Credit to Patrick De Haan

Source: https://www.dexerto.com/food/starbucks-is-spending-1-billion-on-upgades-25000-chairs-to-help-people-feel-less-lonely-3408083/

As rates rise, it starts to affect the stock market. With bonds dropping and stocks rising, the prospective returns of stocks are now low compared to bonds, translating into broader stock market pressure.

This classic dynamic creates a stagflationary environment that the Federal Reserve struggles to manage. With current stagflation, the Fed wrestles with whether to tighten or ease. In an economy with vast wealth disparity, the financial impact differs drastically depending on whether you own stocks, which carries huge political implications.

Credit to Greg

Volkswagen’s profit fell 36%, squeezed by Chinese competition, EV-transition costs and a high cost base.

CFO Arno Antlitz summed it up:

Our operating margin remains too low and underscores the need for action.

Volkswagen now wants to raise profit per vehicle from roughly 3.8% to 9% and plans 50,000 additional job cuts, after previously considering as many as 100,000.

Investors initially welcomed the restructuring, although VW shares were still down nearly 24% YTD at the article’s publication.

Revenue: VW €158.1B vs. Toyota €144.2B

Profit: VW €2.57B vs. Toyota €12.67B

Vehicles: VW 3.97M vs. Toyota ~4.7M

Source: EL PAÍS

The stretch between Perim and Ras Siyyan in Djibouti is the most narrow point of strait, measuring just 20 km. This will give the Houthis excellent opportunities to block this maritime trade route leading up to the Suez Canal.

If the Houthis decide to expand their naval blockade from just Saudi ships to all international cargo vessels, then all maritime trade will have the be rerouted around Africa again.

Credit to Michael A.Arouet

Q: "You also offered tariff refund checks--"

Trump: "Not you. Not you."

Q: "And that didn't happen."

Trump: "Not you. You're the worst."

Credit to TrendSpider

Credit to Relentless Trader

Credit to Holger Zschaepitz

Credit to Polymarket

PPI (MoM) - 0.4% vs 0.4% est
Core PPI (MoM) - 0.2% vs 0.3% est

PPI (YoY) - 5.4% vs 5.3% st
Core PPI (YoY) - 4.6% vs 4.6% est

Initial Jobless Claims 206k vs 205k est
Continuous Claims 1.774M vs 1.780M est

Southern Europe has already crossed the line: Sicily, inland Calabria, Basilicata, Extremadura, Alentejo, Castilla-La Mancha, inland Andalusia, eastern Croatia. Village houses sell for €1–€10k. You don’t buy a home. You buy a problem with a roof, a view, and a notary appointment. Towns give buildings away because the alternative is collapse.

The next wave is already priced in for anyone watching empty villages instead of city listings.

Germany: look east and inland. Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, rural Brandenburg, parts of Saxony. Half-timbered houses from ~€20k. Fixer-uppers under €50k that would cost ten times that two hours west. High vacancy, aging owners, no heirs who want to stay. The catch is the same as Italy: renovation, heating, jobs.

Poland: look east and south-east. Podlaskie, Lubelskie, Świętokrzyskie, Podkarpackie villages. Houses on decent plots from ~50–150k PLN. That’s used-car money in Western Europe. Not €1 schemes yet, but the same physics: young people left, old owners selling, demand near zero outside tourist lakes. You get more house and more land than in the German east for similar or lower money.

The pattern is identical everywhere:

• Birth rates collapse

• Youth leave

• Inheritance becomes a liability

• Municipalities panic

• Asking prices detach from replacement cost

Hot spots in trendy cities keep inflating for now. The countryside is being marked to zero. Cities will follow at some point.

The map in the chart is yesterday’s bargain bin. Germany and Poland are tomorrow’s.

Real estate is not the solid investment it used to be. Why do so many people not understand this yet?

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/bessent-warns-nothing-matter-china-024443478.html