Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

One of the characteristics of gold is that it preserves wealth in a world of constantly devaluing fiat currency.

Put another way, it preserves your purchasing power over time.

If you hold onto dollars for several years, they will buy less stuff at the end of that time period than they did at the beginning. This is especially true when we have rapidly rising prices as we do today. But even when inflation is “under control,” Federal Reserve policy is to devalue the dollar by 2% every year.

It simply doesn’t make sense to hold onto dollars for any length of time.

We can demonstrate this in a tangible way by pricing a good or service in gold and examining the change in price over time.

As an example, let’s consider a high-end men’s suit.

In 1900, the average price of a high-end men’s suit was around $35.

At the time, the price of gold was set at $20.67 per ounce. That means a high-end suit priced in gold would have cost around 1.7 ounces of gold.

Today, the average price of a high-end suit is around $2,000.

Obviously, prices vary depending on the brand, region and other factors, but this provides a fair average. At the time I’m writing this, the price of gold is around $1,840 an ounce. I’ll use $1,800 for this calculation to keep it simple. That means a high-end suit priced in gold today costs a little over 1.1 ounces of gold.

As you can see, the price of a suit in gold has dropped a little over 35% since 1900. This is what you would expect given advances in technology and productivity. But priced in dollars, the price of a high-end men’s suit has increased by 5,614.3%.

Looking at it another way, if you had stuffed $41.34 under your mattress in 1900, today you might be able to buy a couple of Polo shirts if you find a deal. But if you had bought two 1-ounce gold coins and stuffed those under your mattress in 1900, today you’d be able to buy a fancy suit and have about $1,600 left over.

Of course, the price of gold fluctuates day to day, month to month, and year to year. In some years, the price of gold even falls. But over time, it has historically maintained its purchasing power even as fiat currencies lose buying power year after year.

Added to the fact that it carries no counterparty risk, gold is an excellent way to safely preserve wealth and mitigate risk in your portfolio.

Recaptured toxic wastewater that was used to extinguish a fire after a Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio is now headed to a Houston, Texas suburb for disposal, according to a top official from Harris County.

“I and my office heard today that ‘firefighting water’ from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment is slated to be disposed of in our county,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a Wednesday statement on Twitter. “Our Harris County Pollution Control Department and Harris County Attorney’s Office have reached out to the company and the Environmental Protection Agency to receive more information about the timing, transportation mechanisms, and contents, as well as to ensure all regulations are being met.”

I heard the news today about East Palestine “firefighting water” being sent to Harris County and will continue pushing for information for our community. pic.twitter.com/lMyJYPtTdT

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) February 23, 2023

Further details were not provided, though Hidalgo said that her office is working closely with the mayor of Deer Park, Texas.

“I have communicated with Deer Park Emergency Management and Mayor [Jerry] Mouton and am very sensitive to the concerns that this news naturally brings to our community,” Hildago’s statement continues. “We will keep residents informed as we learn more.”

The wastewater is headed to Texas Molecular, which has a process for injecting hazardous waste into the ground for disposal. This comes on the heels of a statement by Ohio EPA officials, who said that the chemicals used to put out the fire may have seeped into the Ohio River – partially forming into a plume of chemicals that is moving downstream.

According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Molecular “is authorized to accept and manage a variety of waste streams, including vinyl chloride, as part of their … hazardous waste permit and underground injection control permit,” which includes vinyl chloride – one of the ingredients carried by the train when it derailed.

“Our technology safely removes hazardous constituents from the biosphere. We are part of the solution to reduce risk and protect the environment, whether in our local area or other places that need the capabilities we offer to protect the environment,” Texas Molecular said in a statement to KHOU-TV.

The company will inject the water extremely deep into the earth.

“This injection, in some cases, is usually 4,000 or 5,000 feet down below any kind of drinking water aquifer,” said George Guillen, the executive director of the Environmental Institute of Houston who holds a doctorate in environmental science, who says the risk to the public is minimal despite it being “very, very toxic” material.

More via The Epoch Times,

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the derailment site Thursday, has warned the railroad responsible for the derailment, Norfolk Southern, to fulfill its promises to clean up the mess just outside East Palestine, Ohio, and help the town recover.

