Via Steve Rattner: Average deposits held by the bottom half of American households more than tripled from 2019 to 2022, as pandemic aid & rapid wage growth have created unprecedented breathing room on household balance sheets (even amid high inflation). #CoSoFinance

the Child Tax Credits, in which the IRS sent families half of their 2021 Child Tax Credit as monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child, did more to lift Americans out of poverty than any program since the Great Society. Naturally, it was killed because Republicans hate the poors. Still, the wealth effect lingers. #CoSoFinance

Got #Gold? A breakdown of global central bank gold reserves shows U.S. way out in front in terms of nominal reserves; yet, as a percent of total reserves, France and Germany are catching up #CoSoFinance

The U.S. Federal Reserve HATES low jobless claims and strong jobs numbers. The Fed isn't satisfied by falling inflation. It wants to see rising unemployment, with all that entails -- poverty, misery, desperation.
The latest: Initial jobless claims at 190k vs. 214k est. & 205k in prior week; continuing claims at 1.647M vs. 1.655M est. & 1.63M prior … greatest increases in CA (+4.6k), KY (+2.6k), & ID (+316); greatest decreases in NY (-17.2k), MI (-5.5k), & GA (-5.1k)

Meet the Q-Anon Queen of Canada.
"She's telling people things that aren't true and people are believing it. They are adjusting and living their lives according to things that aren't true," said Sarteschi. "They are being harmed by it—losing their utilities, their homes, their families are suffering. And I think what people are upset about oftentimes is like there's nothing done about it." https://www.vice.com/en/article/93a4vz/romana-didulo-qanon-follower-losing-home

The S&P 500 was rejected soundly at its first attempt to push up through the downtrend, but most first tries are rejected. It could still push higher. Give it some time. #CoSoFinance

I made this chart for a report we're publishing in Japan. Global silver production actually rose in 2021 and 2022. Still below its old highs, and it's likely we hit "peak silver." These numbers come from the Silver Institute.

IEA Sees Global Oil Demand Hitting A Record High In 2023 #CoSoFinance https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/IEA-Sees-Global-Oil-Demand-Hitting-A-Record-High-In-2023.html

My work groove today. https://youtu.be/mUUD-p-nJAE

My latest column: Eat My Dust, S&P https://weissratings.com/en/wealth-wave/eat-my-dust-s-p Wealth Megatrends had a good 2022. #CoSoFinance

I'm fine with George Santos, or whatever his name is, staying in Congress. He's emblematic of a Republican party filled with lying grifters. Republicans will lie to your face that they'll help you, then help themselves. That's the message the Democrats should push.

EV Sales are red-hot: For the full year, 808,619 EVs were sold in the U.S., including 225,689 in the fourth quarter. That’s up about 66% from the 488,397 sold in all of 2022. Fourth-quarter EV sales volumes jumped about 58% from the 148,977 sold in the final quarter of 2021. #CoSoFinance https://www.marketwatch.com/articles/tesla-lost-market-share-in-q4-51673810443

Investigators are capable of distinguishing between the Trump and Biden document scandals. Are the rest of us? Certainly not the MAGA media. But then, as was wisely said: "It's hard to get a man to understand something when his paycheck depends on him not understanding it." https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-01-17/did-biden-break-the-law-by-keeping-classified-documents-probably-not

this explains why #cannabis stocks popped higher this morning. I guess hope springs eternal https://seekingalpha.com/news/3924752-first-cannabis-bill-introduced-in-new-congress

Crypto bros be like ... #CoSoFinance

Here's the teaser for The Mandalorian Season 3. https://youtu.be/Znsa4Deavgg