The writing was on the wall two weeks ago when retail employment tumbled along with CBI-reported retail sales, but tonight's BDO High Street Sales Tracker should be the icing on the cake for any looming rate hike as like-for-like sales crashed 5.2% - describe by BDO as "the most horrific" October on record.
It was the worst month since right before Brexit in April 2016.
European elites are hoarding cash, the Japanese are stuffing safes full of high-denomination bills, the saudis are scrambling, and judging from the following chart, the richest Americans are getting increasingly concerned about the safety of their wealth...
For a decade, Security & Armored Car Services workers in the US have earned around $14 to $15 per hour.
But all that changed as President Trump was elected...
Demand for security services has soared driving wages up a stunning 24% YoY!
Having identified virtually every single asset bubble of the current cycle (as well as a few extra), SocGen's cranky strategist Albert Edwards has found yet another place where there is irrational exuberance: vacations, and ever the optimist, Edwards has a message for Americans: enjoy it while you can, because it won't last. In a note titled "Who needs wage inflation when even vacations have become a bubble" , the SocGen strategist observes that "more Americans plan to take a holiday in the next six months than ever before (see chart below)" and complains
Over the past year we have provided extensive coverage of what will likely be the biggest, most politically charged, and most significant financial crisis facing the aging U.S. population: a multi-trillion pension storm, which was recently dubbed "one of the most heated battles of a lifetime" by John Mauldin.
Authored by Michael Snyder via The American Dream blog,