Investors Are Stuck in the Middle

Price Distortions from Stocks, Gold & Bonds on the Left — Bad Data to the Right

May 01, 2025 / By The Coastal Journal

Cue the guitars and that unmistakable shuffle beat. Like the iconic 1970s classic by Stealers Wheel, today’s investors find themselves humming nervously: “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”

And truly, stuck we are.

When those words were first sung decades ago, few could have imagined how precisely they’d describe the precarious state of today’s financial markets. Investors stand trapped between dizzyingly inflated asset prices on one side, and steadily deteriorating economic fundamentals on the other. The ground beneath our feet isn’t merely shifting—it’s quietly crumbling away.

This week's economic data delivered a troubling picture. We already broke down the negative GDP print earlier this week ( HERE ). Now, we’re seeing even clearer signs of economic deterioration: Initial unemployment claims are up 17.5% year-to-date, while continuing claims—a gauge of long-term unemployment—are up 7.5%. That’s a huge warning.

Fewer people working means less disposable income, which hits corporate earnings and, eventually, the stock market.

We’re already seeing this unfold. McDonald’s, a barometer of consumer strength, reported its worst same-store sales decline since the 2020 lockdowns—a brutal wake-up call. If Big Macs and fries can’t sell, it means Americans are cutting back sharply, feeling the pinch more than ever.

Consumers are pulling back, companies are struggling, and it’s becoming painfully clear: the party on Wall Street doesn’t match reality on Main Street. Investors who ignore these signals are dancing on thin ice.

GDP: The Great Unravelling

“Trying to make some sense of it all, but I can see it makes no sense at all.”

Indeed, none of this seems to make sense if you’re only watching stock prices recently. But beneath those soaring valuations, reality has begun to unravel. Q1 GDP shocked the optimists, printing negative—the first contraction in years. Even worse, Q2 projections from the Atlanta Fed now show growth stumbling to barely 1%—far below the steady 3% growth we’ve enjoyed these past three years. The engine that powered our economy is sputtering badly. We’re slowing toward stagnation.

Now, with the world’s largest companies reporting today, including Amazon and Apple, Golden Coast Consultants, Wall Street’s leading forensic accountants, have recently analyzed the financials of two of the market’s most prominent names. To give you the inside scoop.

Amazon: Accounting Shenanigans Behind the Growth