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Consumer debt is becoming more of a burden

Feb 7, 2023
Consumer debt levels have been rising. While wage gains have helped people pay off debt, those gains have been slowing down.
The Fed's consumer credit report, due out today, will show whether people are continuing to take on more and more debt.
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Consumer credit is up almost 7% since this time last year

Dec 8, 2022
Credit card balances alone were up 15% in the third quarter. Higher prices for necessities and higher interest rates are contributing factors.
Credit card balances alone were up 15% in the third quarter.
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Partisan gerrymandering can reduce access to credit, study finds

Sep 20, 2022
Lawmakers from politically drawn districts feel less pressure to cater to voters and exert less pressure on lenders, a researcher says.
Rawley Heimer, a professor of finance at Arizona State, says lawmakers from politically drawn  districts tend to be less sensitive to voters' needs and put less pressure on lenders.
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Consumers are gravitating back to plastic for spending splurges

Jul 8, 2021
The Federal Reserve said total consumer credit rose by 10% in May. And lenders issued roughly 6 million new credit cards in March, according to Equifax.
As the economy reopens, American consumers are falling back in love with plastic.
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As consumers get out more, they may also reach for credit cards

Jul 8, 2021
Outstanding credit card balances have been down, but people may start racking up the debt again.
People are going out more and making bigger purchases, and with credit card interest rates still high, balances might shoot back up.
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People are finding it easier to borrow right now

Jun 15, 2021
That doesn't necessarily mean they're taking out more loans, but borrowing could pick up in some categories, such as auto loans.
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Consumers are still confident in the economy, if their borrowing is any indication

Feb 8, 2019
A turbulent stock market, rising interest rates and the government shutdown didn’t do much to curb borrowing. Americans continued putting more money on their credit cards and taking out more loans for school and autos in December. Consumer credit grew 5 percent, up $17 billion, according to the latest monthly report from the Federal Reserve. […]
People have been spending more on their credit cards, and some are using buy-now, pay-later services, says Andrew Davidson with Comperemedia.
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Why consumer credit is a matter of "social trust"

Jul 25, 2017
The modern credit economy mostly works, author Josh Lauer says.
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Consumer credit-scoring system to eliminate error-prone data

Mar 13, 2017
Consumer credit reporting agencies are going to start eliminating some information from credit reports that might reflect negatively on would-be borrowers. Some of that information has been prone to errors in the past, and consumer advocates argued it was unfair to consumers. This is likely to raise credit scores for some who would not be […]

Are consumers taking on too much credit card debt?

Aug 1, 2016
U.S. banks are lending to customers at the fastest pace in more than 10 years.
Citibank reported holding $175.6 billion in consumer credit in its 2016 Q2 earnings.
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