Posted on 03/12/2015 11:47:17 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
Rising stock prices and home values pushed the net worth of U.S. households higher in the fourth quarter, a reassuring sign for the outlook for consumer spending.
The increase added $1.52 trillion to the total wealth of American families, putting it at $82.91 trillion, a report by the Federal Reserve showed on Thursday. The increase in net wealth was the largest since the fourth quarter of 2013.
While U.S. consumers have appeared somewhat shy in their spending habits in recent months, Thursday's data suggests their strengthening financial footing could help convince them to open their wallets more.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
It’s stashed in stocks and property according to the article.
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see tagline
What a CROCK.
1. US homeownership is at an all time low.
2. US savings is at an all time low.
3. Average net worth is at its lowest since before WWII.
4. Most Americans don’t own stocks and have no retirement.
5. Older Americans are working later as they do not have enough money to stop working.
6. The gap between rich and poor is at its greatest in post depression era times.
7. Americans pay a higher percentage of their earnings on rent than at any time in their history.
8 There has been a net zero job growth since Obama took office.
And on and on and on.
A very good one.
.
[Where do they all stash this wealth?]
The same place they stash all the “newly-created jobs” and other things, like Bigfoot.
One can not spend much money to buy “stuff” until one actually sells their stocks or property.
Investors are not selling stocks because there is no other place to make money.
I wonder what the headline and political tone of this article would look like if we had a Conservative Republican President?
Maybe...
“USA Inequality Hits Record Level”
BS....my BS meter is about to break from all the use of late.
Inflation.
I have $1,000 in my checking account, but my house evaluation has increased by $20,000.
I'm going on a shopping binge!
I wonder how the numbers look if they remove the top ten billionaires from the mix.
Yeah, on paper many are doing well given the price of stocks. Hence, people are wealthy because their 401k is magically looking buff. It is all an illusion.
No one around here or anyone I know in the country feels this has got better.
At the macro level, it is an illusion. Everyone who holds stocks could not sell them at the market price. However, you could sell your tiny holdings at the market price. That is the paradox of owning stocks, and how an individual investor is different from the market as a whole.
Which means we get to pay higher property taxes.
“Over the six years through 2013, the middle fifth’s average annual family earnings fell to $47,243 from $53,008 while their average net worth dropped to $170,066 from $236,525.” (Reuters)
“Six years through 2013.” I wonder who was president for the last five of those six.
By April 2013, “real median household income (excluding capital gains and losses but including cash government benefits) has declined 4.4% since the “recovery” began in 2009,” according to Sheila Bair, who was chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from June 2006 through June 2011. The drop was 10.9 percent for African-Americans, and 9.6 percent for people younger than 26 and 7.5 percent for unmarried mothers... (Washington Post)
Inflation adjusted family income dropped from $67,943 to $62,241 from 2007 to 2012, a 8.3% decline over five years.
Well we are approaching the 6th year of the 2009 Recovery Summer. Barky said so! It was the Summer of Recovery,dammit!
Stocks rallied today because the economic news was so bad that the investors expect the government’s failed stimulus efforts to stay in place.
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