Fed Flow of Funds

Before the Great Recession, U.S. consumer debt had risen fairly steadily for more than a decade. With the downturn, it finally dropped...until December's small rise. However, a longer look at the trend of ever-rising debt shows that America is still extraordinarily overextended.

China's holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds are so huge that they'd be a financial "weapon of mass destruction" if Beijing were dump them all quickly. But a closer look at the data and some recent trends suggests that China's power in this regard is overrated.

Officially underway since June 2009, the recovery has been tepid at best. The balance sheet of the average household is still straining under considerable debt, while incomes have barely risen, suggesting that the recovery has a shaky foundation.

Negative equity is linked to higher foreclosures. About a quarter of households with mortgages already owe more than their homes are worth. If prices slip further, up to half of all homeowners may end up underwater -- a scary prospect for Americans' financial health.