A number of long-term trends are reversing, and most of those reversals are not to the good. From Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman at bonnerprivateresearch.com:
(Source: Getty Images)
Bill Bonner, reckoning today from Youghal, Ireland…
Today is the first day of winter. The sun, now barely clearing the roof of our garage, at midday, can begin to rise again. One season gives way to another. Darkness (it gets dark here at 4 in the afternoon) gives way to light. Things change.
In Japan, the deciders have finally decided to let savers earn a little interest. Bloomberg:
Global Era of Negative Yields Is Ending as Japan Note Tops Zero
Japan’s two-year yield rose above zero for the first time since 2015, bringing the global era of negative yields closer to an end.
The rate added as much as two basis points to 0.01% on Wednesday, according to Japan Bond Trading Co. data, as the country’s debt extended declines after the central bank doubled its cap on 10-year yields on Tuesday. All other benchmark tenors have yields above zero and Bloomberg’s gauge of global negative-yielding debt only contains short-term Japanese bonds.
And in the US, higher interest rates are beginning to sting. Bloomberg again:
US Housing Starts, Permits Fall on Slide in Single-Family Homes
New US home construction continued to decline in November and permits plunged as high borrowing costs paired with widespread inflation eroded housing affordability and demand.
STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC 