Almost 15 million credit-card holders entered formal “hardship” programs in April to defer or reduce their payments, according to the Transunion credit-reporting agency. Almost three million auto loans were placed in similar programs. The troubled credit card accounts total about 3 percent of those Transunion tracks, 100 times more than the 0.03 percent a year earlier. The rate of ailing...
HALF OF U.S. HOUSHOLDS HIT HARD
About 47.5 percent of Americans live in a household that has lost income since February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Another 37 percent expect to lose income in the next four weeks. Households reliant on tourism or the energy industry for income were hardest hit. In tourist-dependent Hawaii, for example, 60 percent of households have lost income. In New...
U.S. MARKETS
Happy Days are here again? All those millions who dumped stocks following the lockdowns of economies around the world are counting their losses following a remarkable reversal that has pushed the S&P 500 up 34 percent from its 23 March low. President Trump tweeted today: “Stock Market up BIG, DOW crosses 25,000. S&P 500 over 3000. States should open up...
CELENTE: POLLS WRONG. TRUMP TO BEAT BIDEN
At this time in 2016, while all of the media and political experts predicted Hillary Clinton the clear winner in the race for the White House, Trends Journal publisher Gerald Celente called Trump the winner. Sticking to his “2020 Top Trend” forecast (predicted in December 2019), “ELECTION 2020: TRUMP BY DEFAULT,” Celente, once again against the media and “expert” odds,...
GLOBAL ROUNDUP
HONG KONG: Pro-democracy leaders harshly criticized a new security law set to be enacted, which they say will weaken the semi-autonomous status of the city with the mainland government. One of the leaders of the activist movement behind the months-long protest last year, Joshua Wong, posted on social media, “After this law is passed, what will happen to Hong Kong?...
ISRAEL, LEBANON, IRAN: WAR DRUMS BEATING
In the year 2000, newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak fulfilled a campaign pledge and withdrew Israeli troops out of the section of southern Lebanon near the border between the two countries. That move ended the protracted conflict between the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA) and the Lebanese guerillas led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah. For the most part, since the...
U.S. MILITARY AGAINST IRAN AND VENEZUELA?
Venezuela and Iran have something in common: both are suffering from plunging economies due in large part to harsh economic sanctions imposed on them by the United States. The two countries are seeking to help each other through a deal to trade gas for gold. Five Iranian tankers are currently heading east over the Atlantic toward Venezuela with what has...
POLLUTION VS. CORONAVIRUS: WHO CARES?
While political leaders stumble around trying to figure out how to reopen the economies they shut down, they virtually ignore a health issue far more serious than coronavirus. In last week’s Trends Journal, we noted how spiking COVID-19 casualties, as evidenced in Lombardy, Italy, where the virus first hit the West, came from highly polluted areas. Last week, The Times...
REMOTE CONTROLLING THE PUBLIC
Ready for a new acronym? “NCIT” stands for “non-contact infrared thermometer.” This refers to remote thermal cameras that can detect body temperatures at a distance. Airports, retail establishments, stadiums, arenas, concerts, offices, mass transport, etc., are expressing high interest in setting up these remote cameras, so they can identify anyone with a fever. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published...
BUSINESSES GOING UP ON COVID HIGH
The Target discount store chain saw sales ramp up 10.8 percent in its quarter ending 2 May, with online sales soaring 141 percent, compared to a gain of about 1 percent at brick-and-mortar outlets. Sales spiked as consumers stocked up on staples when the economic shutdown began, then spent more freely on electronics and clothing as people received federal stimulus...