Persistent Delusion Among the American and NATO Defense Establishment

President Trump declared yesterday, at the start of the Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire, that Israel was absolutely “PROHIBITED” by the United States from carrying out any strikes on Lebanon because “Enough is enough!!!” Mere minutes after that declaration was posted on social media, the first strike was reported. An Israeli drone in Beit Yahoun, in southern […]

K-Shaped Economy Bites Back: Retail CRE Transactions For Shops, Malls Plunge February U.S. commercial real estate transaction activity appeared soft on the surface, but Goldman analysts believe the weak initial print will likely be revised meaningfully higher. The most notable area of weakness in last month’s transaction data was across the retail space, which is not especially surprising as the K-shaped economy continues to pressure lower-income consumers. Goldman real estate analyst Julien Blouin wrote Wednesday that the initial February reading on CRE transaction volumes showed a 13% year-over-year decline. He noted...

Here's What Happened Inside Convenience Stores When Gas Hit $4 Continuing our coverage of consumer behavior shifts at petrol stations and convenience stores, the U.S. national average for 87-octane gasoline has remained above the politically sensitive $4-a-gallon level for three weeks. Goldman analysts have released a new note indicating that a majority of convenience stores are seeing drivers buying less fuel and trading down in-store. Bonnie Herzog, managing director and senior consumer analyst at Goldman, penned a note titled Q1 "Beverage Bytes," which covers a survey of 32,000 retail locations, or...