While in East Palestine, Buttigieg, who has faced criticism for his response to the disaster, joined members of the National Transportation Safety Board. The agency released a report on Thursday about its findings.

The three-dozen Norfolk Southern train cars that derailed earlier this month had “11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars,” the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. Five of the derailed cars were carrying about 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride, the report found.

The five cars with the toxic substance “continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising,” which could have resulted in an explosion, the report also found. When the controlled release and burn were initiated, officials forced locals in East Palestine to evacuate before allowing them to return days later.

By Greg Miller, of FreightWaves,

Here it comes. An unprecedented flood of new container ships is about to enter service. The pace of deliveries will pick up in earnest next month, surge much higher in the second quarter, go higher still in the second half, even higher throughout 2024, and stay strong in 2025.

“The colossal orderbook is like a sword of Damocles hanging over the market, with a raft of new ship deliveries in the next months inevitably triggering a return of overcapacity,” warned Alphaliner in a new report on Tuesday.

“The change will be obvious from mid-March,” Alphaliner analyst Stefan Verberckmoes told American Shipper, adding: “This newbuilding wave is coming at a time of shrinking demand.”

Maritime Strategies International (MSI) estimates that deliveries will total 717,900 twenty-foot equivalent units in Q2 2023, up 62% sequentially from the current quarter, with deliveries rising to 764,800 TEUs in Q3 2023.

Mainline vessel deliveries per carrier

The overall orderbook stood at 7.69 million TEUs as of Feb. 1, just under 30% of the on-the-water fleet capacity, according to Alphaliner. Of the total, 2.48 million TEUs (32%) was set for delivery this year, 2.95 million TEUs (38%) next year, and 2.26 million TEUs (30%) thereafter.

In Tuesday’s report, Alphaliner analyzed deliveries of new ships to be deployed in mainline trades by the top 11 carriers. These numbers are particularly important to importers in the U.S. and Europe served by mainline vessels.

The stats show 89 new mainline vessels for delivery in the remainder of 2023, followed by 130 next year and 96 in 2025, for a total of 315 over the next three years. (Including newbuildings for non-mainline trades, Alphaliner data shows these 11 carriers have a total of 499 newbuildings on order.)

Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), the world’s largest ocean carrier, is taking delivery of by far the most mainline capacity through 2025. It has 92 such vessels in the pipeline, including 33 in the remainder of this year.

CMA CGM has the second-most mainline vessel orders, at 38, most for delivery next year. Cosco (including OOCL) has the third-highest tally at 32. OOCL held a naming ceremony for its newest ship, the 24,188-TEU OOCL Spain, at China’s NACKS shipyard on Feb. 16.

Mainline vessel deliveries by size

Alphaliner also looked at the size categories of these newbuildings, dividing them into three categories: “Megamaxes,” with capacity of 23,000-24,000 TEUs, vessels that will be deployed in the Asia-Europe trade; “Neopanamaxes,” ships with capacity of 13,000-15,000 TEUs that can transit the Panama Canal; and other mainline vessels, with capacity of 7,000 TEUs-plus. Deliveries of Neopanamaxes and other mainline vessels will impact the U.S. ocean freight market.

Neopanamaxes are by far the largest category, representing 60% of the total mainline newbuildings to be delivered through 2025. Megamaxes account for 23% and other mainline newbuildings 17%.

MSC is heavily focused on more flexible Neopanamaxes. They represent 62% of its mainline vessel deliveries through 2025, according to Alphaliner data. Neopanamaxes account for 58% of CMA CGM’s mainline vessel orders.

In terms of delivery timing, the largest wave of Megamax arrivals (60% of the total) is arriving this year, raising concerns on imminent Asia-Europe overcapacity.

Alphaliner cautioned that “an armada of Megamax newbuildings” is set to join the Asia-Europe trade “at a time of weakening demand.”

Deliveries of Neopanamaxes and other mainliner vessels will be heavy throughout 2023-25, but particularly so next year (44% of total deliveries), implying heightened capacity pressures on trans-Pacific rates in 2024.

Effects on carrier strategy

Matt Cox, CEO of trans-Pacific carrier Matson, addressed the orderbook dilemma during a quarterly call on Tuesday.

