You understand that maximally intense time in every Road Runner versus Wile E. Coyote cartoon? When the Coyote is so focused on chasing the Road Runner which he has gone beyond the edge of the cliff, though he doesn’t yet realize it? And we all understand that the Coyote will plunge to the ground as soon as he appears down.

That is the manner by which the stock market feels today, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq and also the large-cap S&P 500 index hit all-time highs this month.

I mean, like, Huh?

This, just as the COVID recession information registers the largest quarterly economic contraction perhaps and the greatest weekly unemployment filings ever. If perhaps we’d taken our prophetic crystal balls to foresee these summer of 2020 facts points back in January 2020, we’d have almost all offered our stock portfolios.

And we would have all been wrong to accomplish that.

Simply because, alternatively, possibly the stock market is the Road Runner, and investors jointly comprehend one thing we do not learn separately. Such as: The recession is going to be shallow, vaccine development as well as deployment will be fast, and hefty company earnings are nearby. Maybe virtually all is well? Beep beep!

Who knows? I know I do not. That is the great stock market secret of the day time.

There’s an additional huge unknown actively playing out underneath all that, but semi-invisibly. The stock market – Wall Street – isn’t the same as the true economic climate – Main Street. The true economy is harder and bigger to determine on a daily schedule. So the question I continue puzzling over is whether on the consumer side we are a number of old men walking.

I entail Main Street specifically, in terminology of customer acknowledgement. Mortgages, credit cards, rental payments, car payments, personal loans and student loans. I worry this’s one more Wile E. Coyote case. Much like, let’s say we’re collectively already with the cliff? Simply that no one has occurred to look down yet?

I will attempt to explain the fears of mine.

I have watched a couple of webinars of fintech executives this month (I understand, I know, I need better hobbies). These’re leaders of manufacturers which make loans for cars, autos, residences and unsecured education loans, like LendingPoint, Customers Marcus and Bank by Goldman Sachs. The professionals agree that regular data as well as FICO scores from the end user credit bureaus need to be treated with a tremendous grain of salt in COVID 19 times. Not like earlier recessions, they report that consumer credit scores have actually gone up, claiming the common customer FICO is actually up to 15 points greater.

This seems counterintuitive but has it seems that occurred for two major factors.

First, under the CARES Act, what Congress passed in March, borrowers are able to ask for forbearance or extensions on the mortgages of theirs without hit to the credit report of theirs. By law.

In addition, banks and lenders have been aggressively pursuing the classic approach of what is known flippantly in the industry as Extend and Pretend. This means banks expand the payback terminology of a bank loan, and then pretend (for both portfolio-valuation and regulatory purposes) that all is nicely with the loan.

For example, when I log onto my own mortgage lender’s website, there’s a switch asking if I’d like to ask for a payment total stand still. The CARES Act allows for an automatic extension of almost all mortgages by 6 months, in the borrower’s request.

Despite that potential relief, the Mortgage Bankers Association claimed a second quarter spike of 8.22 % in delinquencies, up almost four percent from the previous quarter.

Anecdotally, landlords I know that article that while many of the renters of theirs are current on payments, in between ten as well as 25 percent have stopped having to pay full rent. The conclusion of enhanced unemployment payments in July – that added $600 per week that supported so many – will probably have an influence on folks’ potential to pay the rent of theirs or maybe the mortgage of theirs. But the influences of that minimal money is probably merely showing up this month.

The CARES Act also suspended all payments as well as attention accrual on federally subsidized student loans until Sept. 30. In August, President Trump extended the suspension to Dec. thirty one. Outstanding pupil loans are even larger compared to the amount of credit card debt. The two bank loan market segments are more than one dolars trillion.

It seems each week that all of my charge card lenders provides me methods to fork out below the typically required quantity, due to COVID-19. Every one of the fintech managers said their business enterprises expended April and May reaching out to existing users delivering one month to six-month extensions or perhaps forbearance or much easier payment terms. I imagine that almost all of these Extend & Pretend actions explain why student loan as well as charge card delinquency prices have not noticeably enhanced this summer.

This is all nice, and probably good business, as well. however, it’s not alternative.

Main Street customers are given a large temporary break on pupil loans, mortgages and credit cards. The beefed-up unemployment payments and strong payments from the U.S. Treasury have a number of also helped. Temporarily.

When these extends and pretends all run out in September, October and next December, are we all the Coyote beyond the cliff?