The reported deterioration in household balance sheets, evidenced by rising credit card delinquencies to 13.1 percent and record $1.25 trillion balances, intersects with documented shifts in official sector participation in asset markets. Federal Reserve balance sheet data from H.4.1 releases show progressive reduction in holdings since 2022, altering the marginal bid that previously supported valuations during periods of retail accumulation. Corporate buyback activity, tracked in SEC filings and S&P Dow Jones indices, has similarly moderated amid higher financing costs, creating a potential vacuum where neither households nor institutions provide consistent demand. Primary sources such as the New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit confirm delinquency trends across income strata, while Treasury term premium estimates highlight valuation sensitivity to sustained positive real rates. Perspectives differ on transmission: some analyses emphasize temporary deleveraging, others structural dependence on credit expansion; official documents avoid causal attribution to equity prices. This pattern aligns with prior episodes of policy withdrawal where liquidity conditions tightened without immediate recession signals.