“What I think will happen and what should happen is that the international ocean carriers, operating through their global alliances, will ultimately resize their fleets in the trans-Pacific and globally,” Cox said.

“There is a large orderbook. Those vessels are going to be delivered. Some of them will be delayed. We will also see an advanced level of scrapping. And for vessels that are chartered — which represent about 50% of the global fleet — many will be returned to the vessel owners when the charter periods are over.

“You’re going to see a combination of resizing [strategies] that are going to occur, even potentially laying up vessels,” added Cox. He expects these strategies to intensify “over the coming months.”

Differing views on order splurge

The overwhelming consensus is that carriers will face a tough few years as a result of their ordering spree. But opinions diverge on just how bad it will be, and just how rational or irrational carrier ordering behavior has been.

At one end of the spectrum is the view that carriers have stupidly shot themselves in the foot yet again, succumbing to the classic boom-and-bust shipping cycle pattern, over-ordering and locking in losses for years to come — that their ordering behavior is “madness.”

According to this view, the capacity on order is far more than the global market will ever need. As vessel supply exceeds demand for an extended period, at least some carriers will go for market share, creating a lengthy rate depression that will ultimately erase much of carriers’ COVID-era windfall profits.

At the other end of the spectrum is the view that ocean carriers need new ships. Pre-COVID, there was a long period of extreme under-ordering when carriers were under severe financial stress. The global fleet became old. According to VesselsValue, the average age of the world’s container ships is now 14.6 years.

Newly constructed vessels are much more fuel efficient than older tonnage, and fuel is one of carriers’ top costs. Newbuildings can also incorporate dual-fuel capabilities, allowing carriers to “future proof” against environmental regulations.

Container lines order new ships when the freight market peaks because that’s when they have the financial wherewithal to do so. Shipping-line balance sheets have never been stronger than they are today. This has allowed them to easily finance newbuildings to replace older tonnage and lower their future operating costs.

As newbuildings are delivered, carriers will scrap the older ships they own and let older chartered tonnage go off-hire. The portion of carriers’ fleets that is chartered as opposed to owned is far higher than new capacity on order. According to Alphaliner data, on-the-water chartered tonnage of the top 11 carriers is currently 76% or 4.6 million TEUs times higher than the aggregate tonnage on order by those carriers.

Many of the charter durations will extend beyond newbuild delivery dates, meaning there will be a temporary overhang and legacy chartering costs will eat into some of the carrier profits earned during the boom.

But ultimately, after a challenging transition period, carriers will end up with a new, fuel-efficient fleet that’s right-sized to demand, and they’ll still have some of that pandemic windfall on their balance sheets — or so the optimistic theory goes. 

According to VandaTrack, retail investors are still a force to be reckoned with, adding an average of $1.5 billion each day into U.S. markets.

As Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu notes, this is a record-breaking level of inflows, which raises the question: what are investors buying? To find out, we’ve visualized the 10 most popular picks of 2023, as of February 15.

The Top 10 List

Most of the names in this list won’t come as a surprise. They represent eight of the world’s largest and most well-known tech companies, as well as two highly popular U.S. equity ETFs.

Looking closer at the numbers, we can see that Tesla’s net retail flows of $9.75 billion are greater than all of the other individual stocks combined ($8.5 billion). This is a sign that investors still have plenty of faith in Tesla, even as its market share is beginning to shrink.

We recently covered Tesla’s profit margins (net profits per vehicle) in a separate infographic.

Perhaps the least common name on a top 10 ranking such as this is AMD. The chipmaker has made for a compelling underdog story in recent years, gaining significant market share from its long time rival, Intel.

What About the Meme Stocks?

Several meme stocks made it into the broader top 100 list. This includes Bed Bath & Beyond, which ranked 47th with $114 million in net retail flows.

The retailer has been struggling to avoid bankruptcy, recently raising $225 million through an underwritten public offering of preferred shares. A further $800 million could be coming, if certain conditions are met.

The company says it’s committed to paying down its overdue debts, and will be closing stores to reduce costs.

