Andrew Lokenauth

I write https://TheFinanceNewsletter.com, trusted by 100,000+ readers to get smarter with the economy, geopolitics & finance.  

20 years finance experience — Follow for daily insights & turn notifications on!

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Last Notes

2026-05-24 21:34:33 UTC

Donald Trump is now responsible for 28% of the US national debt.
That's $11 trillion. In 250 years of American history, no president has added more.
That's not an opinion. It's math.

2026-05-18 16:55:16 UTC

$10,000 invested in these IPO’s are now worth:
Sears: $0
Enron: $0
Nikola: $0
23&Me: $0
WeWork: $0
JC Penny: $0
Pets .com: $0
WorldCom: $0
Blockbuster: $0
Radio Shack: $0
Lehman Brothers: $0
Bed Bath & Beyond: $0

2026-05-18 15:15:37 UTC

- reply

There was no promotion. They told me the budget was frozen until the end of the year.
When the end of the year came, a reorg hit. My boss was let go. My role got dumped into a larger team. The promised promotion track vanished.
The other company filled the role I interviewed for, a month later.
Companies “promise” counteroffers because buying themselves more time is cheaper than finding your replacement.
Always get everything in writing. Or just walk away.

2026-05-18 15:13:34 UTC

I accepted a counteroffer early in my career. It was one of my biggest mistakes.
I had been at my job for 2 years and I had an offer from another company. It came with a better title, more money, and remote work.
When I resigned, my boss asked for 24 hours. They came back with a salary match & a verbal promise. They said a promotion was coming next quarter.
My gut told me to leave. My friends told me to leave. But I stayed because I wanted to believe them.
Next quarter arrived.

2026-05-16 14:16:46 UTC

Politican Mike Johnson says we need to let politicians trade stocks because they need the extra income.
He says: “Have some sympathy. At least let them engage in some stock trading so they can continue to take care of their family.”
Congress earns 3x what the average American make and he’s asking for your sympathy lol.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/584/676/411/333/031/original/341dd718e54f48a0.mp4

2026-05-14 23:47:12 UTC

The US deficit just hit $955 Billion in 7 months.
That's $3 billion EVERY SINGLE DAY.
And the math gets worse.
We are on track to hit nearly $2 Trillion in new debt this year alone.
Right now, 22% of your taxes go straight to paying interest on government debt.
And the Congressional Budget Office projects that in 10 years, 30% of your taxes will go toward paying interest on government debt.
That's nearly 1 in 3 dollars.
And it's only getting worse.

2026-05-14 22:38:38 UTC

100,000+ tech layoffs in 130 days.
Most people think the tech layoff wave is over. It's not. 100,000+ jobs have already been cut in 2026. And we're only 4 months in.
This isn't a layoff cycle. It's a STRUCTURAL SHIFT.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/575/311/142/814/569/original/b3008405611d01d2.png

2026-05-14 18:34:39 UTC

- reply

Business schools are in panic mode right now.
For decades, schools sold one idea.
Pay $150K now. Earn it back in 3 years.
That math doesn't work anymore.
The scam is finally collapsing.

2026-05-14 18:34:29 UTC

Business schools are now cutting MBA programs by as much as 50% due to falling demand.
Applications are collapsing and the reasons are impossible to ignore:
- AI is wiping out the white-collar jobs MBAs were built to unlock
- The job market for new grads is the weakest it's been in years
- Average MBA debt sits around $80K-$100K (before interest even kicks in)
The ROI is falling. The risk is rising.

2026-05-13 13:54:29 UTC

JUST IN: US April PPI inflation RISES to 6.0% (above expectations of 4.9%.)
Core PPI inflation RISES to 5.2% (above expectations of 4.3%.)
PPI inflation is now at its highest levels since 2022.
I’m sure everything is fine.

2026-05-12 23:17:20 UTC

The brutal truth about the economy:
Reporter: “To what extent are Americans’ financial situation motivating you to make a deal?”
Trump: “Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations.”
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/564/153/576/374/783/original/94451425351a71a1.mp4

2026-05-12 17:10:48 UTC

Here’s the math most people aren’t doing:
Wages grew 3.6% this year. Inflation hit 3.8%.
That’s a -0.2% real wage loss.
And it just happened for the first time in 3 years.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/562/712/613/781/440/original/f7524ebaaa15bcab.png

2026-05-12 16:03:54 UTC

Realizing we just printed the highest inflation reading since 2023 for a problem that never existed in the first place.
The government spent billions to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The crazy part? It was already open before we did anything at all.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/562/449/309/188/407/original/f2ef57f5fd24bc31.mp4

2026-05-12 15:09:23 UTC

JUST IN: April CPI inflation jumped to 3.8%. Higher than expected. Highest increase since 2023.
3.8% is just the average.
Energy commodities are up+29.2%
Gasoline is up +28.4%
Airfare is up +20.7%
Energy is up +17.9%
No amount of “budgeting” can excuse the fact that inflation is robbing us blind.

