Have to vent a little. Part of this is general media hyperbole, and why I am not a fan of WSJ anymore. This kind of stuff has convinced people we are in a recession.
Might not be able to access without a subscription, but I will put the link and reference the "funny" parts.
The flush savings accounts and cheap credit that helped keep Americans spending at high rates since 2020 are disappearing, while inflation remains elevated.
www.wsj.com
In mid-November of last year, Mr. Andersson started getting calls from clients who had booked daylong tattoo sessions, saying they could only afford shorter ones or pulling out altogether. Mr. Andersson, who specializes in tattoo projects that often take five or six all-day sessions to complete, had 15 cancellations for full-day slots in December.
“In my 15 years doing this, I’ve never seen that—people calling up and saying they don’t have the money to spend right now or can only afford an hour because their current situation is pretty bad,” he said.
For now, First Class Tattoo isn’t likely to slash prices because the baseline level of demand remains strong. Some 250 clients are still on the wait list.
...
The large stock-market declines over the past year also alarmed consumers, including Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Sara Laor, who is 57 years old. Ms. Laor said the declines depleted the holdings in her 401(k) and IRA accounts by nearly 40%.
-Mr. Andersson makes me think we need much higher interest rates.
-40%!? Obviously Ms Laor a big YOLO're. HODL!!!!
-About the only datapoint that seemed remotely relevant...
Inbound volumes at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California were down 20.1% in December from a year earlier, and have been behind 2019 levels since August.
www.reuters.com