AMC Entertainment, which saw extreme volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranked 52nd on the list for retail investors with $90 million in net flows. The stock has generated a 27% return YTD (as of Feb. 15). The cinema operator’s revenues have been recovering since the pandemic, but they’ve yet to reach pre-2020 levels.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

All over America, crime has started to spiral out of control.  But of course some areas are much worse than others.  In particular, many of our most important core urban areas have degenerated into drug-infested, crime-ridden hellholes.  Some pundits are using the term “war zones” to describe what is taking place in these areas, and unfortunately that is not an exaggeration.  Once upon a time, the United States was one of the most civilized societies that the world had ever seen, but now we have become a cautionary tale to the rest of the planet.  The fabric of our society is steadily decaying all around us, and if we stay on the path that we are on things will only continue to get even worse.

In this article I am going to share with you 10 examples that demonstrate what I am talking about, and then at the end of the article I will reveal what all 10 examples have in common.

#1 Memphis has become one of the most dangerous cities in America, and over the weekend they had a mass shooting that made headlines all over the nation…

One person was killed and 10 were injured early Sunday after a shooting in Tennessee, according to a news release from the Memphis Police Department posted on Twitter.

Police released photos of three men they said are persons of interest shortly before noon on Sunday. One of the men may have been injured and in need of medical attention, according to police.

#2 Portland was once one of the most beautiful cities on the entire planet, but now addicts openly get high on Portland buses…

Apparently the Portland busses now have fentanyl smoking sections pic.twitter.com/BGZM3FTAhI

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 18, 2023

#3 In New York City, organized retail theft has become really big business.  And after having so much success in recent years, the thieves are starting to become extremely brazen…

The New York Police Department released footage on Thursday of four thieves who robbed a Givenchy store in Manhattan in a brazen dawn raid, smashing their way in with a hammer and fleeing on foot with $50,000 worth of goods.

The three men and one woman broke into the SoHo store at 7:30am on Saturday, NYPD said.

#4 Philadelphia has been a violent place for a long time, but what we are witnessing now is truly frightening.  On Saturday night, one police officer was ruthlessly shot in the head by an 18-year-old kid…

An 18-year-old man was arrested for fatally shooting a Philadelphia police officer in the head – before trying to steal his gun on Saturday night.

Miles Pfeffer, 18, is accused of shooting Temple University cop Chris Fitzgerald, 31, multiple times before going through his pockets and trying to steal his gun, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

#5 Seattle used to be different from other cities.  In the old days, you could take your family down to the center of Seattle without fearing for your life.  But now crimes of extreme violence have become quite common…

The violence meted out against a 29-year-old man in a restaurant parking lot on Aurora Avenue North last week was both “excessive and alarming,” according to King County prosecutors, who on Wednesday charged a 44-year-old man in the younger man’s death.

Jorge Ardon Herrera suffered at least 20 injuries to his head, including multiple jaw fractures, according to the second-degree murder charge filed against Juan Manuel Gamez-Gamez.

#6 Washington D.C. once had “good areas” and “bad areas”.  Unfortunately, almost everywhere in D.C. is a “bad area” now.  Just recently, authorities finally cleaned up an open air drug market that was operating very close to the White House “after months of promising to do so”…

The National Park Service (NPS) has cleared a dangerous homeless encampment in Washington, D.C.’s McPherson Square after months of promising to do so.

The city requested that NPS clear the park, which is situated just blocks from the White House, after three overdose deaths occurred in the last six months. The homeless people living in the camp were made aware that the city intended to have the park cleared in April, but the eviction date was moved up to Wednesday due to “high levels of illegal drug activity and other dangerous and unsafe activities,” according to the Washington Post.

#7 San Francisco has become world famous for the drug abuse that goes on in that city.  Earlier this month, a house where illegal drugs were being manufactured literally exploded…

An arrest has been made on Friday in the house explosion that occurred Thursday in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood, according to law enforcement.

Darron Price, a 53-year-old resident, was booked for manslaughter, manufacturing drugs and two counts of child endangerment.

Neighbors continued to clean up their homes Friday evening following the deadly explosion.

“The extent of the glass that was in the house was unbelievable. We picked up two garbage cans of glass and we’re still picking up glass,” said Jack Noriega.

#8 In Los Angeles, the criminals no longer have respect for anyone.  In fact, a Catholic bishop was just brutally murdered right inside his own home…

The shooting death of a Catholic bishop hailed as a ‘peacemaker’ in his predominantly Hispanic neighborhood is being treated as a homicide, police in the City of Angels said – a day after deeming the incident ‘suspicious.’

