US Economy is IMPLODING (Uncut) 04-21-2025

US Economy is IMPLODING: Economic Collapse Has Begun as Foreign Investors Begin Dumping US Assets

Welcome back everyone, thank you so much for being here today. If you’re new, please take a minute to subscribe and follow my work at worldaffairsandcontext.com. I would love to see you there. The US economy is showing extremely concerning red flags and that is what we’re going to focus on in this video.

I know that we’re exposed to a ton of data every single day and I realize that it is challenging to keep up with all of it, let alone make sense of what’s going on and prepare accordingly. So today I will walk you through the latest economic data and we will cover just four top indicators that will help you gain a better understanding of just how troubling the situation actually is. First, let’s begin with the latest on the US labor market.

This is an excellent indicator and one that the Federal Reserve focuses on. In March, something significant happened in the American workforce. The number of Americans working multiple jobs jumped by 76,000 people.

That brings the total to a staggering nearly 9 million individuals, the highest. This is the highest number ever recorded. This isn’t just a random spike.

It now exceeds the previous high from 2019 by over half a million people. As a percentage of total employment, multiple job holders now make up 5.5%, a rate that we haven’t really seen since 2009, right after the Great Recession. And it’s not just about working more.

A massive 28.5 million Americans are now in part-time jobs, the third highest figure on record. Millions of people are juggling jobs just to cover basic necessities. So this isn’t something they do to have fun.

This is a necessity for them. This is something they must do to make ends meet. This isn’t about ambition, of course.

It’s about survival. This is the new reality for many Americans. Next up, I’d like to focus on one thing that I know you’re tired of hearing about, and so am I. Inflation expectations in America.

They’re not just high, they’re climbing fast. In April, one-year inflation expectations jumped by a massive 1.7 percentage points, hitting 6.7%. That is the highest level that we’ve seen since November of 1981. That’s right, of November 1981, over four decades ago.

And here’s the kicker. This marks the fourth month in a row with an increase of at least half a percentage point. Since November of 2024, short-term inflation expectations have soared by 4.1 percentage points.

That’s not a blip, that is a trend. And it doesn’t stop here. Long-term expectations over the next five years are also creeping up.

They rose to 4.4%, the highest since June of 1991. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment has plummeted, dropping to the second lowest level ever recorded. Americans aren’t just worried, they’re actually bracing for something worse.

They’re bracing for stagflation. The dangerous mix of high inflation, low growth, and weak confidence. A scenario that we haven’t really faced in decades.

The warning signs are already here. This is nothing new. The question is, what happens next? Will the Fed step in? That remains to be seen.

Now let’s move on to the third point. The third key indicator of just how not well our economy is doing is how unattractive U.S. equities are internationally. Foreign investors have been dumping U.S. stocks at a rapid pace as the result of increasing volatility.

It is a sign that global confidence in the United States is declining quite rapidly. The other day I uploaded an entire video explaining the latest freak sell-off of U.S. treasuries. If you’d like to get more information about that event, I recommend watching the video next where I go into detail and still I think I provide just enough information not to bore you.

However, let’s quickly look at the graph showing foreign investors dumping U.S. equities. As you can see here, foreign investors are pulling the plug on U.S. stocks and they’re doing it fast. In just the past week, overseas investors sold a whopping $6.5 billion from U.S. equity funds.

That is the second largest withdrawal on record. A record 50% of institutional investors intend to reduce their equity exposure, according to a Bank of America survey that was released on April the 14th. The only time that it was worse than this was March of 2023, of course during the banking crisis when outflows hit $7.5 billion.

But this isn’t just a bad week or a couple of bad weeks. It could actually signal a deeper shift. Foreign investors currently hold $18.5 trillion in U.S. stocks.

That is 20% of the entire equity market in the United States, according to Apollo Research. Now imagine what happens if that number keeps falling. What will be the balance of your 401k account or any other type of retirement account that you have? Will you even be able to retire on it? That remains unknown at this point.

And it’s not just equities. Foreigners also hold $7.2 trillion worth in U.S. treasuries, which represent 30% of the total debt market. And they hold $4.6 trillion in U.S. corporate credit, 30% of that market too.

So the message here is loud and clear. Foreign investors are getting nervous. They’re getting very nervous and they’re saying, you know what, I’m not going to expose myself to this much risk.

Volatility, uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions are pushing global money out of U.S. market. And that is precisely what I just showed you in those graphs. Is this just a correction or may this be a start of something bigger? That remains to be seen, but all signs indicate that we’re heading toward uncharted waters.

Now let’s move on to the fourth quiet troubling indicator that I want to share with you. How are U.S. businesses doing? Let’s take a look. Bankruptcies are trending up and up and up.

You’re looking at U.S. corporate bankruptcies data as of the end of the first quarter of 2025. Bankruptcies in the United States are surging and the numbers are starting to echo the darkest days of the last financial crisis. In Q1 of 2025, 188 large companies filed for bankruptcy in the United States.

That is a 49 company increase compared to the same time last year, because normally we compare this data year over year to get a sense of what the trend is. And we’re clearly seeing an increase. This is also the highest quarterly count since 2010.

Even at the height of the 2020 pandemic, the number of large bankruptcies, believe it or not, was lower. It hovered around 150. This isn’t a one-time spike.

It is part of a much bigger trend. Last year, 694 large companies went under. That is the most in 14 years.

So who’s getting hit the hardest, you may be asking. It is the industrial sector. The industrial sector leads the way with 32 bankruptcies in Q1 of this year.

Right behind them are consumer discretionary items. We’ve got 24 companies there that went under. And healthcare, healthcare is on the third place, 13 companies filed for bankruptcy.

These are businesses that touch everyday life, manufacturing, retail and services, healthcare. This message here is very clear. Bankruptcies are rising and they’re rising fast.

Whether it’s high interest rates, inflation pressure, or just a slowing economy, companies are cracking under the weight. With the trade war underway, clearly, many more companies will struggle as they find it increasingly challenging to procure materials and procure parts at an acceptable price point if those parts and materials are even available. If their profit margin shrinks, they will lay people off or they will be forced to shut down completely.

So those will be the two possible outcomes in the worst case scenario. But the trend, the trend is already clear. Bankruptcies in the United States are climbing fast, combined with rising inflation expectations and record foreign investor outflows from U.S. markets.

These trends signal growing economic stress. As volatility rises, investors and consumers alike are bracing for what could be a very tough road ahead. Let me know if you enjoyed these quick updates, if they’re useful, comment below and remember to turn on video notifications by ringing the bell so that you don’t miss my future updates.

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