Snapshots That Wow!

  • 10th May 2025

Shopping, powered by Shopify!

$292bn worth of GMV was powered by shopify enabled e-com brand websites. Even as that number is staggering, it is just a shade above one third of Amazon’s GMV!

Source: Company Presentation

Rates will remain too damn high!

“On the supply front, active listings of new homes are increasing at the fastest pace we’ve seen in years, up 13.7% YoY. The “lock-in effect” seems to be abating as many homeowners looking to move are growing tired of waiting for mortgage rates to come down.

And while still higher than a year ago, US home price increases are now decelerating at a rapid clip, showing a 2% increase over the prior year. If supply continues to increase at the current rate, this could translate into YoY price declines by the summer.”

Source: Redfin

A technical recession

US real output noted a decline due almost entirely to the enormous decline in net exports (-4.8%), with companies pulling forward their international purchases in advance of the expected tariffs. The Federal Government was also a negative detractor (-0.3%), presumably due to the DOGE cuts. Not a real recession as yet even though their consumer company earnings suggests a slowdown.

Source: Company Presentation

China + 1- the most marketed lie in financial markets

The China+1 narrative in a post covid world has been a smokescreen so far with China’s trade surplus having doubled in the past five years!

Source: FT

WTH WFH!

“The delinquency rate on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) for offices rose to 10.3% in April, near the highest on record.

Delinquency rates on these loans are now up 9 percentage points over the last 3 years By comparison, delinquency rates hit 10.7% at the post-2008 peak.”

Source: Kobeissi Letter

Everyone is a Japan at some point; some price

The most common example cited for no returns in equity market is the Japanese markets topping out in 1990-91. Yet stock markets around the world can go and have gone a long, long time with no returns. Decades, even.

Source: UBS