Another Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us...

Shoppers Are Using Record Levels of This Kind of Debt By Vic Lederman, publisher, Chaikin Analytics Another Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us... And of course, consumers are still spending plenty of money. Software giant Adobe (ADBE) publishes data on spending habits throughout the holiday season. It tracked more than $137 billion in spending during the month of November alone. That marks a 7% increase from this time last year. But another trend is developing behind the scenes here... Consumers have continued to lean on "buy now, pay later" ("BNPL") loans this season. According to Adobe's data, about 7% of November sales came from BNPL financing. And from the beginning of November through the end of December, Adobe expects consumers to spend more than $20 billion via BNPL loans. This would represent an 11% increase from the same period last year. On the surface, this doesn't look good for overall economic health... After all, more Americans taking out loans to shop may not seem like a good idea – especially given the "K-shaped economy" that I talked about yesterday. However, the bigger picture of the consumer-debt situation might not be as dire as it sounds just yet... Recommended Links: Get Ready for Tomorrow (Big Money Potential) If you have any amount of money in the markets or on the sidelines... this concerns you. Thanks to President Trump's Executive Order 14331, a massive overhaul of our banking system is underway. And tomorrow, December 5, it will all get blown wide open. You have to act fast. Click here for the full story. Emergency Briefing on Monday Morning On Monday morning, Joel Litman and Rob Spivey are going live with an emergency briefing. In short, a massive convergence of catalysts – political, economic, and calendar – just aligned to hand you the chance to see the biggest, fastest gain you've likely seen all year. In other words, once you see what's about to happen, you have a small window of opportunity to potentially DOUBLE your money in a single day – simply by getting in front of this urgent story. A Consumer-Debt Crisis Isn't Here The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis compiles quarterly data on household debt. In this specific dataset, it tracks household debt-service payments as a percentage of disposable personal income going back to 1980. Take a look at the chart below... As you can see, Americans spend about 11% of their disposable personal income on debt payments. This may seem high. But it's below the all-time average of nearly 12%. And it's nowhere close to the record highs of nearly 16% during the financial crisis. Put simply, it's not time to sound the alarm on the consumer-debt level just yet. Meanwhile, these loans could even help retailers as well. BNPL loans offer a way for folks to buy products that they might not have purchased otherwise. And this could give companies a cushion against the K-shaped economy. To be clear, it's no secret that these BNPL loans come at a steep price... Earlier this year, my colleague Ethan Goldman discussed the massive interest rates. Loans from BNPL service provider Klarna (KLAR) can come with as high as 35.99% APR. Now, Klarna also offers an interest-free "pay in four" option. But Adobe's report doesn't say just how many people used either option. Overall, it's clear that consumers are increasingly leaning on credit in their daily lives... And as I said yesterday, plenty of folks are getting more selective with their spending. But of course, they haven't outright stopped spending money. And for now, the American consumer as a whole is still going strong. Looking ahead, we'll have to keep an eye on the BNPL trend. And we'll have to wait and see how the holiday spending ultimately shakes out. Good investing, Vic Lederman P.S. As I mentioned yesterday, we've started something else "behind the scenes" at Chaikin Analytics... I've joined social media. And you can find me on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). I plan to share regular thoughts and observations on the markets. By doing that, I hope to guide everyday folks like you into making smarter decisions with your money. It's all free to follow along. So if you're looking for even more financial insights, you can check out Instagram here and X here. I'll see you over there. Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 +0.87% 9 14 7 S&P 500 +0.35% 119 232 148 Nasdaq +0.24% 26 46 28 Small Caps +1.82% 631 939 336 Bonds +0.28% Energy +1.87% 10 8 4 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks are more Bullish than Large Cap stocks. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +2.86% Information Technology +2.19% Consumer Discretionary +1.7% Financial +1.13% Industrials +0.92% Communication +0.59% Materials +0.11% Consumer Staples -0.1% Real Estate -0.96% Health Care -2.11% Utilities -2.66% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Health Care Services 22 26 12 Over the past 6 months, the Health Care Services subsector (XHS) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -4.26%. However, its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #10 of 21 subsectors and has moved down 1 slot over the past week. Top Stocks CAH Cardinal Health, Inc CYH Community Health Sys EHAB Enhabit, Inc. *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers MCHP +12.17% ON +11.01% VRTX +6.92% ODFL +6.7% HUM +6.18% Losers ARE -10.05% PSKY -7.27% NFLX -4.93% COR -4.38% DOC -4.16% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Earnings Surprises CRM Salesforce, Inc. Q3 $3.25 Beat by $0.39 SNOW Snowflake Inc. Q3 $0.35 Beat by $0.04 DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. Q0 $1.21 Beat by $0.13 GWRE Guidewire Software, Inc. Q1 $0.66 Beat by $0.05 THO THOR Industries, Inc. Q1 $0.41 Beat by $0.48 *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at STEVENMAGALLANES520.NIMS@BLOGGER.COM. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call +1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. Please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized financial advice. © 2025 Chaikin Analytics, LLC. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission from Chaikin Analytics, LLC. 201 King Of Prussia Rd., Suite 650, Radnor, PA 19087. www.chaikinanalytics.com. Any brokers mentioned constitute a partial list of available brokers and is for your information only. Chaikin Analytics, LLC, does not recommend or endorse any brokers, dealers, or investment advisors. Chaikin Analytics forbids its writers from having a financial interest in any security they recommend to our subscribers. All employees of Chaikin Analytics, LLC (and affiliated companies) must wait 24 hours after an investment recommendation is published online – or 72 hours after a direct mail publication is sent – before acting on that recommendation. This work is based on SEC filings, current events, interviews, corporate press releases, and what we've learned as financial journalists. It may contain errors, and you shouldn't make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. It's your money and your responsibility.