THE SHOW NOTES: The Buttigieg Derailment, Plunging Markets, & Year Two In Ukraine
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NEW: Mortgage Applications to Purchase a Home Plunge to Lowest since 1995.
HEADLINE: Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for two years - CNN
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Year Two
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year today, the Biden administration is dealing with the fallout from a speech by Kamala Harris. The Vice President told the Munich Security Conference that “if Putin thinks he can wait us out, he is badly mistaken. Time is not on his side.” Here’s the best take on the statement from The Washington Post:
Nearly all the Ukrainian officials I met in Munich respectfully disagree. It’s not just about weapons (although they insist that more and better weapons are badly and quickly needed). These Ukrainian officials say they’re worried that the Biden administration’s stance could undermine support for Kyiv’s strategy, which is to accelerate the war effort now and avoid a protracted stalemate. For them, an endless war means a win for Putin and the loss of their country as they know it.
Biden Nationalizes the DEI Bureaucracy
Last week, President Joseph Biden quietly signed an executive order that promises to create a national DEI bureaucracy and embed the principles of left-wing racialism throughout the federal government.
Go read the full story here.
Florida says not so fast: A bill just proposed in the Florida legislature would give the Board of Governors the ability to remove degrees in critical race theory, gender studies, or intersectionality.
Pesky Inflation
Markets are sliding and treasury yields are surging as inflation continues to worry businesses and consumers. The high inflation print is making it abundantly clear to markets that the Federal Reserve will have no choice but to continue raising rates.
Details: Jerome Powell warned markets that the Fed was committed to bringing inflation under two percent signaling more rate hikes were inevitable. Markets largely ignored the warning and surged in January before tanking in February. Currently, the Dow is down nearly 5% in 10 days with the Nasdaq falling nearly 7% in three weeks.
More: A former Fed president published a paper claiming the Fed is incapable of taming inflation without significant additional rate hikes that will eventually lead to a recession. Here’s the paragraph that matters:
“Even assuming stable inflation expectations, our analysis casts doubt on the ability of the Fed to engineer a soft landing in which inflation returns to the 2 percent target by the end of 2025 without a mild recession,” they added.
To make matters worse: Personal savings are down while credit card debt is up according to new data reported on CNBC. Here are the big takeaways:
36% say they have more credit card debt than personal savings.
10% have no cash set aside.
Total household debt increased by 2.4% in Q4 of 2022 alone.