Mortgages, diesel and the US midterms
- US markets at near-record highs while housing costs hit stratospheric levels—the classic 'drunk on red bull and rage' economic combo.
- Diesel prices spiking means everything you buy costs more to ship, but hey, at least your 401(k) looks pretty.
- Midterm elections looming: voters may rage-vote against the party in power when their grocery bill looks like a mortgage payment.
- Stock market 'wealth effect' propping up spending is like a house of cards in a hurricane—fun to watch till it collapses.
- FT's Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong dissect the bubble, plus roast silly jackets and smokers because why not?
- summary:
Brief Summary
Ah, the eternal economic cocktail: stocks soaring to the heavens while the ground beneath the average consumer’s feet turns to quicksand. The FT’s Unhedged crew notes that Americans are still splurging, drunk on a Wall Street high that feels less like prosperity and more like the final scene of *The Wolf of Wall Street*. But here’s the rub—mortgage rates are strangling homebuyers, diesel prices are inflating every shipping container on the planet, and the gap between 'market euphoria' and 'kitchen table reality' is wider than a politician’s promise.
Why This Matters
Why should you care? Because your neighbor’s $4,000 monthly mortgage payment and the $6 diesel price are not abstract economic theories—they’re the reason your Amazon order takes eight days and your landlord wants to 're-evaluate' your lease. The midterms are shaping up to be a referendum on whether voters blame the party in power for the economy’s split personality: stock portfolios doing cartwheels while paychecks get eaten by inflation.