Auto-Loan Balances, Burden, Subprime & Prime Delinquency Rates, and Subprime Dealer America’s Car-Mart in Q3 2024

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

Total balances of auto loans and leases for new and used vehicles rose by 1.1%, or by $18 billion in Q3 from Q2, and by 3.1% year-over-year, to $1.64 trillion, according to data from the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report.

But the 3.1% year-over-year growth rate was the second-smallest since Q1 2021, behind only Q2 this year (2.8%) and the third smallest since Q4 2018.

One of the reasons balances grew at a relatively slow rate is that more people are paying cash for their vehicles due to the higher interest rates. For new vehicles, the share of cash purchases rose to 20% in recent quarters, from 18% in Q1 2022. For used vehicles, the share of cash purchases rose to 64%, from 59% in Q1 2022, per Experian data. We’ll look at other reasons for the slower increase in a moment.

Your Trump Investment Guide

By James Rickards

Now that Trump is on his way to the White House as the 47th president, it’s not too soon to start building a portfolio that will outperform the stock market in the early years of the new Trump administration.

This kind of active asset allocation requires close attention to prospective policy details and their possible impact on specific business models. Not all stocks will perform well under the new administration. Some will perform brilliantly.

Let’s first review the likely Trump policies and then consider their impact on certain stocks and sectors.

The Revival of the American System

Under the guidance of Trump advisors Robert Lighthizer (former U.S. Trade Representative) and Peter Navarro (former Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy), Trump will pursue a twenty-first-century version of what was originally known as the American System.

Bitcoin’s path to $80K fueled by bullish derivatives trends

By Zoltan Vardai

Bitcoin’s path to $80K fueled by bullish derivatives trends

Bitcoin derivatives markets are setting up for a potential BTC rally above $80,000 before the end of 2024, fueled by excitement over a potential Trump victory.

Bitcoin may surpass $80,000 by the end of 2024 as derivatives markets and holder profitability show significant bullish signals, according to a report from crypto exchange Bitfinex shared with Cointelegraph.

price could be heading above $80,000 based on the structure of the derivatives markets, Bitfinex analysts told Cointelegraph, with options markets showing potential for a post-United States election rally. They added:

“Options market positioning indicates that over the past few weeks, end-of-year options have seen a significant rise in call open interest. The December 27th expiry and calls with an $80,000 strike price have been the primary areas of interest.”

Don't Put All Your Eggs in This Popular Basket

By Vic Lederman

Editor's note: One "basket" of stocks has nearly doubled the return of the S&P 500 Index this year. But according to Vic Lederman, the editorial director of our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics, investing in just one basket isn't a good way to generate consistent, long-term returns.

So in today's Weekend Edition, we're taking a break from our usual fare to share one of Vic's essays, recently published in the free Chaikin PowerFeed e-letter. In it, Vic explains why serious financial pain could be in store for investors who use a one-basket approach.

Huckster Jordan Belfort made a fortune selling "pink sheet" penny stocks to unsuspecting investors...

You've probably heard of Belfort before. Leonardo DiCaprio portrays him in the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street.

Belfort thought he had the system beat. But he made one fatal mistake...

His contingency plan was to store most of his ill-gotten wealth in Switzerland.