1/8/07 U.S. consumer credit rises $12.33 bln in November. U.S. consumer credit rose $12.33 billion in November as Americans loaded up on credit-card debt, while closed-end loans for items such as cars, educations and holidays recovered from an October decline, the Federal Reserve reported on Monday.
Consumer credit rose by a 6.23 percent annual rate to $2.390 trillion in November, compared to a revised October fall of $1.25 billion. October's 0.63 annual percentage rate fall was the biggest since a 0.96 percent drop in October 1992.
06/09/05 The amount of new debt taken on by Americans rose 10% in the first quarter, to $24.8 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. It was the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2003. Federal government debt rose 13.8%, its fastest quarterly pace in two years. U.S. mortgage debt rose 10.5% in the first quarter and business debt rose 7.5%, the Fed said.
05/01/05 Philip Coggan reports in the Financial Times that in 1992 US household liabilities were the equivalent of 80-90 per cent of disposable incomes. The ratio is now almost 120 per cent.