Jan. 14 at 3:26 PM
$SLV $GDX $GLD $JNUG $B
The slowdown is broad-based, not just driven by one volatile category:
Ex-autos: down to 3.9% (from ~5.3–5.8%)
Ex-gas: down to 2.7% (from ~5.0–5.5%)
Ex-autos & gas: down to 3.3% (from ~4.9–5.7%)
Ex-food service: down sharply to 3.2% (from ~5.5–6.0%)
Even the “core-core” style measures
(ex-food, gas, building materials & dealers) slowed to ~3.9%
Retail sales momentum slowed by roughly 2–3 percentage points, with the 3-month annualized growth rate falling from the 5–6% range to about 3.2% in November & that is significant
Growth persists, but it is no longer broad. The mass consumer is spent; the economy now leans on a narrow elite, a concentration that signals fragility, not strength. Trump is pulling out all the stops in the weeks & months ahead, front-loading stimulus, pressure, & spectacle to keep growth alive on borrowed time.
