Juggling Dynamite

So much for the healing power or deleveraging…

“Consumer credit, for instance, surged past the $3 trillion mark in the second quarter of 2013 and continues on an upward trajectory, according to the most recent numbers from the Federal Reserve.

At $3.04 trillion, the total is up 22 percent over the past three years. Student loans are up a whopping 61 percent.

Total household debt, according to the Fed’s flow of funds report, is at $13 trillion, nearly back to its pre-crisis level in 2007 and a shade below government debt of $15 trillion.” See: Private Debt: back with a vengeance.

But not to worry…the risk sellers are all assuring us that the willingness to take on financially suicidal debt levels is a positive “bullish” sign for the US consumer. All while the third bear market “whack” in 13 years to what meager savings what they have left is pending… Here is a direct video link.

Fed can’t offset drag of stagnant fiscal policy. Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher discusses how the government shutdown will impact the central bank’s tapering plan. Here is a direct video link.

Note how cognizant he is of what the S&P 500 is doing, apparently “price stability” in the Fed mandate has morphed into “stock market stability” in the past 2 years. Best wishes holding that manic tiger by the tail. Apparently they have convinced themselves that they can…

Danielle was a guest yesterday on This week in Money with Jim Goddard. You can listen to an audio clip of the segment here by advancing the play bar to 22:50 where the interview starts half way through the show.