🇺🇸 November SNAP benefits are at risk from the government shutdown
As the nation's largest food safety net, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps 42 million low-income Americans afford groceries. While a pre-shutdown memo from the US Department of Agriculture says the program has enough in the bank to fully distribute this month's checks, a longer shutdown could mean beneficiaries could see smaller benefit amounts next month.
SNAP costs about $100 billion each year in federal funds to operate — which translates to monthly checks of roughly $25 to $1,700, depending on a household's income and number of members.
Some states have higher SNAP enrollment than others. Data collected by the US Department of Agriculture shows that about 12% of Americans were receiving benefits as of August 2025.
🇺🇸📉💸 Regional banks are facing a perfect storm of credit problems, with commercial real estate loans comprising 44% of their portfolios versus just 13% for large banks. Office loan delinquencies have hit 10.4%, approaching 2008 crisis levels, while over $1 trillion in CRE loans must refinance by year-end in a higher-rate environment.
The Fraud Factor
Recent disclosures reveal deeper problems beyond market stress. Zions Bancorporation disclosed $60 million in provisions and $50 million in write-offs related to alleged loan fraud from its California division, while Western Alliance faced similar issues. These incidents echo Jamie Dimon's warning about "more cockroaches" in the credit market, suggesting systematic underwriting problems beyond economic cycles.
The Concentration Risk
Florida Atlantic University analysis found 59 of the 158 largest banks have CRE exposures exceeding 300% of total equity capital. New York Community Bancorp's Flagstar subsidiary shows a particularly ...
🇺🇸 America is ‘going broke slowly’ says J.P. Morgan, as national debt balloons and tariff revenue looks shaky
J.P. Morgan’s David Kelly warned this weekthat while America is “going broke” it’s doing so slowly enough that markets aren’t panicking yet.
With U.S. national debt now topping $37.8 trillion and interest payments exceeding $1.2 trillion, Kelly said the debt-to-GDP ratio—already at 99.9%—will likely keep rising even under moderate growth.
Despite tariff revenues and temporary deficit relief, he cautioned that political choices or a slowdown could quickly worsen the fiscal picture, urging investors to diversify away from U.S. assets before “going broke slowly” turns fast.
🔗 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/america-going-broke-slowly-says-103935731.html