Russia's booming stock market and currency, China's second quarter bounce and Nicolás Maduro's ability to hold power in Venezuela this year have all flown directly in the face of conventional wisdom about the power of the U.S. to cajole bad actors on the international stage through sanctions.
Why it matters: As the Trump administration mulls further punitive actions on China, Iran and a growing list of countries, there's growing evidence the U.S. is losing its coercive power.
Credit card delinquency rates in Q1 hit the highest level since 2012, with total household debt rising to nearly $14 trillion.
What it means: Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities, warns that creeping delinquency rates, and the "associated increase in interest rates on credit cards and auto loans will begin to weigh on consumer spending." While consumers are taking on more debt, Fed data also shows that delinquency rates on mortgages are at their lowest level since 2006, despite housing debt rising to $9.7 trillion in the first quarter.
Go deeper: Signs of credit crisis grow
The Fed delivered its first conflicted policy decision under Chair Jerome Powell last week, when St. Louis Fed president James Bullard opposed the decision to keep rates at their current 2.25%–2.50% level.
Driving the news: Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari, who is not a voting member of the rate-setting committee, went further on Friday, calling for an unorthodox 50-basis-point cut to U.S. overnight interest rates immediately.