U.S. Household Worth Fell by $1.3 Trillion in First Quarter | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700241 United States 06/11/2009 12:46 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700229 India 06/11/2009 12:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hows that feel huh???? Quoting: OmegaNo matter who they bail it's always the little guy who gets hurt...... Me? Retiring to the gun room have a nice fucking day...... U.S. Household Worth Fell by $1.3 Trillion in First Quarter By Courtney Schlisserman June 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. household wealth fell in the first quarter by $1.3 trillion as home and stock prices dropped, extending the biggest slump on record. Net worth for households and non-profit groups decreased to $50.4 trillion from $51.7 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to the Federal Reserve’s Flow of Funds report today. The government began keeping quarterly records in 1952. Americans are cutting back on spending as unemployment surges, home prices continue to drop and wealth evaporates, signaling any economic recovery will be slow to develop. The drop in net worth is one reason Americans are boosting savings, blunting the effect of the tax breaks and income supplements from the Obama administration’s stimulus plan. “This great recession has left a fundamental stamp on consumer psychology,” Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. “Increasing savings, planning on working a little bit longer, more conservative investments, more conservative everything. Even if confidence comes back, I don’t think it will translate into spending like it would have” in the past. Retail sales rose in May for the first time in three months, an increase driven almost solely by U.S. shoppers returning to automobile showrooms seeking bargains and the rising cost of gasoline, a report today from the Commerce Department showed. One positive aspect of today’s Fed report is that the decreases in net worth are starting to ease. Wealth dropped by a record $4.9 trillion in the last three months of 2008. More Saving Americans have taken on less debt as the economic recession unfolds. While the jump in savings rate to 5.7 percent in April was helped by an increase in incomes linked to the fiscal stimulus plan, some economists are forecasting savings will continue to rise as consumers hold back on spending. Real-estate-related household assets decreased by $551.1 billion, following a $974.5 billion decrease in the fourth quarter. Net worth related to corporate equities fell by $347.8 billion the first three months of this year. Owners’ equity as a share of their total real-estate holdings decreased to 41.4 percent last quarter from 42.9 percent in the fourth quarter, today’s Fed report showed. Consumer debt fell at a 1.1 percent annual pace following a 2 percent decrease in the fourth quarter that was the first drop on record. Mortgage borrowing was unchanged from January through March, the first time in a year it didn’t fall, the Fed’s report showed. Federal Borrowing Total borrowing by consumers, businesses and government agencies increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent last quarter compared with a 6.2 percent gain the prior quarter. The gain was paced by a 23 percent surge in borrowing by the federal government, reflecting spending linked to the stimulus plan. Business borrowing decreased at a 0.3 percent pace after rising 1.5 percent the prior quarter, the Fed said. Borrowing by state and local governments increased at a 4.9 percent rate. The economy contracted at a 5.7 percent annual pace in the first quarter and consumer spending rose at a 1.5 percent pace. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month forecast unemployment will climb to 10 percent by the end of the year and lowered their projections for consumer spending in the second half of the year to an average 1.1 percent annual pace. For all of 2009, purchases will drop 0.7 percent, the worst performance since 1974, according to the Bloomberg survey. [link to www.bloomberg.com] This is on the heels of falling by 5 Trillion in 4q 08. So that's about 7 trillion loss of net worth of the US population in half a year. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700241 United States 06/11/2009 12:48 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700334 United States 06/11/2009 12:48 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700229 India 06/11/2009 12:49 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Lost Fisherman
User ID: 226145 United States 06/11/2009 12:50 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 696139 Canada 06/11/2009 12:50 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 700241 United States 06/11/2009 12:51 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | a trillion here and a trillion there is menaingless in todays world. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 700229just digits on a computer screen. its still party time. they are digits in people's bank accounts. then dont put money in those banks problem solved. being pro-active, has its benefits. |
loosecannon User ID: 567573 United States 06/11/2009 12:52 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Omega
(OP) User ID: 440754 United States 06/11/2009 12:53 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Gun room? Quoting: Lost FishermanDon't you mean your room-sized tinfoil hat? Sorry dude, couldn't resist after seeing the photos of your room. It used to be a grow room hence the insulation....to keep prying infrared helicopters at bay..... Growing veggies of course... ;>) Handguns are a skill; shotguns an art; rifles a science. _____________________________________ Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner. Disarmament is the precursor to Genocide. Better to take action now rather than chances later. Your choice. |
WomanInBlack
User ID: 671963 Canada 06/11/2009 12:53 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
loosecannon User ID: 567573 United States 06/11/2009 12:54 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | a trillion here and a trillion there is menaingless in todays world. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 700241just digits on a computer screen. its still party time. they are digits in people's bank accounts. then dont put money in those banks problem solved. being pro-active, has its benefits. that doesn't really solve any problems. sorry. The household equity lost was almost all in the form of depressed stock prices and real estate equity erosion. not bank accounts. |
Holy Bat Shitman!
User ID: 686390 United States 06/11/2009 01:17 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Gun room? Quoting: OmegaDon't you mean your room-sized tinfoil hat? Sorry dude, couldn't resist after seeing the photos of your room. It used to be a grow room hence the insulation....to keep prying infrared helicopters at bay..... Growing veggies of course... ;>) Mmmmm hydroponic tomatos.... Dozens of them. Armed to the teeth. I'm outnumbered. Outgunned. But the alley is crooked, dark, and very narrow. They can't surround me. Sometimes you can beat the odds with a careful choice of where to fight. [link to batshitman.mybrute.com] |