Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Shrinking Credit Markets in US

Total U.S. consumer credit fell by a record $21.6 billion in July, Federal Reserve data showed on Tuesday, the latest hint household spending would be too weak to drive the economy's recovery from recession. Credit is still shrinking and that is going to have an impact on consumption. As such, this remains an important part of the recovery since without the smooth functioning of credit markets, the recovery may stall.

What does this mean?

1. The recovery, which many economists believe is underway, will be largely driven by goods restocking, after inventories were slashed to record low levels, government spending and historic low interest rates

2. There is no way that this recovery can be sustained unless we see a pickup in household spending. The big question out there is will we see Americans spend again to keep this recovery alive.

For Globalization, this indicator again raises the age old question : No global recovery till world finds a replacement for US consumers

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