Business

Authored by Louis Rouanet via The Mises Institute,

Although today high levels of inequality in the United States remain a pressing concern for a large swath of the population, monetary policy and credit expansion are rarely mentioned as a likely source of rising wealth and income inequality. Focusing almost exclusively on consumer price inflation, many economists have overlooked the redistributive effects of money creation through other channels. One of these channels is asset price inflation and the growth of the financial sector.

One week ago, we closed the book on the long-running debate whether gross (and net) leverage is the highest on record, when we showed a chart from Goldman according to which net debt/EBITDA for all companies (with or without energy) is the highest on record, surpassing the previous credit bubble peak by nearly 0.3x turns. Furthermore, as Goldman said that the time, "given we are 8+ years into an economic expansion, we believe it’s prudent to also view this via a “normalized EBITDA” lens (i.e., median NTM 2007Q1-2017Q1).

Following last night's mixed mesage from API (crude draw, gasoline build), WTI prices have gone nowhere as all eyes focus on DOE data this morning. Confirming API's trend, crude saw its biggest draw since Sept 2016 but Gasoline, Distillates, and Cushing (most since March) saw builds which upset the machines and sent prices lower. Crude production rose once again to its highest since July 2015.

API

While everyone is focusing on political issues, the NY Fed published a stunning report on the state of the US consumer.

According to the NY Fed, the average US household has hit a new record for debt, surpassing the old record set at the peak of the 2007 bubble.

Put simply, the average US household today is more in debt that it was in late 2007: the former peak of a massive debt bubble.

World’s Largest Hedge Fund Bridgewater Buys $68 Million of Gold ETF