Household debt ratios for the third-quarter plummeted to levels not seen in more than 40 years. The Financial Obligations Ration (FOR) dropped 100 basis points (bps) over the past year, while the Debt Service Ratio (DSR) has declined 72 bps since the third-quarter of 2019, based on figures released by the Federal Reserve. The sharp…
Consumer confidence calamity rebounded a tad in early December with the prospects of a long-delayed stimulus package being passed before the holiday break, the beginning of COVID-19 immunizations and the U.S. Supreme Court and Electoral College finally squelching voter fraud claims propagated by extremists. However, the brief consumer confidence December bump is likely to be…
Coronavirus claims for travel disruption takes off, as thousands of Americans fall victim to love fraud, beating robocallers at their game, and the economy looks good for now, but wit till the debt collectors start calling in 2021 and beyond. Travel insurance typically costs between 5% and 10% of the total cost of a trip,…
Small business challenges for 2020 will not be easy as more than eight of ten owners indicate attracting new customers is their biggest problem, and nearly six out of ten report hiring or trying to hire qualified applicants has become frustrating. Overall, small business optimism during 2019 was a roller coaster ride for many, as…
Stable U.S. economy is the word of the day. Barring unforeseen events like a global coronavirus plague, a Mid-East war, a successful impeachment or another shortage of Popeye’s chicken sandwiches, it appears the economy will continue to chug along at a heathy pace through the 2020 elections. Stable, or slightly increased, consumer confidence is the…
Holiday season closes amidst a blockbuster turnout for small retail businesses globally. Even though the shortened holiday season may have pushed retail sales down a tad, business owners remain confident about their businesses going forward. Scrooge remained with us as organized crime hijacked truckloads of holiday stuff and gift card scam artists manifest themselves bigly…
Retailers pray for one more week this holiday season as consumer buying habits have been slowly changing. The late Thanksgiving reduced the holiday shopping season by six days, compared to last year. Holiday retail sales have softened, dropping from a projected annual increase of 4% to a potential 2%. Even though the economy appears solid,…
Small business owner optimism continues to hold steady despite concerning and growing global economic negative indicators. However, the delay in turmoil is likely linked to delayed trade tariffs and short-term interest rate cuts. Two surveys revealed the uptick in October. The NFIB Optimism Index increased 60 bps (basis points) in October. Furthermore, the Wells Fargo/Gallup…
Main Street recession talk is disrupting small business plans and bubbling Downtown to Wall Street. Another short-term interest rate today cut (second time this year), a massive overnight funding market shortage for two-consecutive days (first time in more than a decade), inverted yield curve for first time in 13 years, trade tariff/consumer taxes set to…
Small business owners says qualified workers remain the major stumbling block to expansion. Nonetheless, U.S. business owners expressed optimism in July as expectations for business conditions, real sales, and expansion made solid gains. The optimism flies in the face of a global economic recession most likely underway as the yields on short-term U.S. bonds is…
