(KRON) — On today’s installment of Winners & Losers, financial expert Rob Black discusses stocks turning higher, Americans opening a record number of credit cards and car dealers having little to sell this Fourth of July.
Winner: Stocks edge up despite lingering concerns
Stocks turned higher, shaking off Tuesday’s losses as investors remained focused on mounting signs of a slowdown in US economic growth.
Bitcoin fell, and prices briefly dropped below $20,000.
West Texas intermediate crude oil futures rose above $113 per barrel for the first time in two weeks.
U.S. FCC commissioner wants Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores. TikTok is not just another video app. That’s the sheep’s clothing. It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.
Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital plunges into liquidation as crypto market crash takes toll
Delta offers free flight changes over July Fourth weekend ahead of possible “operational challenges.” Fourth of July weekend is expected to be the busiest for air travel since before the pandemic.
Loser: Americans opened a record number of credit cards
As Americans grapple with inflation, the number of new credit cards have surged as more Americans rely on them to keep up with high prices.
Revolving credit (credit cards and lines of credit) increased by 19.6% from the previous year to $1.103 trillion.
This number is an all-time high, breaking the pre-COVID-19 record of $1.092 trillion in 2019.
Americans received 11.5 million new bank credit cards through February 2022. This is a 31.4% increase from the previous year.
The total new credit limits saw a 59.2% increase from the previous year.
Total credit limits now stand at $4.12 trillion, $224 billion above the pre-pandemic level.
Household debt at the end of the quarter increased by $266 billion. Total household debt reached $15.84 trillion, $1.7 trillion higher than at the end of 2019.
Loser: Fourth of July car selling weekend
Fourth of July has historically been a lucrative time for car buyers, but it’s still a sellers market.
Instead of gearing up for big Fourth of July hoopla, car dealers face another year with little to sell.
Car dealers that have new cars to sell may try to charge $10,000 or more above the sticker price on popular models or take orders for cars that won’t be delivered for weeks.
Used car prices have eased slightly, but it’s still a sellers’ market.
Car shoppers are reeling. Forced back to the office, motorists face not only shocking gasoline prices but rising interest rates when they go to replace worn-out vehicles.
CarMax, the nation’s largest used car dealership network, sold 11% fewer used cars compared to a year ago, but that the average selling price rose $6,300 per vehicle, or 28%, over the same period.
Sticker shock has translated into payment trauma. Buyers plunked down an average $648 a month in the first quarter for a new car and $503 for a used car,.
The average new car loan ran 69.5 months.
Buy a vehicle likely to hold its value.
Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma and Tundra pickups, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro all fell less than 25% in value.
