U.S. Credit Card Use Fell for Sixth Straight Month in July
Credit card use plunged for the sixth straight month in July, with total consumer debt falling by $3.6 billion, or 1.75%, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday.
Credit card use plunged for the sixth straight month in July, with total consumer debt falling by $3.6 billion, or 1.75%, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday.
Among Thursday's top online stories for investors: a great analysis of the country's GDP numbers, a look at how the stock market typically fares in September after a weak August, and which stocks benefit from increased foreclosures.
U.S. economic growth slowed to an anemic 1.6% pace in the second quarter, due primarily to a worsening trade imbalance. The sole ray of light in the Commerce Department's report was that the downward revision was not as severe as economists had expected.
Despite what so many pundits say, the most accurate economic predictor -- the yield curve -- says we're not heading for a double-dip recession. But don't celebrate too much: experts still see sluggish growth ahead.
It's too soon to say if Europe's economic rebound is sustainable. But Germany and other leading eurozone economies are surging ahead on exports and have recouped nearly all the jobs they lost during the downturn. The U.S. might want to take a lesson from their success.
The U.S. economy grew at a revised 2.7% annual rate in the first quarter, less than the previously estimated 3% rate. The weaker growth performance will likely intensify the debate about the recovery%u2019s status.
The lowered 3% first-quarter U.S. GDP growth rate still reflects an expansion, but it was a mild disappointment. The modest pace raises questions about job creation in 2010.
Is the recession finally over? It may well be, after the U.S. economy surged a better-than-expected 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009. The growth, driven by inventory gains, marks two consecutive quarters of GDP expansion -- usually long enough for the National Bureau of Economic Research to declare the end of a slump.
The U.S. economic recovery is moving more slowly than economists had expected: On Tuesday, the Commerce Department revised the third-quarter GDP growth rate down from 2.8% to 2.2%. Still, that tepid increase is the best the nation has seen in two years.












