Category Archives: Market Structure and Dynamics

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its updated report on Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) trends. BNPL usage is widespread among borrower with incomes of less than $50,000 and younger than 35. Not only do BNPL...

The Wall Street Journal reports that despite low unemployment at the end of 2022, 9.3% of auto loans extended to low credit score borrowers were delinquent (30 days late or more) according to Moody’s Analytics. This is...

The New York Fed’s quarterly report showed a $16.9 trillion increase in household debt, as credit card balances increased by $61 billion in Q4 2022. Credit card debt increased $130 billion since 2021, representing the largest year-over-year...

Demand For Pre-Owned Vehicles is Slowing During and after the pandemic, the used-car market hit record high prices—the average cost was $31,095 in April 2022—as broken supply chains and chip shortages reduced inventory of new...

Fed’s 25bp Rate Hike Marks Beginning of ‘Disinflationary Process’ In his announcement of a 25bp rate increase, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the slowing of inflation and referred to the relatively modest increase as the...

Consumers Increasingly Using Credit Cards to Cover Household Expenses As reported by Bloomberg News, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey found that more than 35% of respondents are using credit cards or loans to...

Job Openings Report Higher Than Expected as Fed Watches for Change  Economists had expected the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November report, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), to fall to 10 million job...

Economists at Largest Banks Predict Recession in 2023  The Wall Street Journal reports that more than two-thirds of economists at 23 of the largest primary dealers forecast a recession this year. Factors in the latest...

ADP’s monthly payroll report, released November 30, tallied a 127,000 net increase in new positions in private payrolls, far less than economists had projected (190,000), although the Leisure and Hospitality sector still saw a strong...

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) released its Q3 report on household debt, revealing an increase in credit card balances by 15% year-over-year, the largest increase in more than 20 years. The report also cites...

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), released November 10, surprised analysts who had expected the annualized inflation rate to go to 7.9%, down from 8.2% in September. Instead, October’s CPI reported a 7.7% rate. The core index, minus the...