Entries by Debtmerica

U.S. consumers continue to consolidate debt, report says

The rate at which Americans repaid credit card debt during the month of April improved strongly, according to Moody’s, which announced in a recent report that charge-offs declined by 30 basis points to finish well below the March rate. Moody’s analyst Jeff Hibbs said that "April’s improved charge-off rate, combined with our base-case expectation for […]

Report: Real debt consolidation help could take some digging

Legitimate debt consolidation and consumer credit counseling firms can be a huge help to U.S. consumers struggling to deal with mounting debt, but it can take some careful research to find the very best ones, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal says that those who are trying to get out from under more […]

Survey shows almost half of U.S. consumers want the government out of the financial services sector

Despite a blizzard of recent legislation aimed at curbing recent excesses in the industry and help people consolidate debt, just under 50 percent of American consumers surveyed by research firm GfK say that they want the government to leave the financial services sector alone. GfK financial services managing director Douglas Cottings said that "Americans are […]

New Federal Reserve website could help those in credit card debt

A new website run by the Federal Reserve will serve as a clearinghouse for all credit card plan details for companies that serve over 10,000 customers, allowing consumers looking to consolidate debt to have easy access to important information. More than 300 credit card companies have plans listed on the website, which went live on […]

Report: Consumer confidence on the rise

American consumers are beginning to take a rosier view of their economic prospects as the Confidence Board’s consumer confidence index jumped for the third straight month, reaching 85.3 for the month of May. While consumers were still much more likely to describe current economic conditions as bad, rather than good, the differential between the two […]

Study: Debt-saddled Americans still view banking industry with suspicion

While most bankers believe that the general public’s view of their industry has lightened considerably since the onset of the financial crisis, the consumers themselves were far less positive, according to the results of a survey from BAI and Finacle. BAI Research managing director Ajay Nagarkatte said that "while consumers across geography, gender and generations […]

Expert: Market growth outstripped economy

The surging markets of recent years created unrealistically high expectations for stock performance, according to U.S. News and World Report columnist Rick Newman, creating an economic climate in which consumers were subject to punishing levels of debt and creating a serious need for credit counseling services. Newman writes that "our instinct during a market drop […]