News and my thoughts from last week (14 Apr 25)
Delinquent C&I loans rose by approximately 6.4% from the previous quarter and 19.8% year over year, reaching $31.04 billion – with a delinquency ratio of 1.31%. - DalyHodl
Tim Cook explains why Apple manufactures products in China. The true reason is because of the skill, the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. Not because of labor cost since China stopped being a low-labour-cost country many years ago. The Apple CEO elaborated on the advanced tooling and precision required to produce the products and highlighted China's vocational expertise in these areas. - X user by Shen Shiwei
At the moment, Apple makes more than 80% of its products in China. Those products now receive a 145% tax when they’re imported into the U.S. after Trump’s tariffs went into effect this week.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said recent market trends show investors are moving away from the U.S. as the safest place to invest. - CNBC
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expects estimates for corporate earnings to fall amid the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. “Analysts have generally reduced their S&P estimate earnings by 5%” - CNBC
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Homebuyers need $117,000 a year to afford the median home. That’s $52,000 more than renters. This isn’t sustainable. X user Michael Burry Stock Tracker
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11.1% of active credit card accounts are now ONLY making the minimum payment, the most in history - X user Barchart
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42% of Mortgage Refinance Applications are being rejected, the most in history - X user BarChart
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30-Year Mortgage Rate back up to 7.37%, the highest level in 2 months - X user Barchart
Over 30 years, by outsourcing manufacturing, US corporates made massive profits, more than the 4 largest banks in China. So where did the money go? War and Wall St banker pockets. Nothing on infrastructure. - Jack Ma interview
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China's total debt to GDP rose to a RECORD of ~370%. The share has DOUBLED over the last 14 years. - X user Global Markets Investor
VanEck confirms that China and Russia are officially settling some energy trades in Bitcoin as the trade war ramps up. Maybe a trade war is what crypto actually needs. - X user The Kobeissi Letter
And don't let some of these politicians...let me tell you. These countries are calling me, kissing my ass, they are dying to make a [trade] deal..."please please sir let me make a deal, I'll do anything, I'll do anything sir." - RSBN"Kissing my ass" is not good diplomacy. This can be seen as rude in several cultures. Countries reach out with intent to work something out, as equals, respectfully. It may sound like begging but it is probably not. What's going to happen after this?
Is reshoring the best option? What is needed for reshoring to be successful? What can be its returns of investment?
It is always possible to build anything back in America. It is about the supply chain, procurement, skilled labor, maintenance, raw materials, packaging materials, policy and infrastructure (roads, energy, utilities). What would be the cost and lead time?
Disney's theme park division reported its lowest profit in two years in its November earnings report, and a possible looming recession would likely drive those numbers down even further. - SF Gate
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Margin calls have been made after the recent decline in the market. Can this lead to default, bankruptcy, and back runs? - MacroMicro
“Rates, equities and oil were down significantly . . . it was the breadth of moves across the board [which caused the scale of the margin calls],” adding that it was reminiscent of the sharp and broad market moves in the early months of the Covid pandemic.
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