Trump’s crypto conflicts continue to multiply as Democratic legislators demand ethics inquiries and block industry-backed bills

A theory of demand (and product market fit) that explains it all, and does NOT require ‘pain’ to do it.

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week: Click on graph for larger image. Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-May 2025 ICE Mortgage Monitor: Home Prices Continue to Cool 1st Look at Local Housing Markets in April Asking Rents Mostly Unchanged Year-over-year

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The key reports this week are April CPI, Retail Sales and Housing Starts. ----- Monday, May 12th ----- 2:00 PM: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices for April. ----- Tuesday, May 13th ----- 6:00 AM ET: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for April. Consumer Price Index for April from the BLS. The consensus is for 0.3% increase in CPI (up 2.4% YoY), and a 0.3% increase in core CPI (up 2.8% YoY). Q1 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit ----- Wednesday, May 14th ----- 7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index. ----- Thursday, May 15th ----- 8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for initial claims of 230 thousand, up from 228 thousand last week. 8:30 AM ET: Retail sales for April are scheduled to be released.  The consensus is for 0.1% increase in retail sales. Producer Price Index for April from the BLS. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in PPI, and a 0.3% increase in core PPI. Empire State manufacturing survey for May. The consensus is for a reading of -7.1, up from -8.1. Philly Fed manufacturing survey for May. The consensus is for a reading of -8.5, up from -26.4. Speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Framework Review, At the Thomas Laubach Research Conference, Washington, D.C. 9:15 AM: The Fed will release Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for April. NAHB homebuilder survey. The consensus is for a reading of 40 up from 39 last month.  Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good. ----- Friday, May 16th ----- 8:30 AM ET: Housing Starts for April. University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Preliminary for May).