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Even as hourly wages outpace inflation, rising prices take a bite

Mar 12, 2024
It’s been harder for lower- and middle-income households to afford higher food, rent and gas prices without getting into debt.
“We see higher wage growth since the recovery. But if people are working less, their total earnings are still less than inflation,” said ADP's Liv Wang.
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Is rising mortgage debt a bad sign for the economy?

Feb 12, 2024
Mortgage debt has grown 30% since before the pandemic. But the majority of mortgage debt holders have rates below 5%.
"When you take mortgage debt as a share of income, it’s still relatively manageable," said Wells Fargo's Shannon Grein.
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With Chinese developer Evergrande set to liquidate, impact may spread beyond investors

Jan 29, 2024
Unwinding the debt-burdened company will likely create large losses among creditors and could trigger some capital flight.
An Evergrande Group residential complex in Beijing. The company has $300 billion in total liabilities.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Why is credit card debt rising again?

Jan 29, 2024
Delinquencies are up, especially for people with lower incomes and multiple types of debt, according to the New York Fed.
People with jobs feel comfortable spending money on their credit cards, says Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab.
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Latest figures show rising consumer debt

Jan 9, 2024
Debt levels are rising and interest rates remain high. Delinquencies are also on the rise.
Credit card interest rates are the highest they’ve ever been.
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World Bank: Record debt hurting developing countries

Dec 14, 2023
Low and middle-income nations spent $443.5 billion on principal and interest in 2022, says global lender. Many defaulted in recent years.
In the last three years, countries defaulted on their debt 18 times, according to the World Bank.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

More people are falling behind on debt, but fewer are in collections

Nov 8, 2023
Just before the pandemic, the New York Fed found that about 9% of people had bills that ended up in collections. Now, less than 5% do.
Medical debt previously made up about 60% of debt in collections. But data shows it doesn’t tell you much about someone’s creditworthiness.
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Why would China sell off its U.S. debt — if that's what it's doing

Nov 7, 2023
There's a hot debate about what it's doing with its holdings, and the answer could affect how much it costs Americans to borrow money.
"We care about whether foreign governments or entities are buying U.S. Treasurys because it impacts the cost of borrowing in this country," said Jesse Wheeler of Morning Consult.
Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Corporate debt is getting more expensive. That's not necessarily a problem.

Oct 27, 2023
Both government and corporate bond yields have been climbing. For many companies, though, higher revenue more than covers the cost.
A lot of companies sold bonds to investors a few years ago, when interest rates were low.
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Why the U.S. budget deficit grew so much in the last year

No surprise: Inflation, higher interest rates and the pandemic all play a role.
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