$47 billion. That's the amount of market capitalization Charles Schwab has had wiped out in just one month. The stock fell 33% between Feb. 28 and March 31. At the end of February, Charles Schwab's shares were trading at around $77.92. A month later, the price fell to $52.38. This is Charles Schwab's worst month since the October 1987 stock market crash, known as Black Monday. That day, the Dow Jones index lost 508 points, a decline of 22.6% and the largest daily decline in a stock market index at the time. Only the drop by 76% of the Icelandic stock market in 2008 would exceed this record.

In this episode of The Higher Standard, Chris and Saied examine this news and determine the effect it will have on the economy as a whole.

They discuss Federal Reserve data, showing that depositors have removed another $126 billion from U.S. banks during the week ending March 22. The biggest 25 banks lost $90 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. Smaller banks, which suffered massive withdrawals the previous week as regulators seized regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, were able to stabilize their outflows.

Chris and Saied look at a story from Forbes, indicating that more than 136,000 people lost their jobs in major layoffs at U.S. companies over the fiscal quarter ending this week, more than the prior two quarters combined, as tech and manufacturing layoffs, led by Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, surged.

They also offer some thoughts on new housing market data, showing that existing home sales dropped in 12 of the last 13 months and existing home prices peaked last June. The surge of home prices during the height of the pandemic and the jump in mortgage rates since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates last March dampened home demand.

Join Chris and Saied for this fascinating and informative conversation.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• Why cash remains king in this economy.
• How consumers can guage buy or sell opportunities.
• Why McDonald’s is closing its U.S. corporate offices as it lays off hundreds of workers.
• Why there's been mostly silence from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• And so much more...

Resources:

"Depositors yank another $126 billion from US banks" (article from Yahoo! Finance)

"Charles Schwab Loses $47 Billion in Market Value in One Month" (article from TheStreet)

"136,000 laid off in major US job cuts this quarter - more than prior two quarters combined” (Forbes via Instagram)

"McDonald's temporarily shuts US offices, prepares layoff notices, Wall Street Journal reports" (article from Reuters)

"US Housing Market in Trouble: Moody's Predicts Home Prices Will Fall in 2023 and 2024" (article from TheStreet)

"Instagram sold 44,000,000 blue checks in one day at $15 a check" (DJ Key via Instagram)

"McDonald’s closes corporate offices as it lays off hundreds of workers" (article from CNBC)