Consumer Spending Rose in August, but Incomes Pose Hurdle for U.S. Recovery
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. household income fell sharply in August while worker layoffs remained high, developments that could weigh on the economic recovery as it shows signs of slowing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Personal income—a measure of what…
GOOD DEBT vs BAD DEBT
Not all debt is necessarily bad or disadvantageous to your goals. For many of us, and especially entrepreneurs, debt is merely a fact of life. What most of us don’t realize is that when used responsibly, strategic debt is a…
U.S. Bankruptcies on Track to Hit 10-year High
A total of 424 U.S. companies have gone bankrupt this year as of Aug. 9. This exceeds the number of filings during any comparable period since 2010. According to the recent S&P Global Market Intelligence bankruptcy report, bankruptcies have impacted a…
Debt Collection Trends
A new report published by Pew Charitable Trusts suggests that with the increase of debt collection lawsuits, “debt collectors may seize $1,200 coronavirus checks intended for household expenses.” Before the coronavirus restrictions began, American household debt had already increased by…
Strategies Going Forward
There’s no shortage of consumers and companies rocked by COVID-19. The speed and degree with which this has touched every entity in our country are unlike anything any of us have ever seen. Although this period has been filled with…
Former CFPB Director on COVID-19 Pandemic
This morning, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) former director Richard Cordray published a white paper on Medium, addressed to current director Kathleen Kraninger, warning the CFPB to pay attention to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. His comments include…
US STUDENT LOAN DEBT
The total student loan debt in the U.S. has now reached $1.6 trillion, according to a quarterly report recently released by the Federal Reserve. As of January, National debt from student loans exceeds that from auto loan debt by over…
Consumer Credit
The numbers: Consumer borrowing surged in December, as consumers used credit cards to make holiday purchases, according to Federal Reserve data released Friday. Total consumer credit increased $22.1 billion. That’s an annual growth rate of 6.3%, up from a 3.4% rate…