It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little Joe …
Welcome to another exciting edition of Black Coffee, your unusual weekly digest of what’s going on in the world of money and personal finance.
Well… another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started!
Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.
– Lucius Seneca
Credits and debits
Credit: Have you seen this? This week, the IRS unveiled the higher federal ones tax brackets for 2026 to adjust for inflation, with the top rate of 37% applying to individuals with taxable income over $640,600 and to married couples who jointly earn $768,700 or more. The standard deduction will also increase – from $16,100 for single taxpayers to $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. Even better: the long term capital gains tax rate for annual investment returns under $49,450 for singles and $98,900 for married couples is zero. (Psst. Please don’t crash the party and tell Congress.)
Debit: In other news, a new study from Wells Fargo Securities has found that insured losses from this year’s Southern California wildfires $30 billion. Within that total, about 85% of the losses are expected to come from homeowners’ insurance policies, while 13.5% will be commercial real estate and 1.5% will be personal auto losses. The problem is that very few building permits are issued in fire zones thanks to local and state government bureaucrats who strangle these poor homeowners with miles of red tape. You can bet the system wouldn’t be so screwed up if this were 1930…
Debit: Speaking of building permits, they have been steadily declining since the end of 2021 – this is a historically reliable recession signal. Maybe that’s why Google searches for “mortgage assistance”have surpassed the levels seen during the 2008 housing crisis. Oh. But there are plenty more recession signals – for those looking for…
Debit: Of course, it’s not just homeowners with mortgages who are struggling to stay afloat financially – many renters are drowning in a sea of red ink at. The number of late payments by apartment tenants has steadily increased since April 2024. The good news is that the stock market is still hitting new all-time highs almost every week! And then this is also the case:
h/t: Mike Maloney
Debit: The commercial real estate (CRE) market is in full swing still shaky groundwith national office vacancy rates rising to an unprecedented 21% at the end of June, according to the most recently available data. However, vacancy rates are much worse in many large cities. For example, in Charlotte and New York City this is 23%, while in San Francisco it is 28% and Denver a whopping 37%. That said, CRE is not the only something that seems to crumble before our eyes…
h/t: @spillthememes
Debit: The good news is that there is a new financial technology company that makes that possible for people terrible credit scores leverage the equity in their depreciating used cars at a 30% interest rate even if it is not paid off, in which case the entire car loan is transferred. After signing up, the company – known as Yendo – issues the borrower with a credit card, which carries an additional 3% fee when used at an ATM to withdraw money. The good news is that it also rewards its suckers – er, customers – with 1.5% cashback on all purchases!
Debit: Speaking of paying the bills, U.S. tax revenues are more than up sixfold since 1980; that is not a revenue problem. The problem is that America’s debts has increased 38 times during the same period. Try to run your such a household. On second thought, if making a living by printing counterfeit money were actually legal for us citizens, I would do it probably definitely use that strategy too. After all, it’s better than making a living with the sweat on your brow – especially on days like these:
Debit: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was asked this week for his thoughts on the surging gold price, in light of the fact that former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan used to view the gold price as an indicator of the market’s perception of inflation risk. Not surprising, Powell refused to respond. That’s because bankers will never publicly admit to committing immoral monetary scams since 1971 – and that scam is finally being exposed by the yellow metal. As for silver, for those who haven’t noticed, there is a supply crunch now…
Credit: Macro analyst Matthew Piepenberg warned last week that the current global debt-based monetary system “is in sight. It is deliberate policy theft; the engineered demise of the US dollar (USD) as unsustainable debt is hitting a breaking point. This is the ‘currency breaking point’.”Stalingrad moment,” where the credit balloon explodes and your savings “melts like an ice cube.” If only there was a proven safe haven where investors could find shelter from the storm. Oh, wait…
Debit: Indeed, the illusion of prosperity is finally crumbling. We know this because stocks continue to rise despite the USD falling more than 10% and declining economic data. At the same time, gold and silver are up more than 50% this year alone as the Fed cuts inflation. This is not prosperity; nor is it an economic boom. It is a flight of fiat; a currency crisis playing out in slow motion. More to the point, we are witnessing the death throes of a system, priced on paper and powered by the monetary hocus-pocus of USDs conjured up out of nowhere to ‘pay’ for real things produced by real people…
h/t: @jameshenryand
Credit: We conclude this week’s overview with this fact: Did you know that since 2019 there has been a 92% correlation between bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100? It is true – which further reinforces many analyst claims, including my own, that Bitcoin is not a safe haven, but a highly speculative risk asset masquerading as a safe haven. Sorry, crypto brothers – but the facts don’t lie. Only precious metals can save your hard-earned savings from a devastating currency crisis. Even JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon understands that. Well…at least he does now. Do you have gold (and/or silver)?
By the numbers
Here are the current 10 highest mortgage delinquencies in 260 metro areas and all 50 states:
5.3% Yuma, AZ
5.4% Charleston, WV
5.5% Dover, DE
5.8% Shreveport, LA
6.2% Beaumont, Texas
6.3% More Charles, LA
6.5% Baton Rouge, LA
6.7% McAllen, Texas
7.1% Florence, SC
10.3% Laredo, Texas
Source: Construction coverage
The question of the week
The result of last week’s survey
How many hours do you sleep on average? 💤
More than 1,900 Len Penzo dot Com readers answered last week’s survey question and it turns out that, like me, seven in ten of you get by on less than eight hours of sleep a night. Six to seven hours is usually more than enough for me.
If You If you have a question that you would like to see here, please send it to me Len@LenPenzo.com and be sure to include “Question of the Week” in the subject line.
Useless news: Wall Street merger
NEW YORK, (AP) — In a move that rocked Wall Street today, Bert and Ernie announced they have merged to form Bernie, a giant felt conglomerate that will take them to the No. 2 position, ahead of Big Bird and just behind Barney.
In recent years, the two had lost sponsorship of the letter P and the number 5; Analysts say the merger will help improve their market share.
“This is a logical step for us,” says Bert. “Sharing is our favorite word.”
(h/t: Barbara)
Squirrel Cam
When there’s a bully at the picnic table, it pays to be patient…
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More useless news
Here are the top five (and bottom) Canadian provinces and territories in terms of average page views per visit here on Len Penzo dot Com in the last 30 days:
1. Nova Scotia (2.05 pages/visit)
2. Newfoundland and Labrador (1.98)
3. Prince Edward Island (1.86)
4. Northwest Territories (1.75)
5. Alberta (1.52)
9. Ontario (1.34)
10. Saskatchewan (1.33)
11. Yukon (1.28)
12. Nunavut (1.25)
13. Quebec (1.13)
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(The best of) Letters, I get letters
Every week I post the most interesting question or comment, that is, if I get one. And people who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbox will get their letter marked here, whether it is interesting or not! You can reach me at: Len@LenPenzo.com
After reading my post on how to find a pest control company that won’t rip you off, Jeff Madison left this comment:
My wife and I have a terrible ant problem in our house, so we may need to find someone who has a permit.
You should if you want me to invite you to my next picnic.
If you enjoyed and found this edition of Black Coffee informative, please forward it to your friends and family. Thank you! 😀
My name is Len Penzo and I approved this message.
Photo credit: stock photo
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