2026-05-09 18:49:30 UTC

- reply

Car prices are up 35%+ since 2020 and repossession rates hit a 30-year high last year.
Let that sink in.
The "American Dream" is being sold back to you on high-interest debt.

2026-05-09 18:48:58 UTC

JUST IN: US auto loans have exploded to $1.68 TRILLION. For the first time in history, car debt is bigger than credit card debt.
It now matches the total amount of U.S. student loans.
People are taking 7-10 year car loans just to afford a monthly payment.
The average American now pays $735/month just to own a car. That’s $88,200 over 10 years. On something that LOSES value every single day.
Meanwhile....

2026-05-08 21:29:07 UTC

JUST IN: Consumer confidence hit a 50-year low
And it's still dropping.
Americans feel WORSE about the economy right now than during the 2008 financial crisis. Worse than COVID. Worse than the 1970s. Think about that.
Here's the part that should worry you most:
Sentiment drives behavior. When people feel poor, they act poor. They cut spending. They delay big purchases. They pull back.
And when enough people do that at the same time, a recession they feared becomes a recession they created.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/541/079/174/828/203/original/66de98d175284f6c.png

2026-05-08 01:51:39 UTC

AOC says you can’t earn $1 billion honestly.
She says Billionaires build their wealth from exploitation and abusing workers.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/536/448/846/505/939/original/c46b3f6a894c914c.mp4

2026-05-07 21:39:24 UTC

JUST IN: Whirlpool’s CFO said appliance demand hasn’t been this low since the 2008 financial crisis.
Washing machines and refrigerators are leading economic indicators. I call it the Cardboard Box Indicator.
When the economy booms, people buy appliances. Those items ship in cardboard boxes.
When people stop buying appliances, factories stop buying cardboard. Shipping slows down. Jobs get cut.
Pay attention.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/535/456/895/129/885/original/b2e5f4d31288e403.mp4

2026-05-07 20:36:25 UTC

The Walmart CEO made $27.4 million in 2024.
The median store worker made $29,400.
That’s a 930 to 1 ratio.
A worker would have to start working centuries before the Aztec Empire even existed to earn what the CEO made in a single year.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/535/209/259/143/592/original/4d0782a095491ec2.mp4

2026-05-07 19:08:45 UTC

Salary needed to buy the median priced home:
$458,500 San Jose CA
$321,500 San Francisco CA
$235,300 San Diego CA
$224,200 Los Angeles CA
$200,300 New York NY
$190,900 Boston MA
$188,200 Seattle WA
$161,500 Washington DC
$157,000 Miami FL
$155,000 Denver CO
I’m sure everything is fine.

2026-05-07 14:38:24 UTC

California’s wealth tax would cost Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang $8 Billion.
His response was simple: “I don’t mind paying taxes.”
“Once a year we get a bill, we pay it, and it’s big. I never once thought about it.
We love this country. That’s our way of giving back.”
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/533/801/505/978/951/original/035adef79d6c9eb2.mp4

2026-05-05 18:45:29 UTC

BREAKING: Chinese court rules that companies cannot replace workers with AI.
An employee named Zhou checked AI output for a tech company.
His bosses tried to replace him with a machine.
They demanded he take a ~40% pay cut.
When he refused they fired him.
Zhou fought back and took them to court.
He won.
The company appealed the decision to a higher court.
Zhou won again.
The Hangzhou Intermediate People Court ruled that AI is not a legal excuse to break a job contract.

2026-05-04 23:30:14 UTC

now this definitely a serious recession indicator if i ever seen one
#nevent1q…j4vv

2026-05-04 21:06:55 UTC

BREAKING: Delta Air Lines will no longer offer free snacks or drinks on all flights starting May 19th (under 350 miles).
Meanwhile, Delta CEO Ed Bastian received $27.1 million in 2024.
Consumers lose, every single time.

2026-05-04 15:36:42 UTC

BREAKING: US Foreclosure filing jump to 6 year high, as more homeowners fall behind on mortgage payments, per WSJ.
Foreclosure rates are up 26% YoY with Florida and Texas topping the nation — driven by rising property taxes, insurance costs and debt strain of US homeowners, per ATTOM.
Gen Z does not understand how bad 2008 was at all. Over half of the homes in our neighborhood were in foreclosure and empty.
A home foreclosure crisis is on the horizon. Stop saying “the economy is booming”.

