Important Takeaways:
- 99% of Americans will be financially worse-off than they were pre-pandemic by mid-2024, JPMorgan says
- The majority of Americans have burned through their excess savings piled up during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the coming months, JPMorgan says it is likely that almost everyone will be worse off financially than they were in 2019.
- In a Thursday note, the bank’s top stock strategist Marko Kolanovic said 80% of consumers, a group that accounts for nearly two-thirds of consumption, has already depleted any savings cushion they may have built during lockdowns.
- “It is likely that only the top 1% of consumers by income will be better off than before the pandemic,” Kolanovic wrote, pointing to the growing signs of credit card and auto loan delinquencies, as well as Chapter 11 filings.
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Important Takeaways:
- Asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit why perceptions of the economy are poor in recent polling, despite some positive indicators, Dimon said inflation and other issues are holding it back, and again at the expense of lower earners.
- “If you look at the U.S., yes, you know, almost all-time low unemployment, but inflation is hurting people,” he said. “The bottom third, I kind of think they have a right to be p—ed off. I would probably be a little p—ed off if I were them.”
- “You’re all wealthy and have money and stuff like that, but their average wages are $15 to $20 [an hour]. They’re the ones who lost their jobs in COVID,” he said. “They’re dying five or six years younger than the rest of us. They’re the ones who don’t have medical insurance. They’re the ones where their schools don’t work. They’re the ones dealing with crime. What the hell have we done as a nation?”
- “Yeah, corporate profits are up because people are spending a lot of money. Where do they get the money? The government gave it to them. Well, of course, profits are up,” he added. “So, I’m quite cautious about the economy… I would just be a little careful about that just because it feels pretty good today.”
- The Biden administration has repeatedly touted low unemployment and declining rates of inflation, but a majority of Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck, and the economy is viewed as a place of vulnerability for the White House going into 2024.
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Important Takeaways:
- ‘I don’t understand how I make $34 an hour and can’t function’ The Unseen Struggles of the Middle Class
- Melanie paints a vivid picture of her food situation, where she has resorted to budgetary restrictions to survive.
- She shares, “What I’ve started doing is I buy a loaf of rye bread, and I work really hard to keep that one loaf of rye bread lasting me the whole week. And I eat peanut butter, so I’ll eat peanut butter toast whenever I’m hungry.”
- This situation has forced Melanie to rely on her mother for sustenance, ensuring her daughter does not face the same food shortages.
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Important Takeaways:
- 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck — inflation is still squeezing budgets
- The number of Americans who say they are stretched thin has remained stubbornly high, according to several reports.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently called for continued vigilance in the fight against inflation, warning there may even be more interest rate increases to come.
- The battle against inflation is not over.
- As of July, 61% of adults still said they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report, slightly more than last year’s 59%.
- June and July both saw easing in the pace of price increases, with core inflation up 0.2% for each month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- But in recent remarks, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation “remains too high” despite those positive indicators, and warned that more interest rate hikes are still possible.
- Central bank officials have already raised rates 11 times, pushing the Fed’s key interest rate to a target range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in more than 22 years.
- Now, 78% of consumers earning less than $50,000 a year and 65% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck in July, both up from a year ago
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Important Takeaways:
- Mortgage rates surpassed 7% this week, hitting the highest level in more than two decades
- That’s the highest point since the first week of April 2002 and marks just the third time rates have exceeded 7% since then. The last times were in October and November of last year, when the rate reached 7.08%.
- The increase this week further deteriorates affordability for budget-conscious buyers who are facing elevated home prices and a shortage of choices because homeowners remain reluctant to sell and give up their lower mortgage rate.
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Important Takeaways:
- US gas prices climb to highest level in nearly 10 months
- Pump prices are creeping towards $4 a gallon nationally.
- The national average for regular gasoline hit $3.85 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA. That’s the highest level since October 19 and comes just weeks ahead of Labor Day weekend when millions of Americans will hit the roads.
- …gas prices have climbed by 28 cents over the past month and 32 cents since the Fourth of July as a result of higher oil prices caused by Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting supply and extreme heat sidelining some US refineries.
- According to AAA, there are now 11 states averaging $4 or higher, including Arizona, Illinois and Utah. Colorado and Michigan aren’t far away.
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Important Takeaways:
- Rent in Manhattan soared to a record-high average of $5,588 in July, up 9% from 2022.
- It’s hurting tenants struggling to find apartments they can afford. One apartment hunter said she can’t find a studio to suit her work-from-home needs for less than $5,000.
- “I am considering not coming back to Manhattan,” she said.
- “Rent went up at 9.3% in Manhattan. We saw it go up 14% in Brooklyn because now Brooklyn landlords are saying these people from Manhattan can’t afford it, how much can I raise my rent?” said Sanai.
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Important Takeaways:
- Inflation forcing Americans to spend $709 more per month than 2 years ago: Economist
- Scorching-hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent.
- Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi made the statement Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of his analysis of July’s consumer price index report. Despite the jarring increase in cost, Zandi say inflation is moderating, with just a 0.2% increase from June to July.
- “To be sure, the high inflation of the past 2+ years has done lots of economic damage. Due to the high inflation, the typical household spent $202 more in a July than they did a year ago to buy the same goods and services. And they spent $709 more than they did 2 years ago,” Zandi wrote.
- The fed could resort to further interest rate hikes later this year, but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has not made any announcements.
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Important Takeaways:
- Inflation, unemployment and gross domestic product numbers are all giving Biden something to smile about.
- Even though Americans are making more than they did before the pandemic, their money is getting them a lot less than it did two and half years ago.
- While American paychecks are finally outpacing skyrocketing inflation, they have not been growing anywhere near as fast as prices have the last two and a half years
- People don’t like inflation, even when their wages are up, Americans will focus on the slow pace of real wage growth, rather than real wage growth alone.
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Important Takeaways:
- 61% of Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation cools
- Lower-income workers have been the hardest hit by price spikes, particularly for food and other staples, since those expenses account for a bigger share of the budget, studies show. Roughly three-quarters of consumers earning less than $50,000 annually and 65% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck in June, based on LendingClub’s numbers.
- Fewer top earners have been struggling to make ends meet. Of those earning $100,000 or more, only 45% reported living paycheck to paycheck, the report found.
- A majority, or 52%, of adults, including high earners, said they have felt more financially stressed since before the Covid pandemic began in 2020, according to a separate CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey conducted in March — largely due to inflation, rising interest rates and a lack of savings.
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