{"id":86692,"date":"2025-03-15T01:00:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=86692"},"modified":"2025-03-17T16:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T23:38:44","slug":"black-coffee-15-mar-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id86692-black-coffee-15-mar-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Everybody Knows"},"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

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started!<\/p>\n

Everybody knows the dice are loaded
\nEverybody rolls with their fingers crossed
\nEverybody knows the war is over
\nEverybody knows the good guys lost
\nEverybody knows the fight was fixed
\nThe poor stay poor, the rich stay rich
\nThat’s how it goes
\nEverybody knows<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Leonard Cohen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? It\u2019s and enough that the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered that the Social Security Administration was paying millions in benefits to a million people between the ages of 100 and 360 [sic]. Now DOGE is reporting that roughly 5600 loans worth $312 million went to borrowers whose only listed owner was 11 years old [sic] – or younger<\/a><\/strong><\/em> – at the time of the loan. No, really. You can bet DOGE just pissed off a whole army of rug rats who were still in the process of filling out their own<\/strong><\/em> federal loan applications. That being said \u2026 we\u2019re quite sure they\u2019re not the only<\/strong><\/em> ones in a surly mood:<\/p>\n

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h\/t: @PinellasLP<\/p><\/div>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> In other news, we noticed that Advance Auto Parts plans to finish closing all California locations<\/a> by the end of March, resulting in the loss of more than 1600 jobs. It didn\u2019t help that despite a supposedly \u201cstrong\u201d economy, the company lost $820 million in 2024. Advanced Auto Parts, which has been around since 1932, isn\u2019t finished boarding up its shops either. In the coming months, they will be shuttering all of their Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Arizona stores as well. We just hope those folks have enough cash saved up to pay for their living expenses until they find another jobs.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of economic woes, it looks like the stock market investors on Wall Street are finally catching on to what everybody on Main Street has known for a long time: Most middle-class Americans are struggling mightily just to maintain their standard of living. As a result, the week started with $1.75 trillion<\/a> wiped from US stock markets on Monday alone, marking the worst decline of 2025.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> By the end of the day on Thursday, all of the major stock indices had plunged into correction territory before picking themselves off the mat on the last trading day of the week. Even so, the Friday rally wasn’t enough to keep the Dow, S&P 500 and<\/strong><\/em> Nasdaq from all registering weekly losses of more than 2%<\/a> anyway. In fact, thanks to losing 3.1% between the Monday open and the Friday close, the Dow suffered its worst week in nearly two<\/strong><\/em> years. Oh \u2026 and speaking of plunges.<\/p>\n