Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Record plunge in consumer credit: so what?

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve reported that consumers reduced their debt by a remarkable $21.6 Billion during July.  Click here for the story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=avvF5aNtrCfc

Bearish economists will seize upon this data to show that the consumer is retrenching; final demand will not grow;  and the economy may lurch back into a sink hole.

Bullish economists will seize upon this data to show that consumers are finally behaving prudently, their balance sheets are being repaired, and the seeds are being sowed for a more-balanced, sustainable expansion.

Rocky will seize upon the data and say, “If you extrapolate the acceleration of  this decline,  consumers will be entirely debt free in a couple of years. That seems pretty unlikely.”

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Outstanding Consumer Credit versus Gross National Product

[Via http://onehonestman.wordpress.com]

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