Did You Know?
US banks now hold $1.40 in reserves for every dollar of delinquent commercial real estate loans, down from $2.20 a year ago, according to the FDIC data, and the lowest cover banks have had to absorb potential commercial real estate loan losses in more than 7 years.....A pretty useful fix now would be lowered rates perhaps?
Did You Know?
Why are SMART TV's so (relatively) cheap? They are watching you....collecting data about your usage and watching patterns.....no free lunch? (CNBC)
Did You Know?
San Francisco is once again experiencing a tech revival. Entrepreneurs and investors are flocking back to the city, which is undergoing a boom in artificial intelligence. Silicon Valley leaders are getting involved in local politics, flooding city ballot measures and campaigns with tech money to make the city safer for families and businesses. Investors are also pushing startups to return to the Bay Area and bring their employees back into the office. Investment in Bay Area startups dropped 12% to $63.4 billion in 2023. By contrast, funding volumes for Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, two smaller tech hubs, dropped 27% and 42%, respectively. In Miami, venture investment plunged 70% to $2 billion in 2023. (WSJ)
Did You Know?
The typical Gen X (born 1965-1980) household has just $40,000 saved for retirement, and 40% of their 401k plan balances are zero. There are about 65 million GEN X's in the US and almost 70% of Gen X owns their home. If the oldest Gen X person is about 59 years old, on average they will need housing for around another 20 years.
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A patient implanted with Neuralink’s brain technology can now control a computer mouse just by thinking. 😳(CNBC)
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Investors have added $128 billion to US money-market funds since the start of 2024. Companies were sitting on a record $4.4 trillion of cash at the end of the 3rd quarter, and after a flood of more than $1 trillion of T-bills since mid-2023. Total money market funds exceed $6 trillion.....the expectation of rate cuts has not materialized yet and earning 4-5% remains attractive. Only once those returns diminish could we see this cash deployed in the economy. Cash held by corporations surged starting in 2020, up 24% just in 2020 alone. (BLOOMBERG)
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More LUXE-flation? Yup.....Hèrmes plans to raise prices of its goods by 8% this year, even though the general rate of inflation is significantly lower.....suckers! PS: Most pricing these days is based on what the maximum the consumer is willing to pay, NOT just the cost of goods or labor. ie: supply and demand. The demand for Hèrmes products keeps growing. I find it somewhat amusing to watch an INSTAGRAMMER who interviews well dressed peeps in Palm Beach and Greenwich..... almost all of them have the same $15-20,000 handbag.... PS: If Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a $150 billion pile of cash - one of many corporations sitting on piles of accumulated cash - and the consumer is running out of savings, might we have a clue where the 'extra' money went? 😆😆😆😆
Did You Know?
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, over 5 million new businesses have been formed in the US. In 2015 and 2016 it was under 3 million! A record-breaking 5,481,437 new businesses were started in 2023. 70% of new businesses survive beyond 2 years, 50% beyond 5 years, 30% beyond 10 years and only 25% beyond 15 years. (CENSUS)
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Jan Hatzius of GOLDMAN SACHS predicted the housing meltdown of 2007-8 and the soft landing of 2023....Goldman Sachs is upbeat about the economy in 2024 anticipating 2.3% GDP growth, unemployment below 4%, and just a 15% probability of recession, all more optimistic than the consensus. They see inflation, excluding food and energy, continuing to fall, to a little over 2% by year-end....(WSJ)
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