Today's topics include the Federal Reserve, Trump vs the Fed, why the stock market is worse than you think, the corporate debt bubble, OPEC's 2019 nightmare, Ray Dalio speaks, retailers, the slowing housing market and cash is king.
HELOCs declined in the third quarter, but all other types of household debt increased.
Student loans have been the fastest growing form of household debt over the past decade, but auto loans have grown faster over the past five years. HELOCs are now at levels last seen in Q3 2004.
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.
Credit card companies are extending more credit in the U.S., but consumers are being more prudent in their use of credit cards.
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.
Selected charts and excerpts from some of our research over the past week
The midterm election earlier this month had a turnout of 49.2%, the highest in over a century.
All signs continue to point toward a hike next month. However, uncertainty about rate hikes after that are increasing.
Risk-off flows into low volatility sectors are reaching an extreme according to sentiment (T.V. News) and investor flows (ETFs).