Revealed in a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, the murder probe comes roughly 24 hours after the high-ranking bishop, 69-year-old David O’Connell, was gunned down inside his Hacienda Heights home by an unknown assailant.

#9 When I was growing up, I was always told that you “don’t mess with Texas”.  But these days the criminals in Austin, Texas have the police on the run…

Welcome to Austin, TEXAS. It didn’t used to be like this. pic.twitter.com/I4iAMCvdis

— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) February 19, 2023

#10 I certainly couldn’t do an article like this without mentioning Chicago.  At this point, it is far more dangerous to be a young man in some areas of Chicago than it is to go to war…

For more than a decade, some people have used the term “Chiraq” — a mashup of Chicago and Iraq — to describe a city whose violence makes some neighborhoods feel like battle zones.

Now, researchers say they’ve found that some parts of Chicago are even deadlier for military-aged young men than what U.S. soldiers faced in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The risk of a man 18 to 29 years old dying in a shooting in the most violent ZIP code in Chicago — 60624, a swath of the West Side that includes Garfield Park — was higher than the death rate for U.S. soldiers in the Afghanistan war or for soldiers in an Army combat brigade that fought in Iraq, according to a study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

So what do every single one of these examples have in common?

In each case, the city is run by Democrats.

Our major cities did not become drug-infested, crime-ridden hellholes by accident.

Doing the wrong things leads to the wrong results.

If we remain on the path that we are currently on, our country is not going to have a future.

Previous generations were so much more civilized than we are.

Have you ever wondered why that is?

Let me leave you with an example of what a civilized society is supposed to look like…

1950s. London. Can you imagine? pic.twitter.com/yvGT28fUFU

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 14, 2023

*  *  *

It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.

The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) issued a preliminary report on the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train hauling toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, finding the incident was likely due to an overheated wheel bearing on one of the train cars. 

NTSB released the initial findings from its three-week investigation after “five DOT-105 specification tank cars (railcars 28–31 and 55) carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride” derailed and were subsequently discharged through a controlled burn to prevent a catastrophic explosion. The spill and burn have polluted the air, water, and soil — residents in the small blue-collar town and surrounding communities have reported feeling sick while some pets and wildfire have mysteriously died. 

“Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the report said. “The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB.”

Recall that we directed readers’ attention to this surveillance video over a week ago. 

OHIO – Security camera footage captured the Norfolk Southern train passing by Salem, OH with flames and sparks under at least one of the cars. #ohiotrainderailment pic.twitter.com/bh1WgiPpSr

— Emmanuelle Saliba (@_esaliba) February 15, 2023

NTSB stated the freight train’s wayside defect detector, or hot bearing detector, instructed the crew to stop the train, but it was too late when one of the bearings reached 253 degrees above average, which meets Norfolk Southern’s criteria for “critical.” At that time, while the train was traveling 47 mph, below the speed limit of 50 mph, the engineer applied the brakes but was unable. 

“After the train stopped, the crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a possible derailment,” the report said. First responders arrived on the scene around 2100 local time on Feb. 3. NTSB said first responders found:

“As a result of the derailment, 38 rail cars derailed and a fire ensued which damaged an additional 12 cars. There were 20 total hazardous material cars in the train consist—11 of which derailed.” 

A one-mile evacuation zone, impacting 2,000 East Palestine residents, was immediately implemented after the derailment. 

Two days after the derailment, the five derailed DOT-105 specification tank cars (railcars 28–31 and 55) carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride continued to experience rising temperatures. 

“This increase in temperature suggested that the vinyl chloride was undergoing a polymerization reaction, which could pose an explosion hazard,” NTSB said.

Due to the increased risk of a massive explosion, Norfolk Southern began a “controlled venting” and burned the toxic chemicals on Feb. 6. 

NTSB’s investigation is ongoing and will analyze the wheelset and bearing, as well as the venting and burning of the vinyl chloride. 

Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern is busy ripping up tracks in East Palestine to remove contaminated soil under the rails that were quickly replaced to resume train service after the derailment. 

