New car prices are up less than half a percent this year. Used car prices are actually down. By the usual logic, that should make car ownership easier right now. Auto loan delinquencies just hit their worst level in 32 years, so something else is going on.
Jensen’s weirdest, wildest prediction yet
Editor's Note: Marc Chaikin, the 60-year Wall Street legend who called Nvidia before it soared 45,000%, says a dramatic shift in AI is unfolding right now behind locked doors in Silicon Valley. Marc has called everything from the COVID crash to the 2022 tech wreck to this year's SaaSpocalypse. So, when he says there's only a small window of time to position your money before the stock market cleaves in two this summer, it pays to make the simple money moves he’s suggesting below – before it's too late.
Dear Reader,
An irreversible acceleration in AI is set to cleave the stock market in two this summer.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang projects this newly-advanced form of AI could soon be running billion-dollar companies – without any human involvement.
Right now, there's only a small window of time to position your money before this "godlike" AI technology cleaves the market into two classes of stocks – winners and losers.
It's important to recognize that the most important moment in financial history is NOW.
As AI wakes up and gains free will, I've prepared a FREE investment playbook specifically for this very moment.
Including a very time-sensitive backdoor opportunity to claim a pre-IPO stake in Anthropic before they go public.
Get your FREE investment playbook here – and make your move before the market closes today.
Sincerely,
Marc Chaikin
Founder, Chaikin Analytics
P.S. I helped build three indexes for the NASDAQ during my 60 years on Wall Street and you can find the tools I developed on every Bloomberg terminal in the world.
My job is spotting major turning points in the market and knowing exactly what they mean for you and your money.
If you're someone who wishes AI didn't exist, then please watch my briefing to make sure your money is NOT tied up in the stocks I believe could go to zero as a result of this tipping point in AI technology.
And if you are someone hoping to ride the AI boom to generational wealth, you'll definitely want to get my No. 1 picks for a brand-new world order.
I've never before given away this much research at no cost, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. To get started, click here now.
Sticker Prices Cooled Off
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, new vehicle prices rose just 0.2% year over year through June, while used car and truck prices actually fell 2.0% over the same period. After years of sticker shock, the price side of the car-buying equation has genuinely calmed down. If prices were the whole story, this would read as good news for anyone shopping for a car.
The Debt Behind Those Cars Is a Different Story
Total outstanding auto loan debt in the US has climbed to a record $1.68 trillion. Subprime borrowers, those with weaker credit, are now showing 60-plus day delinquency rates at their highest level in 32 years, the worst since January 1994. The New York Fed puts it more broadly too: 5.6% of all outstanding auto debt was 90 or more days past due in the first quarter of this year, up over 12% from a year earlier. Calm prices and rising defaults are showing up in the same market at the same time.
It's Not Hitting Everyone the Same Way
Prime borrowers, people with strong credit, are doing just fine. Their delinquency rates have stayed healthy and stable through this entire stretch. The stress is concentrated almost entirely among subprime borrowers, who have now spent close to four straight years in what amounts to the worst auto credit conditions in three decades. Meanwhile, monthly payments keep climbing regardless of credit tier: the average new vehicle payment is now around $770 a month, up nearly 3% from a year earlier, with used and leased vehicle payments rising too. Prices flattened. Payments didn't.
Final Take
A car market with flat prices and record delinquencies isn't a contradiction once you separate who's actually struggling. If your own credit and budget are solid, this looks like a fine time to buy, with prices cooler than they've been in years. If you're closer to the subprime end of the market, the sticker price was never really the problem, the monthly payment and what happens if you miss one is. Those two experiences of the same car market are getting further apart, not closer together.
Written by Deniss Slinkins
Millionaire Core
Watch Your Mailbox for Elon’s Weird Package (Sponsored by InvestorPlace Media)
Nvidia is ALL-IN on “Accelerated AI” (Sponsored by Brownstone Research)
Backed By Elon Musk, This Could be the Next Hot IPO (Sponsored by Brownstone Research)
