Personal bankruptcy trend turns downward
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WASHINGTON -- Personal bankruptcies appear to have broken the upward trend of recent years, slipping 0.8 percent in the 12 months ending June 30, figures released Friday show.
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WASHINGTON -- First-time applications for jobless benefits fell last week, evidence that the US labor market is holding up in the face of a widening credit crunch.
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Americans are taking substantially less equity out of the value of their homes than a year ago, a sign consumer spending may be set to recede, data compiled by a Federal Reserve economist suggest.
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People who seek bankruptcy lose many of their assets to creditors, but not their Social Security benefits, their company pensions or their 401(k) plans, which are all shielded by law.
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Business & money: Weakening house prices and soft consumer spending set to make 2008 worst year since early 1990s
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Kforce narrows earning guidance and bounces back from some bad times.
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The abrupt pullback in spending raises the possibility that the country may be experiencing a rare decline in personal consumption.
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Rising interest rates and a reliance on credit were blamed Friday for an increased number of British personal bankruptcies in the latest quarter.
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U.S. mortgage applications sank last week to the lowest level since the end of last year despite falling borrowing costs, an industry trade group said on Thursday.
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Thanks to relaxed lending standards, in recent years borrowers with bad credit -- such as a bankruptcy or a delinquent loan on their records -- found it relatively easy to get home mortgages.
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Practical tips for when your financial house is in disarray.
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Business & money: 53,114 people petitioned to go bankrupt in 2007 after being unable to keep up with their debts
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Consumer borrowing increased less than expected in July as higher incomes allowed Americans to reduce their credit card use.
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Individuals and businesses are likely to see their borrowing costs drop further as the Federal Reserve weighs another interest-rate reduction to bolster a sagging economy.
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Consumers, battered by harsh economic crosswinds, spent less in December than at any time in the past 15 months while applications for unemployment benefits soared last week, two more signs the economy is weakening.
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Homeownership in the United States dropped for a fourth consecutive quarter, suggesting that more Americans will miss their best chance of building wealth.
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First came the sex scandal. Then  there were lawsuits. Now there are bankruptcies.