Submitted by Mark Hanna
Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.
Looks like that Black Friday spending frenzy was driven by…. borrowing. The “best” borrowing in a decade in fact. America is back. Crisis over.
- U.S. consumers increased their debt in November by a seasonally adjusted $20.4 billion, the largest increase since November 2001, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.
- Monthly debt rose at a 10% annual rate in November, a much faster pace than had been expected by Wall Street economists. The advance was almost twice as big as the highest forecast of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
- All types of credit gained in the month. The non-revolving category of debt, such as auto loans, personal loans, and student loans, rose $14.8 billion, or 10.7%, in November. Credit card debt jumped by $5.6 billion, or 8.5%, in the month.
- Borrowing has increased in six of the past nine months. And consumers saved just 3.5 percent in November. That’s the lowest savings rate since the recession began in December 2007.
Disclosure Notice
Any securities mentioned on this page are not held by the author in his personal portfolio. Securities mentioned may or may not be held by the author in the mutual fund he manages, the Paladin Long Short Fund (PALFX). For a list of the aforementioned fund's holdings at the end of the prior quarter, visit the Paladin Funds website at http://www.paladinfunds.com/holdings/blog
