From the national debt to negative jobs reports, data has been piling up that suggests America’s economic bubble is ready to burst. Now, with the Fed’s most recent round of rate cuts moving through the economy, fault lines are appearing in the commercial real estate sector. The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Peter Schiff or SchiffGold. The pain is especially apparent in the so-called “CRE-CLO” bond market. CRE-CLO bonds are packaged commercial real estate mortgages comprising short-term floating rate loans. These bridge loans were recently, and most notably, used to facilitate the biggest apartment investment bubble in history, but were also used in financing other commercial real estate sectors including office, retail, hotel, industrial, and self-storage. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/commercial-real-estate-bond-distress-reaches-record-high

The last time we looked at the senior loan officer survey (SLOOS) several months ago, we found "tighter standards and weaker demand for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans to firms of all sizes over the third quarter" in addition to tighter standards and less demand for most other loan categories https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/banks-report-tighter-standards-weaker-loan-demand-some-improvement-financial-conditions

Christopher DeVocht claimed RBC Dominion Securities set him up with a margin account and substantial loans that ultimately backfired, wiping out his entire investment portfolio, Stockwatch reported on Oct. 3. The Canada-based man then hired RBC, who assigned advisers that Devotch claims were supposed to help him preserve his wealth by recommending risk mitigation strategies. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/man-turns-88k-415m-tesla-then-sues-after-losing-it-all

A small group of landlords who own hundreds of rental properties across the province have run out of money, owe over $144 million in unpaid loans and face dozens of lawsuits from creditors, according to documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/investors-bankruptcy-1.7102325

The developer bailout will help borrowers repay their loan over two generations, with projects at risk of default now able to extend their repayment term up to 55 years. https://betterdwelling.com/canada-begins-real-estate-developer-bail-out-with-55-year-loans/

Trudeau's $600 million plan to solve supply crunch includes 3D printed, prefabricated homes 🇨🇦 #resigntrudeau 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #NoMoreLiberalsAndNDP 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 #SayingTheQuietPartOutLoud 🇨🇦 https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/trudeau-housing-loans via @nationalpost

One in five Canadian restaurants may face closure over inability to repay pandemic CEBA loans 🇨🇦#resigntrudeau🇨🇦 🇨🇦#NoMoreLiberalsAndNDP🇨🇦 https://tnc.news/2024/01/20/restaurants-face-closure-ceba-loans/ via @truenorthcentre

“Buy now, pay later” (BNPL) loans surged in popularity during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November. As Christmas is less than a week away, Walmart shoppers have been greeted with a new BNPL payment at the checkout line. The increased use of BNPL is incredibly problematic for consumers with insurmountable credit card debt and depleted savings. https://www.activistpost.com/2023/12/self-checkout-kiosks-at-4500-walmarts-now-offer-buy-now-pay-later-loans-for-basic-items.html

Money supply growth can often be a helpful measure of economic activity and an indicator of coming recessions. During periods of economic boom, money supply tends to grow quickly as commercial banks make more loans. In recent months, M2 growth rates have followed a similar course to TMS growth rates, although TMS has fallen faster than M2. In October 2023, the M2 growth rate was –3.35 percent. That's down from September's growth rate of –3.35 percent. October 2023's growth rate was also well down from October 2022's rate of 1.42 percent. https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/money-supply-continues-its-biggest-collapse-great-depression

Loans are starting to go delinquent at a frightening pace, we have seen endless “banking glitches” in recent months, tens of thousands of banking employees have already been laid off, and U.S. banks are sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars of unrealized losses. Sadly, a lot more chaos is on the way. As small and mid-size banks fail, they will get gobbled up by the big boys. Of course the big boys are scrambling to survive too. In fact, it is being reported that JPMorgan Chase will close a total of 159 local branches by the end of this calendar year… https://www.activistpost.com/2023/12/we-are-witnessing-an-avalanche-of-branch-closings-as-u-s-banks-desperately-try-to-stay-alive.html