Grumpy Editor

SOME AMERICANS FALL BEHIND ON CAR PAYMENTS

Some Americans are falling behind on their car payments, notes Grumpy Editor.

An analysis by Moody’s Analytics reveals 9.3 percent of auto loans to people with low credit scores were at least 30 days behind on payments at the end of 2022.

A shortage of vehicles resulted in a jump in car prices.

Many borrowers took out higher loans to meet the increased price tags.  Thus, it was more difficult for some to keep up with payments.

Borrowers who took out big loans at the height of the boom owe more than their vehicles are worth.

So they are falling behind in their payments.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

HOUSING MARKET VALUE DROPS.  In the last half of 2022, the value of the U.S. housing market shrank by the most since the real-estate bubble popped in 2008, notes Bloomberg.  After peaking at $47.7 trillion in June, total value of U.S. homes declined by $2.3 trillion, or 4.9 percent, in the second half of 2022, tallies a real estate brokerage.

ALMOST THE SAME HEADLINE OVER THE YEARS.  For years, since after the Korean War, this headline appears, at least on a weekly basis.  From: Saturday newspapers…"North Korea test-fires missiles.”

U.S. TROOPS TO TAIWAN.  The U.S. is preparing to send 100 to 200 troops to Taiwan for training amid rising tensions with China. The Michigan National Guard also will train a contingent of the Taiwanese Army.  

WHITE HOUSE MESS REOPENS.  On March 6 the White House mess will open for in-person dining for the first time in President Biden’s White House.  The wood-paneled room with a nautical theme has been closed since the winter of 2020 under COVID restrictions.

BUT IS IT REFLECTED ON YOUR BILL?  Natural gas prices have dropped moe than 65 percent since mid-December.  That’s the lowest level since 2020’s pandemic lockdown.

ANOTHER JOURNALIST IS KILLED IN MEXICO.  A Mexican news photographer dies after being stabbed and beaten in an attack in Ensenada, a popular destination of tourists from California.

DOGS AND CAR WINDOWS TRIGGER REACTION.  Proposed Florida legislation to ban dogs sticking their heads out of car windows when vehicle is in motion gets animal lovers upset.

DESPITE MONTHLY PAY HIKE, MORE SENIORS FACING HARD TIMES

 

While seniors receiving Social Security will see monthly payments rise 2.8 percent, or an average of $40 a month starting in January, the number of older Americans filing for bankruptcy has increased, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Most media, focused on other events (mainly out of Washington) have overlooked this situation.

 

Risks associated with aging include less income --- sometimes attributed to vanishing pensions --- increased health care costs and higher charges for goods and services.

 

A Consumer Bankruptcy Project study finds the rate at which Americans 65 and older are filing for bankruptcy has increased two-fold since 2013.

 

While more than 12 percent of bankruptcy filers are now seniors, only about 2 percent were in that category in 1991.

Meanwhile, nearly half of middle-class Americans now face a slide into poverty as they enter retirement, concludes a study by Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, New York.

The think tank says it is being driven by depressed earnings, lower asset values and increased health-care costs teaming to cause 74 percent in that category to plan on working past traditional retirement age. 

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

ARMY VET, 99, TOURS STATES.  With self-financing, Sidney Walton, a 99-year-old World War II Army veteran, is embarked on a 50-state excursion dubbed the No Regrets Tour.  He is making himself available to meet with anyone wishing for a last-chance encounter with one of the dwindling number of World War II veterans.  Last week Walton and his 62-year-old son, Paul, flew from Alaska to Hawaii, 14th state in the tour after visiting Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida and Alaska. Paul tells Stars & Stripes choice of each next destination is dictated by the cheapest flight available. Walton is slated to meet with President Donald Trump when he turns 100 on Feb. 11.

 

COLLEGE-EDUCATED NEWSROOM EARNS LESS.  Pew Research Center reveals  college-educated newsroom employees make less than college-educated workers in other industries and occupations. The median earnings of newsroom employees with a college degree are about $51,000, compared with about $59,000 for all other college-educated workers.

 

TESLA SALES BEAT MERCEDES-BENZ.  Tesla outsells Mercedes-Benz during the third quarter in the U.S. and could outsell BMW in the current quarter, stemming from Tesla’s Model 3 attracting more customers.

 

SCRAMBLED JETS AVOID HURRICANE MICHAEL.  While Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, sustains major damage when Hurricane Michael roared into Florida, the government saves billions of dollars by the commander scrambling the bases's 50 high-tech F-22 fighter jets and sending them to other locations.

 

WWII SAILOR VISITS FORMER SHIP.  Earl Laber, who turns 93 today as one of the last 10 surviving World War II crew members of a Navy ship that is the last of its kind still afloat, visited the USS Slater Friday at its Hudson River dock.  His three sons join him for the tour aboard the ship, now a floating museum docked at the Port of Albany since 1997. 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING.  Governments' plans for dealing with climate change are inadequate, according to a report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC says major cities and entire countries will be flooded unless countries work to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 

WALMART GETS INTO VIDEO.  Vudu, Walmart's video-on-demand service, makes a deal with MGM to create original series based on the movie studio's film and TV catalog. 

 

NETFLIX TO PRODUCE IN N.M.  Netflix plans to open a film and production center in New Mexico, planning to bring $1 billion in production to the state over the next decade while creating up to 1,000 production jobs a year.

 

AIR FORCE FIGHTERS GROUNDED.  A fighter jet crash last month in South Carolina leads to a temporary pause in all F-35 flights.  That affects 250 U.S.-owned jets plus nearly 100 that belong to other nations including Israel and Great Britain.