The two largest economies in Africa are under huge financial strain.
On Monday, Nigeria de facto devalued the naira by ~30% (after another ~30% devaluation in June). And Egypt is under pressure to devalue too, with the pound ~50% weaker in the black market. Source: Javier Blas Bloomberg
China Factory Activity Expands Again, Private Survey Shows
Source: Bloomberg, C.Barraud
BREAKING: Mortgage demand fell to a new 30-year low in January 2024, down 54% from the pandemic peak, according to Reventure.
Mortgage demand is down 14% over the last year and 40% from pre-pandemic levels. Source: The Kobeissi Letter, re:venture
The US is facing a "death spiral" as a result of its mounting debt and the inability of politicians to confront the issue, according to "The Black Swan" author Nassim Taleb.
Per Bloomberg, the Universa Investments advisor who correctly called the 2008 financial crash cast a dire warning about the US debt situation, which has seen the federal debt balance notch $34 trillion for the first time ever to start the year. As long as Congress keeps up its rapid pace of spending, those debts are going to continue to pile up, which could have disastrous consequences for the US economy, Taleb said this week at an event held by Universa Investments. In fact, rising debt in the US is a "white swan," Taleb said, and is an event that poses an obvious risk to markets versus a "black swan" event, which can occur without much warning. That death spiral would necessitate "something to come in from the outside, or maybe some kind of miracle," Taleb said, when asked how the shock would play out, adding that the situation has made him more pessimistic about the political system in the West. Source: Business Insider
German inflation slows to 2.9% in January from 3.7% in December, lowest level since June 2021
Core CPI slows to 3.4% in January from 3.5% in December, lowest level June 2022. Energy in deflation, hashtag#energy prices dropped -2.8% YoY, while Food CPI slowed to 3.8% from 4.5% in December. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
US Treasury confirms spending on debt interest now larger than entire Defense Budget.... and will soon surpass entire Social Security budget.
Source: www.zerohedge.com
US government spending (inflation-adjusted) since 2020 has exceeded the combined spending of:
- World War I - World War II - 1970 to 1990 Is this sustainable?
All the headline numbers have showed that the labor market is incredibly strong
But is it really? Currently, the US has a record ~8.6 MILLION people that are holding 2 or more jobs. Since 2020, nearly 2.6 million people have taken on an additional job. Source: Bloomberg, The Kobeissi Letter