2026-05-03 15:23:46 UTC

The American Dream is disappearing.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/511/330/935/775/000/original/e94f5a331a8727b6.png

2026-05-02 13:38:03 UTC

JUST IN: Spirit Airlines has shut down after 34 years — leaving more than 15,000 people without jobs and leaving thousands passengers stranded.
All flights have now been canceled and customer service is no longer available.
JetBlue offered $3.8 BILLION in cash to buy Spirit in 2022 but the Govenment blocked it.
Spirt Airlines never had a fatal crash. Every Spirit flight that ever took off landed safely.
They're shutting down with a 100% perfect record.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/505/253/018/214/885/original/31ea63a70d537c3a.jpeg

2026-04-29 17:05:18 UTC

BREAKING: Gas hit $4.23 nationwide. Diesel is now $5.64. Oil hit $113.
Gas is up 42% from pre-war levels. If you spent $50 to fill up before the war, you're spending $71 now.
Diesel is up 50%. Diesel powers trucks. Trucks move everything. When diesel surges, grocery prices follow within 30-60 days.
And the UAE quit OPEC yesterday.
Iran war + OPEC breakup + Hormuz uncertainty = a structural shift in energy markets.
We're repeating the 1970s oil crisis.
The world is changing. Are you ready?

2026-04-28 18:38:38 UTC

JUST IN: China's Real Estate Market has now crashed to a 20 year low, erasing 25% of its value.
Nobody wants to hear this but this is what needs to happen in the US to fix the housing market for young people.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/483/785/326/124/297/original/865dc41410d76f49.jpeg

2026-04-26 22:33:24 UTC

BREAKING: Maryland becomes first state to ban AI ‘dynamic pricing’ in grocery stores.
This means 49 other states still allow it.
Dynamic pricing already runs airlines, hotels, and rideshares. Groceries are the next frontier.
Here's how it works:

2026-04-24 21:52:16 UTC

- reply

Cognition's SWE-1.6 is likely post-trained on Zhipu's GLM.
Zhipu just dropped GLM-5.1, an open source model that benchmarks near Claude Opus on coding tasks.
Meanwhile, the headlines keep running the same story: OpenAI vs. Anthropic vs. Google. American labs are winning. The US dominates AI.
But what's ACTUALLY deployed in production? Chinese open source.
These companies are using Kimi and Qwen because they're fast, cheap, and accurate enough for their specific tasks.

2026-04-24 21:52:07 UTC

Everyone thinks OpenAI and Google are winning the AI war. They are wrong.
The apps you use every day are running on Chinese open-source AI. And almost nobody's talking about it.
Cursor's code editor runs on Kimi K2.5.
Shopify switched to Alibaba's Qwen and saved $5 million a year.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said publicly: "We rely a lot on Qwen. It's very good, fast, and cheap."

2026-04-23 21:53:22 UTC

JUST IN: A Chinese company just recharged an EV from 0 to 80% in 7.5 minutes.
Most people have no idea what this means.
Greater Bay Technology just rolled its first all-solid-state EV battery cells off a production line.
These cells hit 260-500 Wh/kg in energy density. That's about double what most EVs run on today.
And the company's targeting mass production in 2026.

2026-04-23 14:44:30 UTC

What's the logic for Trump wanting to bail out Spirit Airlines but not cover the costs of US healthcare?
Weird how it’s ok to bail some people out but not others.

2026-04-19 14:59:25 UTC

Sorry but this is fucking crazy
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/431/962/804/254/131/original/df5b63ea6ecf31ef.png

2026-04-13 21:06:51 UTC

JUST IN: Home sellers now outnumber buyers by 600,000.
That's the largest gap ever recorded in US history.
The housing market isn't frozen because nobody wants to sell. It's frozen because nobody can AFFORD to buy.
A $400K home now costs $960 more per month today than it did in 2021.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/399/433/871/925/834/original/ff53c727bff4701b.png

2026-04-12 15:55:58 UTC

A 9-5 job with a good salary, benefits, and PTO is better than owning a business.
A low-stress job + investing can create more wealth than you think.
Entrepreneurship is great, but peace, time, and freedom is more valuable than many realize.

2026-04-09 20:21:12 UTC

In 2009 a bag of Doritos cost $3.49. Minimum wage was $7.25.
Today, $7 for a bag of Doritos while minimum wage is $7.25.
We deserve better than this.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/376/605/060/118/117/original/f4a62b8389b4c100.mp4

2026-04-06 19:50:34 UTC

Married and own a home by 30 year old in the US:
2025: 12%
2010: 25%
2000: 35%
1990: 43%
1980: 45%
1970: 48%
1960: 52%
I’m sure everything is fine.

2026-04-06 17:45:24 UTC

JUST IN: JPMorgan warns Tesla could drop 60%, giving TSLA a sell rating with a $145 price target after Tesla missed Q1 deliveries by 7,600 units and built a 50,000-unit inventory surplus.

