Today's topics include the latest on the trade war, the world's largest pension fund will no longer lend to short sellers, Q4 GDP estimates rebound, a look at productivity, fading fintech mania, criticizing negative rates, MIFID's effect on the analyst community and a tale of two manufacturing indices.
The terms FOMO (fear of missing out) and TINA (there is no alternative) are repeated ad nauseam in financial papers and on financial networks. Interestingly, however, the public appears to be more interested in wealth preservation via the 60/40 portfolio than chasing performance.
Today's topics include the latest on the trade wars, online vs. brick & mortar retail, an update on the Fed's repo operations, distressed junk bonds on the rise, China's corporate bond market, the Fed's need for persistent inflation, private equity cash on the sidelines, macro hedge funds, the disappearance of Brent crude oil, stock valuations, Randal Quarles & bank deregulation, U.S. vs. Chinese markets, more doom and gloom from Ray Dalio, analysts' changing roles, wealth & economic equality, measuring global debt and the world trade organization.
Household debt in the U.S. grew to $13.95 trillion in the third quarter.
Credit limits in the U.S. have surpassed pre-crisis levels, but utilization rates remain low.
Student loan debt has grown at an astronomical rate over the past decade.
People under 30 hold a relatively small amount of debt compared to other age groups. Student loans make up the largest portion of their debt.
The percentage of consumers with debt at a collection agency has fallen over the past couple years, although the average collection amount has risen over the same period.
Household debt broken down by delinquency status
Since the housing crash, mortgage originators have lent far less money to people with the riskiest credit scores.