{"id":75864,"date":"2022-11-26T01:15:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T09:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=75864"},"modified":"2023-12-29T13:56:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T21:56:08","slug":"black-coffee-26-nov-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id75864-black-coffee-26-nov-2022.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Buying High and Selling Low"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I hope everybody had a wonderful week. And with that, let’s get right to this week’s commentary, shall we?<\/p>\n

If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

–Yogi Berra<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Global demand for silver is expected to rise 16% this year to 1.2 billion ounces, creating the biggest deficit in decades<\/a>. That could mean higher producer prices for the automotive and green energy industries, as automakers and solar panels account for 5% and 10% of global silver demand, respectively. That being said, the automotive industry doesn’t need any more reasons to raise prices:<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, the cost of home ownership just got a lot tougher<\/a> in October for those looking to buy, as higher rates pushed the monthly mortgage payment to record highs. How much higher? Well … the median monthly payment in the US increased more than 3% since September, from $1941 to $2012, marking a new higher for the survey. More alarming, the median mortgage payment is now 46% higher than it was in October 2021 – and and $650 higher through the first 10 months of this year. Obviously, that means most new home buyers have to end up cutting elsewhere to compensate for these higher prices.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Needless to say, decreasing home buyer affordability was a big reason why US existing home sales in October plunged 5.9% from the previous month, making it the ninth straight monthly decline<\/a> for the housing market. The decline pushed the year-over-year drop in existing home sales to negative 28.4% – that\u2019s the worst level since 2008. The trouble is: nobody can say for sure when the housing market is going to hit rock bottom. Then again, if you ask your local realtor, they’ll tell you that it’s never been a better time to buy. Just as it was last year, or the year before that, or the year before that, or …<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, it’s not just home buyers who are beginning to lose confidence in the markets. A new study has found that recent declines in the stock market, surging inflation and rising interest rates have eroded investors\u2019 confidence<\/a> about their retirement. In fact, 86% of survey respondents are concerned or very concerned about inflation, and 79% are concerned or very concerned about the stock market. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that 45% of surveyed investors also said they’re no longer confident that they’ll have enough money to live comfortably in their golden years. To be sure, that’s an eye-opening admission, although clearly not as surprising as this<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n