Debt

Debt
LendingTree: US Consumer Debt Approaching $4T  
November 30, 2018

LendingTree said in its debt report for the month of November that based on recent holiday shopping and credit card spending, credit card balances will swell by about 5 percent through the end of the year to more than $1 trillion. That would mean that...

Debt
Capital One, Discover Tighten Credit Limits As Debt Peaks
October 29, 2018

Capital One Financial and Discover Financial Services, two of the largest credit card issuers in the country, are tightening lending standards, which is reportedly an unusual move in an economy that is booming. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, both Capital One...

Debt
Will Risky Supplier Financing Light The $1.3T Debt Bomb’s Fuse?
October 12, 2018

Stock markets around the globe seem to be in freefall. Interest rates are marching higher. Sears, at least at the time this article, is prepping for bankruptcy. Consumers may feel a pinch (eventually) in the wallet, as credit card debt and mortgages become more expensive. Beneath...

Debt
US Credit Scores Soar To 704, But Debt Looms
September 25, 2018

New data shows that as U.S. credit scores hit their highest point since the Great Recession, Americans are also borrowing more than ever. According to Bloomberg, the average FICO score is now at 704, a new record that marks an eight-year streak of increases. The...

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Supreme Court Nominee Had Tens of Thousands Of Dollars In Credit Card Debt
July 12, 2018

Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt purchasing baseball tickets during the past ten years. The Washington Post, citing a review of Kavanaugh’s financial disclosures, reported that at some points during the...

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Millennials May Never Financially Recover From The Great Recession
May 23, 2018

For all the press about how millennials are the future of commerce, there is one big and rather problematic roadblock in that narrative. Millennials are kind of broke – and they might always be. That is the worrisome take-away from a new Federal Reserve Bank of St....

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Private Label Retail Credit Card Delinquencies At Highest Rate Since 2011
May 23, 2018

The severe delinquency rate on private label retail credit cards jumped 57 basis points from March of last year and stands at 4.65 percent, according to Equifax’s latest National Consumer Credit Trends Report. In a press release highlighting the results, Equifax said outstanding balances of $81.7...

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Twenty-Eight Percent Of Home Equity Borrowers Over 60 In 2017
May 18, 2018

The rich are getting richer, at least in terms of household wealth. The Wall Street Journal reports that, despite a strong recovery of home equity and prices this past year, the composition of wealth ownership has changed, becoming increasingly concentrated in older households with high...

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Credit Card Business Becoming Less Profitable Thanks To Costs, Loan Losses
May 17, 2018

Credit card companies, faced with an increase in costs associated with rewards and rising loan losses, have become less attractive after years of being one of the most profitable aspects of lending. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, while credit cards are still...