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Total consumer debt rose to an all-time high in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with increases to mortgage balances, auto loans and student loans putting debt at a record level. Consumer debt rose to over $17 trillion for the first time ever, according to the data released by the New York Fed. The total represented a $148 billion increase from the previous quarter and a $1.2 trillion surge from last year. The rise in debt was spurred on by a $121 billion climb in mortgage balances in the U.S., bringing total...

"...While the banks might be fine, some cash-strapped and credit-abusing consumers clearly are not. The idea that JPM is building reserves to cushion themselves against bad loans amid rapidly increasing charge-offs tells you all you need to know. Similar story at Bank of America (BAC), who also increased reserves. Across the nation’s four biggest banks, consumer loan charge-offs increased 73% in Q1, as they wrote off $3.4 billion in bad debt during the first three months of the year. "

A data breach by an employee at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is sending shock waves through the financial services industry, raising far more questions than answers about how an employee was able to obtain information on more than 250,000 consumers and dozens of companies.The agency, whose mission is to go after bad behavior at financial institutions, said the employee is "no longer employed by the CFPB." Lawmakers were told of the data breach on March 21, according to the Wall Street Journal. The CFPB said it had identified "a confidential-information and privacy incident" in which a now-former CFPB employee...

The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.4 percent in February for an annual increase of 6 percent, right in line with what economists had been expecting, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department. The 6 percent annual inflation rate was the lowest yearly price increase since September 2021. Without food and energy prices, which are more volatile, the CPI rose 0.5 percent in February and 5.5 percent over the past 12 months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge eased further in December, and consumer spending fell — the latest evidence that the Fed’s series of interest rate hikes are slowing the economy. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 5% last month from a year earlier, down from the 5.5% year-over-year increase in November. It was the third straight drop. Consumer spending fell 0.2% from November to December and was revised lower to show a drop of 0.1% from October to November. Last year’s holiday sales were sluggish for many retailers, and the overall spending figures...

According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence, which includes a key indicator on where consumers see the economy going and what they plan to do as a result, is looking up.Reuters reports:The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index increased to 108.3 this month, the highest reading since April, from 101.4 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index at 101.0. While the survey places more emphasis on the labor market, the rebound in confidence matched a similar rise in the University of Michigan's sentiment index.Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations fell to 6.7%, the lowest since September 2021, from...

Summary > Consumer spending increases 0.8% in October > Personal income rises 0.7%; saving rate falls to 2.3% > Core PCE price index gains 0.2%; up 5.0% year-on-year > Weekly jobless claims fall 16,000 to 225,000 U.S. consumer spending increased solidly in October, while inflation moderated, giving the economy a powerful boost at the start of the fourth quarter as it faces rising headwinds from the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening. The labor market, the economy's other pillar of support, continues to show resilience. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits declined last week, almost unwinding...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen blamed consumers' excessive spending habits as a primary cause for the near 40-year-high in inflation on Wednesday. The Biden official appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" where she was asked about the price increases that have plagued the U.S. for more than a year.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased 2.0 points in June to 62.8, its second-lowest reading in a decade, according to their latest report. Surveyed consumers continue to express pessimism about homebuying conditions, with only 17% (down from 20%) of respondents reporting it’s a good time to buy a home, while the percentage of consumers who believe it’s a “Good Time to Sell” fell from 68% to 67% this month.

Roaring inflation is tanking Americans' confidence in the economy.. U.S. consumer confidence tanked in early June, reaching the lowest level ever recorded as soaring inflation batters Americans' budgets and fuels concerns for the economy at large. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index released Friday shows the index plunged to 50 this month, a 14.4% drop from May and the lowest reading since the survey began in the late 1970s. ... The survey indicated declines in every component, reflecting a bleak vision from respondents: The year-ahead outlook tumbled 24%, while Americans' assessments of their personal financial situations worsened by 20%....