“I said, ‘Come up with another plan to rip up those tracks and dig up that soil.’ And they gave me a plan this morning,” Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said in a CNN Town Hall on Wednesday with residents from East Palestine. “We’re gonna do what’s right for this community.”

Here’s NTSB’s full preliminary report on the East Palestine train derailment. 

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Multigeneration households are on the rise. Let’s discuss several reasons why…

Pew discusses the Demographics of Multigenerational Households.

The number of Americans who live in multigenerational family households is about four times larger than it was in the 1970s, while the number in other types of homes grew by far less. The share of the U.S. population living in multigenerational homes more than doubled over the past five decades.

After declining in earlier decades, multigenerational living has grown steadily in the U.S. since the 1970s. From 1971 to 2021, the number of people living in multigenerational households quadrupled, while the number in other types of living situations is less than double what it was. The share of the U.S. population in multigenerational homes has more than doubled, from 7% in 1971 to 18% in 2021.

Multigenerational living is growing in part because groups that account for most recent overall population growth in the U.S., including foreign-born, Asian2, Black and Hispanic Americans, are more likely to live with multiple generations under one roof. Thus, the rise in the multigenerational family household population is linked to the changing makeup of the overall U.S. population. However, multigenerational living also is rising among non-Hispanic White Americans, who accounted for a higher share of the multigenerational household population growth from 2000 to 2021 (28%) than of total population growth (9%).

Among major racial and ethnic groups, Americans who are Asian, Black or Hispanic are more likely than those who are White to live in a multigenerational family household.

About a quarter of Asian (24%), Black (26%) and Hispanic (26%) Americans lived in multigenerational households in 2021, compared with 13% of those who are White. 

Since 2000, the multigenerational household population has grown by 22.1 million people, but some groups played a larger role than others in driving that change. Americans younger than 40 accounted for almost half (49%) of the increase in the multigenerational household population but only 17% of overall population growth. In general, young adults are marrying later and staying in school longer than previous generations, which may contribute to their rising inclination to live with other family members under one roof.

Finances the Top Reason

PEW discusses the reasons in a separate article, Experiences of Adults in Multigenerational Households. 

There are a variety of reasons why adults live in multigenerational households, but financial considerations top the list. Many also say that this is just the arrangement they’ve always had or that caring for an adult family member or receiving care is a reason for their living arrangement. Relatively few say the reasons they live in a multigenerational household are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For the most part, adults living in multigenerational households say this has been a positive experience, with at least half saying their arrangement is often convenient and rewarding. Still, about a quarter say living with other adult family members can be stressful all or most of the time, and this is particularly the case among adult children living with a parent.

The experiences of adults in multigenerational households often vary by income; and, among adult children living with a parent, by age. For example, those with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle and upper incomes to say there’s not enough space to live comfortably. Younger adults (ages 25 to 39) who are living with a parent are much more likely than those ages 40 and older to see financial benefits in the arrangement and much less likely to say they contribute anything toward the mortgage or rent in their household.

Financial Stress and Demographics

Unsurprisingly, finances are a factor in 67 percent of these decisions. It’s a major factor in 40 percent of these arrangements. 

There are more households over time so the number of multigenerational households will also increase over time even if the percentages stay the same. 

However, PEW notes that non-Hispanic White Americans accounted for a higher share of the multigenerational household population growth from 2000 to 2021 (28%) than of total population growth (9%).

Judging from the cost of food and rent, it’s easy to understand the financial stress.

CPI Month-Over-Month Shelter 

CPI Data from BLS, chart by Mish

Shelter is nearly a third of the CPI. For discussion, please see CPI Accelerates 0.5 Percent in January, Up 6.4 Percent From a Year Ago.

How the Fed Messes With People’s Lives From a Mortgage Rate Perspective

For those looking to buy a home, prices are out of sight. Prices have barely started to decline but mortgage rates have more than doubled. 

Please see How the Fed Messes With People’s Lives From a Mortgage Rate Perspective for discussion.

Fifty Percent Say They Are Worse Off Than a Year Ago

Finally, Gallup reports Fifty Percent Say They Are Worse Off Than a Year Ago

Among lower-income workers, a massive 61 percent say they are worse off now than a year ago. 

Financial stress is on the rise.

