Debt | Information and Trends by Prosperity Concierge

Debt, Equity and QE2 – Bond Purchases May Have Helped

The quantitative easing that the Fed provided may have helped debt and equity markets.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the QE2 bond purchases gave a sagging economy a lift by slightly reducing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and by raising stock prices to make people feel wealthier. Still, it didn’t much energize

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Debt Deleveraging is Why Households Continue to Struggle

Households may struggle for a while longer. One major reason: their household debt.
Many experts say private debt owed by households is an even bigger problem than the government debt that’s getting so much attention lately. And it won’t be solved without a difficult stretch of high unemployment and slow growth that will likely last for

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Homeowners Not Making Mortgage Debt Payments is Helping Economy

Millions of households have more money to spend since they fell delinquent on their mortgages amid the housing collapse. They are staying in their homes for free about a year and a half on average, buying time to restructure their finances and providing an unexpected support for consumer spending, which makes up about 70 percent

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Household Debt Up?: Savings Rate Unchanged, Incomes Rise Little, Spending Up

Savings, income and spending figures hint at higher household debt.
Americans’ disposable incomes, or the money left over after taxes, rose 0.1 percent after adjusting for inflation, following no change in February, a reminder of the challenge represented by rising food and energy costs. The Commerce Department said today that the savings rate held at 5.5

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Government Welfare: A Growth Industry Threatened by Government Debt Contraction

Lack of jobs, debt contraction across the economy and people lacking needed employable skills have all contributed to increased use of safety nets. Government welfare is being used by one in six Americans.
Just as private debt contraction by households and businesses is driving people to government safety nets, future debt contraction within the government promises

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How to Get Rid of Your House: Short Sale, Strategic Default, Give it Away

If you need to transfer to a new town or your cash flow just can’t handle the mortgage payments you may be considering your options for unloading your home. Here are a few.
Short Sale
A short sale allows a homeowner to sell the home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. However, the lender’s

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Going to One Income - Impact on Saving, Debt, Retirement, Spending, Lifestyle, Money, Budget, Expenses

While there are steep odds to overcome, living with only one family income, when you are used to living on two incomes, can be done with thorough planning and a willingness to make choices.
It is critical to have a sincere and honest conversation with your spouse about why you’re making the choice to live on

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How Much Debt Do You Have? How Much Could You Have? Your Utilization Ratio and Your Credit Score

A big factor on how good of a credit score you have is called your credit utilization ratio. This ratio is how much credit you use each month relative to how much is available to you. The higher the ratio the lower your score.
This ratio is very simple. It only looks at how much you

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Emerging Markets are Hot – Low Debt and High Growth Prospects

Is it a “new normal” or simply a reflection of better growth and earnings prospects? Regardless, emerging-market stocks are trading at the highest valuations relative to advanced-country shares in more than two years as faster economic growth.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 14.1 times reported profits and 1.9 times net assets, compared with

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If Deflation Comes Where Should Your Investment Dollars Go? Gold, Bonds, Cash, Stocks?

As concerns about deflation grow, where should you go with your investment dollars?
Deflation is a sustained period of falling prices.
Some analysts recommend that investors buy bonds, which can do better during deflation.
The problem with bonds right now is that the interest rates are extremely low. There’s so little downside to rates, and if rates climb

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