In the same vein as:
"I never smile if I can help it. Showing one's teeth is a submission signal in primates.
When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life.
seeing this story's headline, my first thoughts were "Single point of failure/point of maximum leverage; attack the source of that money (and urge to splurge)—asset markets— and recession/depression is guaranteed".
It's all in how you look at the world.
From Morning Brew, September 16:
Commerce data released yesterday showed that spending at US retailers jumped 0.6% last month, more than double economists’ expectations of 0.2%.
While most US consumers are still sticking closely to their budgets, top earners are spending to make up the difference. Americans in the top 10% income bracket made up nearly half (49.2%) of total consumer spending during Q2, per an analysis of recent Federal Reserve data by Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi.
That number is up from 48.5% in Q1, highlighting the growing divide between high-income earners and middle/lower-income earners in the country. Taking inflation into account, spending from households earning less than $175,000 a year has remained relatively steady since the pandemic, meaning there hasn’t been much real growth—except at the very top.
Conflicting economic data
Commerce data released yesterday showed that spending at US retailers jumped 0.6% last month, more than double economists’ expectations of 0.2%. Sales were up across most categories, with only some retailers, like department and furniture stores, reporting drops:
- Online shopping had the biggest jump at 2%.
- Restaurants and bars filled up their late-summer patios with a 0.7% increase in spending....
....MUCH MORE
