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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...