
Welcome to the Twilight Zone
Making sense of the current economic and financial environment
This segment first appeared in the November 2022 episode of Exploring Atlanta. Please click on the audio player below to listen…
Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series, The Twilight Zone. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to common science fiction and fantasy tropes. The first series, shot entirely in black and white, ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.
In the latest episode of the Atlanta Real Estate Report podcast, I share some charts and thoughts about the extraordinary nature of the times we are living in right now. Click on the “Listen Now” button below to access that segment…
“The idea of persistent low rates has wormed its way into everything: investor thinking, market forecasts, inflation expectations, valuation models, leverage ratios, debt ratings, affordability metrics, housing prices and corporate behavior. By truncating downside volatility, forestalling business failures and postponing the day of reckoning, such policies have persuaded investors that risk has gone into hibernation or simply vanished.” — Seth Klarman @ The Baupost Group
“Let every man, every corporation, and especially every village, town, and city, every country and state, get out of debt and keep out of debt. It is the debtor that is ruined by hard times.” — Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th POTUS (July 13, 1879)
“A disconnect between finance and the real world lies at the heart of all great bubbles.” — Edward Chancellor, The Price of Time


“My colleagues and I are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2-percent goal. We have both the tools that we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses. Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy. Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone. In particular, without price stability we will not achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.”
Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve, 11.02.22
‘The Fed is breaking things’ – Here’s what has Wall Street on edge as risks rise around the world (CBNC)
Fed Funds Rate History: Its Highs, Lows, and Charts (The Balance)
Learning Resources
Recent News (as of 3/17/23)
Market Snapshot by Liz Ann Sonders — Charles Schwab, 3/16/23 — Highly Recommend!
Change Makes Fools of Us All — Ezra Klein @ NY Times, 3/18/23 — Highly Recommend!
Dow closes nearly 400 points lower on Friday as First Republic and regional banks resume slide: Live updates — CNBC, 3/16/23
Why bond-market volatility is at its highest since the 2008 financial crisis amid rolling fallout from banks — Market Watch 3/17/23
From SVB’s sudden collapse to Credit Suisse’s fallout: 8 charts show turbulence in financial markets — Market Watch, 3/17/23
What Gets Lost When You Rescue Markets — WSJ, 3/17/23
Midsize U.S. banks reportedly ask the FDIC to insure all deposits for two years — CNBC, 3/18/23
First Republic, SVB, Credit Suisse Show How Higher Interest Rates Caught Up With Banks — WSJ, 3/18/23
UBS buys Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion as regulators look to shore up the global banking system — CNBC, 3/19/23
Newsletters & Subscriptions
Barron’s & Wall Street Journal
Lance Lambert (real estate)
Hoya Capital Channel (REIT focus)
YouTube Channels (blogs and vlogs)
Liz Young interview (business cycle)
Liz Young’s 2023 market outlook (business cycle)
Podcasts
Odd Lots, Bloomberg
Planet Money, NPR
Risk Reversal, Adami + Moses + Nathan
Real Estate Today, NAR
REconomy Podcast™, First American