Both PEW articles are about a year old. 

With rent and food prices soaring, and with mortgage rates making homes the most unaffordable in decades, I am sure PEW’s numbers are understated, perhaps by a lot.

*  *  *

Please Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

Authored by Frank Feng via The Epoch Times,

The White House criticized Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration on Wednesday, claiming they should be to blame for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The criticism came on the same day as former President Donald Trump visited the derailment site, during which he called out the Biden administration for its slow response.

“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” said Andrew Bates, a deputy White House press secretary, according to a statement.

He added, “Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water.”

Bates challenged GOP lawmakers to set things right. He also tweeted out a 2021 letter signed by 20 GOP senators, asking the Federal Railroad Administration to increase the use of automated track inspections instead of human inspections.

“There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA,” Bates said.

However, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, said last week on Twitter that the brake regulation would not have prevented the Ohio derailment, since it would have applied to “high-hazard flammable trains” (HHFT) transporting 20 or more loaded tank cars. She noted that the train derailed in Ohio was an HHFT but a “mixed freight train.”

The ECP braking rule would’ve applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3 placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars. pic.twitter.com/ReAFDSdsn7

— Jennifer Homendy (@JenniferHomendy) February 17, 2023

The train derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, while traveling from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania. The train was carrying a variety of products, including highly toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials.

To avoid a potential explosion, Norfolk Southern, the company whose train derailed, conducted a “controlled release” of the chemicals on Feb. 6, which involved burning the chemicals and releasing fumes into the air.

Many local residents in East Palestine remain concerned about local air and water quality.

Republicans

Trump met with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway on Wednesday, a visit accompanied by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).

The former president criticized the Biden administration, noting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced to send a team to East Palestine only after announced his visit.

“When I announced that I was coming, they changed their tune,” Trump said, adding that his visit “opened up the dam” for the Biden administration to act.

“What this community needs now are not excuses and all of the other things you’ve been hearing, but answers and results, and that’s what I think you’re going to see,” he added.

Several Republicans took to Twitter to applaud Trump for deciding to visit East Palestine.

“Was great to have the president in East Palestine today,” Vance wrote.

“We need to keep working to get the residents the help they need. Kudos to the mayor, the fire chief, and other local officials for performing well under impossible conditions.”

Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) thanked Trump for “continuing to show what America First looks like.”

“President Trump visits the people of East Palestine, Ohio and brings them water & supplies while Joe Biden only cares about pushing more war and US money in Ukraine,” she wrote.

Some Republicans have directed their criticism at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is scheduled to visit East Palestine on Thursday.

“19 DAYS have passed since the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. 19 DAYS,” Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) wrote on Twitter on Feb. 22. “In the meantime, Joe Biden jets off to Europe and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg just now gets around to planning a visit to the crash site.”

Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) wrote on Twitter that Buttigieg is “finally” visiting East Palestine.

“Once again, the Biden administration’s response to yet ANOTHER crisis is too little, too late,” Cline wrote. 

Exactly two years after a catastrophic, borderline failed 7Y auction spiked yields across the curve in what was at the time the first harbinger of the coming inflationary wave, moments ago we had another 7Y auction that while not nearly as ugly, was anything but good.

The high yield of 4.062% was not just a whopping 55bps higher than the 3.517% from January, but was also the highest on record, since the 7Y maturity was introduced in early 2009; by comparison the record low for the 7Y was 0.446% from July 2020; even more ominously, the auction tailed the When Issued 4.047% by 1.5bps, which was the 4th tailing auction in the last five.

The bid to cover dropped from last month’s 2.691, to 2.490 which was below the six-auction average of 2.52.

The internals were also disappointing, with Indirects awarded 65.5%, down sharply from last month’s 77.1% and below the recent average of 68.1%; and with Directs taking down 20.8%, or the most since October, Dealers were left holding 13.7% of the auction, on of the lowest Dealers awards on record.

Overall, while not quite as ugly as the Feb 2021 7Y disaster, today’s auction was the latest in a series of lousy coupon sales which saw lousy demand and even worse market digestion; the fact that this was the last coupon auction until the second week of March adds to the concern that demand in the primary market may be slipping fast now that the inflation genie is once again out of the bottle.