US Economy - News, Updates and Discussion

[AZ_HighCountry]

Will just drop this right here:

Top CEOs brace for downturn, warn US economy will worsen in next 6 months

CEO confidence plummeted from a reading of 59 to 47 in just one quarter, as corporate leaders report worsening economic conditions and shrinking hiring plans.

www.foxbusiness.com

Going into an election cycle, this will no doubt worry many at the worker level.

 

[Ali_Baba]

Not hard to understand why credit card debt is increasing.

What's worse is knowing a good number of those people will be declaring bankruptcy as a result.

A forming credit debt crisis combined with a oil supply crisis, combined with an incoming food availability crisis, combined with an inflation bomb that is about to go off, combined with the popping of the AI bubble, combined with an impending economic depression - all so that the USA and Israel had to have their little wars in the middle east ...

It does feel like the start of something that will make 2008 look like a warm up act for the big "one" we are about to see now.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

A forming credit debt crisis combined with a oil supply crisis, combined with an incoming food availability crisis, combined with an inflation bomb that is about to go off, combined with the popping of the AI bubble, combined with an impending economic depression - all so that the USA and Israel had to have their little wars in the middle east ...

It does feel like the start of something that will make 2008 look like a warm up act for the big "one" we are about to see now.

That along with the news posted above in #751, the worries of many Americans are about to increase, not decrease.

Here in AZ-land, we have an idiot for a governor talking about how she is "laser-focused" on affordability for everyday Arizonans, yet, during her current term, she has managed to:

• stifle the housing market with idiotic policies regarding development
• while in turn is pushing for more solar farms and data centers. Especially data centers.
• went from a budget surplus to a budget deficit of which USD$340M she is unable to account for
• vetoed the most bills in the history of the state all while blaming Washington for the issues

 

[F-22Raptor]

-ISM manufacturing at 54 for May, the highest expansion in 4 years.

- stocks continue to reach record highs

- Brent crude remains under $100

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

That's nice.

In the meantime, US gasoline inventories have fallen for 15 straight weeks. Refineries are operating at near max capacity. Any interruption such as a refinery outage, pipeline disruptions, or continued geopolitical tensions will have a negative impact.

FWIW, for the month of April 2026, refinery outages have impacted production by approx. 150,000 bbls per day. That may not seem like much until you look at the break-down on what is refined. Finished gasoline has actually been on a downward trend since Nov. 2025.

 

[Watandar]

Will just drop this right here:

Top CEOs brace for downturn, warn US economy will worsen in next 6 months

CEO confidence plummeted from a reading of 59 to 47 in just one quarter, as corporate leaders report worsening economic conditions and shrinking hiring plans.

www.foxbusiness.com

Going into an election cycle, this will no doubt worry many at the worker level.

These bozo C-suites only have one solution to an economic slowdown : employee layoffs

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Some of us have been saying for awhile now in this as well as the US Perspectives thread that things aren't as rosy as some people want to believe.

Inflation is squeezing American consumers and the Fed's latest report shows it's getting worse

Federal Reserve Beige Book finds inflation rising at a strong pace across most districts, driven by energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict.

www.foxbusiness.com

Everything in this article confirms what we've been saying. In just about every category we've been discussing.

Let's also not forget what I posted a night or two ago regarding gasoline inventories in the US. Supply has dropped for 15 straight weeks and has actually shown a decline since Nov. Lubricants are also starting to see some pressure.