buy a sofa and loveseat this President’s Day Weekend.  Said it would be available in SEVEN months. 😳

[Jabbyrwock]

5 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

Went to buy a sofa and loveseat this President’s Day Weekend.  Said it would be available in SEVEN months. 😳

 

[Captain Wiggles]

Bought a couple of Lazy Boy recliners online about twelve years ago. Basic leather recliner nothing fancy. No built in fridges, massager, speakers, cup holders. They took like three plus months. Lady who contacted me initially said they'd have to be manufactured. Also made it sound like they did zero business online. 🤦‍♂️

 

Shoulda just gone down to Murican Furniture Warehouse n bought chairs from the guy with all the zoo animals. 

 

 

 

[Renegade7]

 

[Fergasun]

We no longer have any balance or choice in the direction of our country.  Sanders and Warren, the "far left" are indeed correct on many of their beliefs, but most other politicians are paid to look the way.  One party won't even admit that the American people are getting screwed by the Corptocracy... and most people are too distracted and busy trying to hold together the insane life we have to spend time thinking about the source of it.  

 

"Sorry you can't afford the downpayment on a house with a $2000 mortgage -- we sold it for to Real Estate Investors R Us (who can borrow way more than you with tons of leverage).

Your consolation prize is a smaller, apartment you can rent for $2400 a month... opps, I means $2600 a month, courtesy of Real Estate Investors R Us".

 

It is my dream to pay off my home and pass it to one of my children to live in rent free... and owe the other a 30-year mortgage type of payoff/buyout.  

[China]

Fewest Americans collecting unemployment aid since 1970

 

The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell to a 52-year low after another decline in jobless aid applications last week.

 

Jobless claims fell by 17,000, from 249,000 to 232,000 for the week ending Feb. 19, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

 

The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, fell by 7,250 to 236,250. It was the third straight week of declines after rising for five straight weeks as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spread, disrupting business in many parts of the U.S.

 

In total, 1,476,000 Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 5, a decrease of about 112,000 from the previous week and the lowest level since March 14, 1970, the government said.

 

First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace of layoffs, which are back down to fairly healthy pre-pandemic levels.

 

Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported a surprising burst of hiring in January, with employers adding 467,000 jobs. It also revised upward its estimate for job gains in November and December by a combined 709,000. The unemployment rate edged up to a still-low 4% from 3.9%, as more people began looking for work, but not all of them securing jobs right away.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

"But corporations are raising prices."

[China]

Poll Shows Majority of US Voters Blame Corporate Profiteering for Inflation

 

New polling results published Monday show that a majority of U.S. voters see corporate profiteering as a key driver of inflation and support a federal crackdown on companies that are "unfairly" pushing costs onto consumers.

 

Conducted by Data for Progress and released by the Groundwork Collaborative, the survey found that 63% of U.S. voters—including 51% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats, and 62% of Independents—believe that "large corporations are taking advantage of the pandemic to raise prices unfairly on consumers and increase profits."

 

Just 29% of voters believe the narrative—advanced by lavishly compensated company executives—that "large corporations have no choice but to raise prices in response to rising costs," the poll found.

 

The poll also showed that 80% of U.S. voters want the federal government to "crack down on large corporations that raise prices unfairly," a position that aligns with the demands of progressive lawmakers.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

I thought Biden should have called this out more during the SOTU last night.  Specifically the gas and oil companies making record profits right now.

[Cooked Crack]

 

[NoCalMike]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:13 PM, China said:

Poll Shows Majority of US Voters Blame Corporate Profiteering for Inflation

 

New polling results published Monday show that a majority of U.S. voters see corporate profiteering as a key driver of inflation and support a federal crackdown on companies that are "unfairly" pushing costs onto consumers.

 

Conducted by Data for Progress and released by the Groundwork Collaborative, the survey found that 63% of U.S. voters—including 51% of Republicans, 76% of Democrats, and 62% of Independents—believe that "large corporations are taking advantage of the pandemic to raise prices unfairly on consumers and increase profits."

 

Just 29% of voters believe the narrative—advanced by lavishly compensated company executives—that "large corporations have no choice but to raise prices in response to rising costs," the poll found.

