by John Rubino
Dollar Collapse
From Pento Portfolio Strategies:
Initial Jobless claims totaled 900,000 for the week ending January 16th, after shedding 965,000 in the week prior. These numbers are over four times greater than they were a year ago. I find this to be not only sad but also remarkable in that we are still losing close to one million jobs per week a year after the Wuhan virus first broke out. More signs of economic stress were found in the December Retail Sales report. Sales dropped 0.7% last month, and the data for November was revised down to show a decline of 1.4%, instead of the 1.1% previously reported. Figures such as these illustrate just how fragile the economy still is, which will automatically put upward pressure on the level of outstanding debt. And, gives the new Administration impetus to pass more and bigger fiscal stimulus packages. That’s really bad news for any of us left that still care about debt and deficits.
The US budget deficit is up 60.7% in only the first three months of the budget year. The amount of annual red ink so far in fiscal 2021 was a record-breaking $572.9 billion, which is $216.3 billion higher than the same October-December period a year ago. Remarkably, we are living in the good old days of fiscal rectitude when compared to what lies ahead.