The American Consumer Meets Minimalism: How This Recession Will Change the American Consumer.
Is the American consumer forever changed? Did the current recession alter the seemingly unrelenting spending machine known as the American consumer? From early indications, it looks like some habits will be changed for a very long time. This is a big shift given the nearly endless round of bubbles in the past 30 years culminating […]
The Country that Punishes Savers: Americans Saving 7 percent of Income Putting nearly $800 Billion Annual Rate on the Sidelines. Banks offering 0 to 0.10 Percent to Borrow Your Money.
Americans are increasingly putting more and more money on the sidelines. For the month of May Americans put away 6.9 percent of their income into savings. Not the stock market or real estate but bona fide savings. This is a stark contrast from the zero rates achieved back in April of 2008. When we discussed […]
FDIC Banking Report: 305 Troubled Institutions up from 90 in 2008. $13.5 trillion Assets held with 2.1 Million Employees at 8,200 Institutions.
The FDIC is facing the highest amount of bank failures since the early 1990s. To calm Americans the government in 2008 upped the amount secured at FDIC institutions from $100,000 to $250,000 for each customer account. Yet losses have been so deep that in the fourth quarter of 2008 the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) quickly […]
Saving Money is Bad for the Economy: Personal Savings Rate Higher, Consumption Slightly Up, Banks get new American Express, and Markets Begging for Money.
Last month the savings rate hit the 5 percent mark. That makes two months over 4 percent and for the first time in a decade that Americans have actually saved more than 4 percent for two consecutive months. Saved 4 percent of what? Of their personal income. You would think that most people would be […]