On Fri, 16 May 2003, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Brian O. Sheppard quoted:
>
> >Consumer debt has reached record levels in recent years. But Federal
> >Reserve (news - web sites) data showed that consumers became more cautious
> >users of credit last year, expanding their borrowing at the slowest pace
> >in a decade. The rise in credit card and other revolving debt was the
> >smallest increase since the Fed began keeping records in 1968.
>
> That's true of c.c. debt, but Americans have been using home equity
> cashouts as substitutes for the Visa - something like $150 billion
> last year, half the growth in consumption. The Mortgage Bankers
> Association's refi index is close to a record high.
>
> Doug
I want to go on record here: when the real estate bubble bursts, things will be ugly, ugly, ugly. --A little optimism mixed in with the despair: perhaps the bubble will burst before the presidential election.
Miles