2026-04-05 20:52:11 UTC

JUST IN: Maine is about to become the first US state to ban new data centers.
And 10 other states are right behind it.
Maine wants to freeze massive construction projects until late 2027.
The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House (with Republican support). The Senate is expected to follow. Gov. Janet Mills backs it.
And right now, at least 10 states are advancing similar bans.

2026-04-04 18:12:54 UTC

Jerome Powell: “There is effectively ZERO net job creation in the private sector.”
US job growth in February has been revised down from to a total loss of -92,000 jobs to -133,000 jobs.
It's the largest loss since December 2020.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/347/788/606/846/908/original/34b866f039e91640.mp4

2026-03-20 22:22:14 UTC

Donald Trump predicted the future.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/263/576/518/978/533/original/cdbcf440fa50000e.png

2026-03-20 21:09:10 UTC

BREAKING: Over $1,100,000,000,000 wiped out from the US stock market today.
Something big is about to happen.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/263/547/511/738/998/original/707b9809872f47a6.png

2026-03-12 17:18:23 UTC

Realizing NO amount of budgeting can fix the fact that most Americans no longer make enough money to comfortably afford homes.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/217/341/304/467/239/original/6b9e5f3e37c5be39.mp4

2026-03-09 03:41:27 UTC

This is the LARGEST oil supply disruption in history with no clear end in sight.
> Brent crude oil has surged to $115. A 25% jump in a single day. On a Sunday night.
> US stock futures have now erased over $2 trillion.
> And there are ZERO signs of this slowing down.
The last time the world saw an oil shock this severe was the 1970s. That crisis caused gas rationing and double-digit inflation.

2026-03-07 20:02:30 UTC

- reply

> Most unpredictable federal government in modern history
> Government scandals covering up crimes
> BRICS nations ditching the dollar
ALL of this is happening at the same time.
Not one. Not two. ALL of them. Simultaneously.

2026-03-07 20:01:51 UTC

We're in UNCHARTED territory.
> $36 trillion+ in national debt (and climbing fast)
> Central banks worldwide quietly dumping dollars and buying gold
> Cost of living at all-time highs
> Americans can't afford to buy homes
> Wages that can't keep up
> Credit card debt at RECORD levels
> Consumer savings rate near zero
> Social Security running out faster than projected
> Bond market flashing red
> Stock market is propped up by 7 companies
> Escalating conflict in the Middle East

2026-03-02 16:09:12 UTC

My credit score dropped when I paid off my car.
My credit score dropped when I paid off my student loans.
Credit agencies told me: "You should get more loans to increase your credit score."
The system punishes you for not owing any money.
They want you in debt forever.
Credit scoring is one of the biggest scams.

2026-02-25 18:43:31 UTC

OpenAI’s planned cash burn is insane...
Tesla burned $9.3B before turning profitable.
Netflix burned $11.1B before turning profitable.
Uber burned $11.2B before turning profitable.
OpenAI plans to burn $218B.
I’m sure everything is fine.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/132/741/603/337/337/original/6018a03fca123396.png

2026-01-27 22:11:43 UTC

Just a generation ago in the United States, our parents could afford homes, cars, college, 2-3 children, annual vacations, and then retire on a middle-class salary. What happened?

2026-01-21 23:38:21 UTC

My hospital bill that was $10k, I asked for an itemized receipt and ended up paying $500. American healthcare is a SCAM.

2026-01-12 16:55:59 UTC

There are currently no states in the US where a full-time worker earning minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment, per the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

2025-12-25 23:37:36 UTC

Imagine you win the $1.8 Billion Power Ball jackpot and suddenly you're the only billionaire getting properly taxed

2025-12-23 15:22:18 UTC

Not to be overdramatic but if the price of houses had risen at the same rate as median income since 1970 then a house in 2025 would cost an average of $138,000.

2024-03-05 01:46:59 UTC

Finance terms explained for kids:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/040/545/857/027/988/original/0b1f6c980632b8e4.png

2024-02-24 22:54:44 UTC

Your job is not your family, and will never be.
You don't owe your job anything beyond the work you're being paid to do.
Prioritize your own growth and well-being.
Never feel guilty about leaving a job for a better opportunity.
Companies are not families, they're businesses.
It's a business relationship and their primary goal is to make money.
If they can make more money by laying you off, they will.

2024-02-11 02:03:26 UTC

Never let a job steal your life.
The company you work for is not your family, you don't owe a job anything beyond the work you're being paid for.
Prioritize your well-being over misplaced loyalty, and never feel guilty about leaving a job.
Companies aren't families, they're businesses. It's a business relationship and their goal is to make money.
If they can make more money by laying you off, they will.
If you have an opportunity to better yourself, never feel guilty about taking it.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/910/375/545/521/129/original/84e09b4d18a32929.png