The COVID policies promoted by Dr. Fauci, the World Health Organization, CDC and the majority of influential public health “experts” had devastating consequences, according to a new analysis published by Nature. The report suggests that over 75 million people have been thrown into poverty, defined as making less than $1.90 US per day, than were expected before the pandemic response started. This graphic shows how previous expectations were for global poverty rates to decline, only for the trends to completely reverse once lockdowns got underway: ... Income losses were also dramatic across all demographics, but especially targeted lower earning workers....

It took a while and trillions in fiscal and monetary stimulus to recover from Covid-era economic lockdowns, but now that the monetary stimulus is being withdrawn, the economy is stalling. If you look at the chart below, you can see that “The Thrill Is Gone” from monetary and fiscal stimulus. And The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell below 100 as M2 Money Stock YoY returns to pre-Covid levels. You are gonna have to face it, we’re addicted to gov (stimulus).

(Reuters) - Wall Street’s main indexes tumbled in midday trading on Tuesday as a sharp drop in consumer confidence brought to the fore growth risks from rising inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 shed the initial gains from a rise in bank shares as the latest batch of economic data raised doubts on the U.S. economy’s resilience to withstand hefty interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The consumer confidence index dropped 4.5 points to a reading of 98.7 in June, a Conference Board survey showed, as consumers anticipated economic growth would weaken significantly in the...

St. Louis Fed President Bullard made a remark the other day that consumers are healthy so a recession is unlikely. Consumers are healthy? It is true that the US U-3 uemployment rate is low (3.6% versus 14.70% in April 2020 thanks to government shutdowns over Covid). But even though unemployment is low, consumer sentiment is at its lowest point since 1977. Generally, consumer sentiment is high when unemployment is low, but not this time around. Currently, inflation is at the highest level since March 1980 even though consumer sentiment bottomed-out in April 1980. Here is my chart showing that REAL...

San Francisco (CNN Business)Americans are racking up debt at record rates. Consumer debt levels for March 2022 climbed by $52.4 billion, an annual increase of 14%, seasonally adjusted, according to Federal Reserve data released Friday. Revolving credit, which includes credit cards, surged by 21.4%.

New York (CNN Business)Americans got into a lot more debt in February as rampant inflation kept up the pressure, the Federal Reserve's consumer credit report showed Thursday. Debt levels jumped by nearly $42 billion to a total of almost $4.5 trillion. That's an annual increase of 11.3%, seasonally adjusted, far outperforming economists' expectations and setting a new high. In January, total credit had grown only 2.4%. The Fed's historical consumer credit data goes back to the early 1940s. Revolving credit, which includes credit cards, jumped by 20.7% to about $1.1 trillion. The category increased by only 4% in the prior...

Two years ago, slippers went stratospheric. Normally, they sell in cycles. There is an “on” season for slippers through the fall and winter. Then, sales taper off during the warmer months. But 2020 was different. Slipper sales that April almost doubled versus 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. Folks were in no hurry to leave their homes. They were dressing for leisure, streaming entertainment, and saving their cash… And while we saw odd bursts in products like slippers, huge swaths of the economy suffered. But today, a big thaw is coming to the global market. Travel plans are...

Inflation climbed to another four-decade high in February with prices expected to push even higher on the back of soaring energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Department of Labor said that the consumer price index rose 7.9 percent compared with a year ago. Prices were up 0.8 compared with the prior month.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the Consumer Price Index, or CPI — a broad basket of goods and services — continued to rise, increasing by 0.8 percent in February, or 7.9 percent year over year, on track with economists’ expectations. Core inflation rose by 0.5 percent for the month. The core inflation metric includes prices of goods and services from rent to airline tickets to furniture but strips out food and energy prices, which tend to be volatile even when they are not rocked by geopolitical crises. The prospect of inflation peaking would have been a welcome balm to...

Researchers from Catholic University of Portugal, Boston College, Korea University, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Rice University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that identifies customers’ political ideology as an important driver of their satisfaction. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “How Political Identity Shapes Customer Satisfaction” . . Customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to firms. It drives customer word-of-mouth, loyalty, and sales, which is why many firms spend millions or even billions of dollars innovating the customer experience. This new research identifies customers’ political ideology as an important driver...