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  • December 21, 2007 at 5:56 PM #11291
    novice1027
    Participant

    I keep hearing about how consumer spending is still up, so we have nothing to worry about, no recession on the horizon, because “we are still spending, spending, spending.”
    My question, one that I never hear being raised on the MSM is….If consumers are all still spending but it is primarily on credit, doesn’t that change things? No one ever seems to ask this question. It would appear to me that at some time when it catches up, not only is the spending going to stop, but everyone will be in dept up to their eyeballs. It seems all to clear to me, but I’m just a “novice” in this arena.
    Any thoughts?

    December 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM #122539
    bubba99
    Participant

    First, the number is B.S.

    In the breakdown of consumer purchases, spending on non-durable goods which include food and gasoline was up 2.0 pct, while spending on durables rose just 0.3 pct.

    The same pattern appears in the inflation statistics. The PCE index for non-durables rose 1.4 pct, while the price indexes for durables actually fell 0.2 pct, and the index for services was up 0.3 pct.

    That suggests the 1.1 pct spending jump was inflated by the price effects of more expensive energy and food. Real, inflation-adjusted spending was up just over half as much, 0.5 pct.

    Worse still for consumers, their disposable personal incomes — after inflation and taxes — fell 0.3 pct, the worst reading since a minus 0.6 pct in April of this year.

    above from:
    http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/21/afx4467450.html

    So yes, maybe more credit card debt, and maybe way more cc interest because of rate increases on borrowers, but all in all, just another chapter in confuse and confound the american public.

    December 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM #122686
    bubba99
    Participant

    First, the number is B.S.

    In the breakdown of consumer purchases, spending on non-durable goods which include food and gasoline was up 2.0 pct, while spending on durables rose just 0.3 pct.

    The same pattern appears in the inflation statistics. The PCE index for non-durables rose 1.4 pct, while the price indexes for durables actually fell 0.2 pct, and the index for services was up 0.3 pct.

    That suggests the 1.1 pct spending jump was inflated by the price effects of more expensive energy and food. Real, inflation-adjusted spending was up just over half as much, 0.5 pct.

    Worse still for consumers, their disposable personal incomes — after inflation and taxes — fell 0.3 pct, the worst reading since a minus 0.6 pct in April of this year.

    above from:
    http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/21/afx4467450.html

    So yes, maybe more credit card debt, and maybe way more cc interest because of rate increases on borrowers, but all in all, just another chapter in confuse and confound the american public.

    December 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM #122712
    bubba99
    Participant

    First, the number is B.S.

    In the breakdown of consumer purchases, spending on non-durable goods which include food and gasoline was up 2.0 pct, while spending on durables rose just 0.3 pct.

    The same pattern appears in the inflation statistics. The PCE index for non-durables rose 1.4 pct, while the price indexes for durables actually fell 0.2 pct, and the index for services was up 0.3 pct.

    That suggests the 1.1 pct spending jump was inflated by the price effects of more expensive energy and food. Real, inflation-adjusted spending was up just over half as much, 0.5 pct.

    Worse still for consumers, their disposable personal incomes — after inflation and taxes — fell 0.3 pct, the worst reading since a minus 0.6 pct in April of this year.

    above from:
    http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/21/afx4467450.html

    So yes, maybe more credit card debt, and maybe way more cc interest because of rate increases on borrowers, but all in all, just another chapter in confuse and confound the american public.

    December 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM #122764
    bubba99
    Participant

    First, the number is B.S.

    In the breakdown of consumer purchases, spending on non-durable goods which include food and gasoline was up 2.0 pct, while spending on durables rose just 0.3 pct.

    The same pattern appears in the inflation statistics. The PCE index for non-durables rose 1.4 pct, while the price indexes for durables actually fell 0.2 pct, and the index for services was up 0.3 pct.

    That suggests the 1.1 pct spending jump was inflated by the price effects of more expensive energy and food. Real, inflation-adjusted spending was up just over half as much, 0.5 pct.

    Worse still for consumers, their disposable personal incomes — after inflation and taxes — fell 0.3 pct, the worst reading since a minus 0.6 pct in April of this year.

    above from:
    http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/21/afx4467450.html

    So yes, maybe more credit card debt, and maybe way more cc interest because of rate increases on borrowers, but all in all, just another chapter in confuse and confound the american public.

    December 21, 2007 at 9:10 PM #122788
    bubba99
    Participant

    First, the number is B.S.

    In the breakdown of consumer purchases, spending on non-durable goods which include food and gasoline was up 2.0 pct, while spending on durables rose just 0.3 pct.

    The same pattern appears in the inflation statistics. The PCE index for non-durables rose 1.4 pct, while the price indexes for durables actually fell 0.2 pct, and the index for services was up 0.3 pct.

    That suggests the 1.1 pct spending jump was inflated by the price effects of more expensive energy and food. Real, inflation-adjusted spending was up just over half as much, 0.5 pct.

    Worse still for consumers, their disposable personal incomes — after inflation and taxes — fell 0.3 pct, the worst reading since a minus 0.6 pct in April of this year.

    above from:
    http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/12/21/afx4467450.html

    So yes, maybe more credit card debt, and maybe way more cc interest because of rate increases on borrowers, but all in all, just another chapter in confuse and confound the american public.

    December 22, 2007 at 10:54 AM #122744
    novice1027
    Participant

    Thanks Bubba,
    Why don’t they include food and gasoline in the numbers? Or is that just more of the same BS? The 2 things that we can’t do without and the prices are rising all the time. The more I learn, sometimes the more confused I become, lol.

    December 22, 2007 at 10:54 AM #122889
    novice1027
    Participant

    Thanks Bubba,
    Why don’t they include food and gasoline in the numbers? Or is that just more of the same BS? The 2 things that we can’t do without and the prices are rising all the time. The more I learn, sometimes the more confused I become, lol.

    December 22, 2007 at 10:54 AM #122918
    novice1027
    Participant

    Thanks Bubba,
    Why don’t they include food and gasoline in the numbers? Or is that just more of the same BS? The 2 things that we can’t do without and the prices are rising all the time. The more I learn, sometimes the more confused I become, lol.

    December 22, 2007 at 10:54 AM #122970
    novice1027
    Participant

    Thanks Bubba,
    Why don’t they include food and gasoline in the numbers? Or is that just more of the same BS? The 2 things that we can’t do without and the prices are rising all the time. The more I learn, sometimes the more confused I become, lol.

    December 22, 2007 at 10:54 AM #122991
    novice1027
    Participant

    Thanks Bubba,
    Why don’t they include food and gasoline in the numbers? Or is that just more of the same BS? The 2 things that we can’t do without and the prices are rising all the time. The more I learn, sometimes the more confused I become, lol.

    December 23, 2007 at 8:20 PM #123537
    nostradamus
    Participant

    It must be these consumers doing the spending:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/23/business/main3643715.shtml

    December 23, 2007 at 8:20 PM #123611
    nostradamus
    Participant

    It must be these consumers doing the spending:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/23/business/main3643715.shtml

    December 23, 2007 at 8:20 PM #123591
    nostradamus
    Participant

    It must be these consumers doing the spending:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/23/business/main3643715.shtml

    December 23, 2007 at 8:20 PM #123512
    nostradamus
    Participant

    It must be these consumers doing the spending:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/23/business/main3643715.shtml

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