 

The poll also showed that 80% of U.S. voters want the federal government to "crack down on large corporations that raise prices unfairly," a position that aligns with the demands of progressive lawmakers.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Another case where the American people are agreeing with the "omg socialists" view of things.  Of course it is nuanced and multi-faceted problem, but everyone has been put through the ringer enough times to realize they are being had by corporations and the wealthy.  Why the Democrats can't get behind this and easily take advantage of THAT populism boggles my mind, oh wait I have a pretty good idea why...........ugh.

 

Also as far as jobs reports go;  I think it's very telling that whenever a Republican is in the white house all discussion on the economy seems to begin and end on jobs reports, GDP, and the stock market.  Then when Obama & Biden are in there fixing messes the media suddenly gets curious about "looking beyond these good numbers to find out the reaaaaaaaal stories" and I am not disagreeing that there is so much more than the aforementioned factors when it comes to the economy and the situation on the ground, but I don't know why Trump can just basically say "jobs" at a podium for a couple years and the media acts helpless to do any analysis but when Biden gets into office every positive job report is met with "yeah, but......"

[China]

 

[@DCGoldPants]

2 hours ago, NoCalMike said:

 

Another case where the American people are agreeing with the "omg socialists" view of things.  Of course it is nuanced and multi-faceted problem, but everyone has been put through the ringer enough times to realize they are being had by corporations and the wealthy.  Why the Democrats can't get behind this and easily take advantage of THAT populism boggles my mind, oh wait I have a pretty good idea why...........ugh.

 

Also as far as jobs reports go;  I think it's very telling that whenever a Republican is in the white house all discussion on the economy seems to begin and end on jobs reports, GDP, and the stock market.  Then when Obama & Biden are in there fixing messes the media suddenly gets curious about "looking beyond these good numbers to find out the reaaaaaaaal stories" and I am not disagreeing that there is so much more than the aforementioned factors when it comes to the economy and the situation on the ground, but I don't know why Trump can just basically say "jobs" at a podium for a couple years and the media acts helpless to do any analysis but when Biden gets into office every positive job report is met with "yeah, but......"

Someone should run with that and run ads asking why oil companies with thousands of unused leases to drill, aren't drilling instead of asking for more leases to not use. 

[China]

Corporate power keeps U.S. wages 20% lower than they should be-White House

 

With inflation at a four-decade high, a U.S. government report shows corporate America has used its clout in the labor market to keep wages 20% lower than they should be, the White House said on Monday.

 

The report, prepared by the Treasury Department with help from the Justice Department, Labor Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), found companies had the upper hand in setting wages because they generally knew more about the labor market than workers do.

 

Further, workers may not be able to move or to afford an extended job search in order to find better-paid work.

 

"These conditions can enable firms to exert market power, and consequently offer lower wages and worse working conditions, even in labor markets that are not highly concentrated," the report said.

 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a White House forum highlighting the report that workers are often at a disadvantage due to required non-compete or non-disclosure agreements; collusion between employers to keep wages low; or a lack of transparency that keeps workers unaware of prevailing wage rates.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Captain Wiggles]

Gas companies upon hearing people are willing to pay more for gas to support Ukraine. 

 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Now would be a good time for everyone to think about evs and solar. Just got the final inspection off on my solar, just waiting for PTO 👍 

Edited March 9, 2022 by CousinsCowgirl84

[Llevron]

19 minutes ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

Now would be a good time for everyone to think about evs and solar. Just got the final inspection off on my solar, just waiting for PTO 👍 

 

Wife an I have been going back and forth on cars to replace her old 'Before we were even a thing-mobile" and I just keep throwing out different evs. She's gonna give in eventually lol

 

And now that the kid is on the way, the in-laws will be coming to US for holidays. Meaning we don't have any reason at all to drive over 45 miles one way ever again. so its perfect. 

[88Comrade2000]

We are going to be a recession; probably by summer.

[TradeTheBeal!]

[PleaseBlitz]

[TradeTheBeal!]

12 hours ago, PleaseBlitz said: