Category: household debt

Statistics Canada Says Household Debt-to-Income Ratio up in Q1

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owe relative to their income rose in the first quarter of the year as disposable income fell even as debt levels continued to rise. The agency says that on a seasonally adjusted basis, household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income rose to 184.5 percent in…


American Consumer Credit Growth Last Month Rose to Its Fastest Pace Since November

U.S. consumer credit growth accelerated in April to the fastest pace since November 2022, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve. The June 7 data on consumer credit, or G.19, comes after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in May by 25 basis points, to a range of 5.0–5.25 percent. Many economists are worried that…


American Household Debt Surpasses $17 Trillion for the First Time

Americans’ household debt surpassed a historic $17 trillion for the first time ever, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported (pdf) May 15. Total consumer debt in the United States hit $17.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of $148 billion, or 0.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2022. That debt…


Household Debt Jumps by Biggest Amount in Two Decades to Record $16.9 Trillion

Americans are borrowing like never before, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve revealing that U.S. household debt swelled to a record $16.9 trillion in the final quarter of 2022, notching the largest quarterly increase in 20 years. Total debt balances grew by $394 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, driven…


Household Debt Jumps by Biggest Amount in 2 Decades to Record $16.9 Trillion

Americans are borrowing like never before, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve that revealed U.S. household debt swelled to a record $16.9 trillion in the final quarter of 2022, notching the largest quarterly increase in 20 years. Total debt balances grew by $394 billion in the fourth quarter, driven mostly by a…


US Household Debt Is Staggering

Commentary U.S. household debt increased by 15.2 percent last year and now stands at 36 percent of the GDP, while household financial savings are at the lowest in 30 years. Household savings fell from 7.3 percent of GDP in 2021 to 4 percent of GDP in 2022. If savings do not increase, consumption and investment…


Household Debt Sees Biggest Jump In 15 Years As Americans Rely More On Credit Amid Soaring Inflation

American households saw their debt jump the most in 15 years in the third quarter, due to a surge in credit card use and mortgage balances. Debt accumulated during that period shot up by $351 billion for the largest quarterly increase since 2007, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Nov. 15….


Here Is What Stagflation Looks Like

Commentary Yes, we have some stagflation. Subsequent to the pre-COVID peak in Q4 2019, real final sales of domestic product have slowed to a crawl, rising by just0.73 percent per annum during the last 2.5 years. We much prefer this measure over real GDP because it removes the abrupt inventory swings from quarter to quarter, which…


U.S. Household Saving Rate Vanishes, Credit Card Debt Soars

Commentary The U.S. consumption figure seems robust. A 0.9 percent rise in personal spending in April looks good on paper, especially considering the challenges that the economy faces. This apparently strong figure is supporting an average consensus estimate for the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of 3 percent, according to Blue Chip Financial Forecasts. However,…


US Household Debt Hits Fresh Record High of Nearly $16 Trillion, NY Fed Says

Total U.S. household debt surged to a fresh all-time high of nearly $16 trillion to kick off 2022, the latest Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) data showed. According to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, household borrowing surged by $266 billion, or 1.7 percent, in the first quarter to $15.84 trillion….