credit card payments

Discover Financial Services posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that fell less than analysts had expected. Sales from its eponymous credit card grew 5% from a year earlier as falling interest rates spurred more usage and as more merchants started accepting the card.

Several data points this week confirm an ominous new trend among desperate consumers: They have stopped paying their mortgages but they're continuing to pay off their credit cards so they can keep buying staples, like food.