According to an index of building occupancies in 10 major metro areas by security firm Kastle Systems, more than half of workers went to the office last week, the first time that return-to-office rates crossed 50% of their pre-pandemic levels. All of the cities tracked by the company — including San Francisco, Chicago and Austin, Texas — reached return-to-office levels of 40% or above, which was also a post-pandemic first.

In this episode of The Higher Standard, Chris and Saied examine this and many other stories and attempt to cut through the spin and the rhetoric to get at the truth.

They discuss comments from Starwood Capital's Barry Sternlicht, who said that, if Jerome Powell continues down the path that we're going, he's going to drive the economy into a horrible situation because the government won't be able to afford to pay its bills, and why that thinking is flawed.

Chris and Saied look at a survey by Pymnts.com and Lending Club, which indicates that the share of Americans who say they live paycheck-to-paycheck climbed last year to 64%, and most of the new arrivals in that category were earning more than $100,000 a year.

They also offer some thoughts on the Fed's decision to reject Wyoming-based crypto-centric bank Custodia's application to become a member of the central bank's exclusive payment system, saying that the firm's proposed business plan, and focus on crypto assets, presented significant safety and soundness risks.

Join Chris and Saied for this fascinating and informative conversation.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• Why the Fed rejected Custodia's application to join the US payment system.
• Why the market's reactions are disconnected from what the Fed is trying to accomplish.
• The five types of treasury securities
• The importance of staying true to your budget when looking for a home.
• And so much more...

Resources:

"Fed rejects crypto bank’s application to join U.S. payment system" (article from MarketWatch)

"Inflation Fell but so Did Spending. The Economic Signals Are Both Good and Bad" (article from Barron's)

"National home prices have further to fall, say 24 leading housing market researchers—while 5 firms think prices have bottomed" (article from Fortune)

"Wall Street Is Losing Out to Amateur Buyers in the Housing Slump" (article from Bloomberg)

"US offices reach 50% occupancy for the first time since Covid" (Bloomberg Business via Instagram)

"More Americans are living paycheque-to-paycheque, even those on more than $100,000" (Bloomberg Business via Instagram)