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Consumers coming back, but they may not run up credit cards
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WASHINGTON — After several years in the wilderness, the American consumer is back. Sort of. Several economic indicators point to an increase in consumption, suggesting that the consumer, who drives much of the U.S. economy, is willing to loosen the purse strings. Banks report more requests for credit. Car sales are surging. The fortunes of many retailers are improving. Less clear, however, is to what degree Americans are going to be willing to take on more debt and spend more freely. The psychological scars left by the devastating financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession remain. "Part of this story, beyond this month or this quarter, is the new austerity within the consumer market — both paying off debt and building up savings. That's not going to go away," said Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board, a New York-based research group. "It may ease up a bit, but we're not going back to pre-Great Recession. That world is done." In that pre-recession world, consumption accounted for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Almost a decade of easy lending led consumers to buy more home than they thought possible, borrow heavily against their homes, rack up huge credit card debt and, many economists say, live beyond their means. The financial crisis and deep recession brought that to a halt. It forced consumers and businesses to pay down debt, sometimes referred to as de-leveraging. That's a fancy way of saying consumers worked to lower their debt-service ratios, essentially the percentage of their disposable income that's gobbled up by repaying outstanding loans. Here's where that stands. Federal Reserve data show that in the third quarter of 2007, the peak of their indebtedness, consumers had a debt-service ratio of 14.08 percent. Think of it as $14.08 out of every $100 going to pay off debt. In the same quarter of 2012, that ratio had fallen to 10.61 percent. Consumers have been shedding debt like a bad habit. That's good for personal finances, but not so good for an economy driven by consumption. "The wounds of 2008 and 2009 may be four or five years ago, but they're still fresh. There are still many people unemployed or underemployed," said Susan Reda, the editor of STORES, a trade magazine for retailers. "We've turned a corner, but they don't think they're on Easy Street." "The consumer seems to stay in the game. We never expected them to fall off the beam," said Jack Kleinhenz, the chief economist for the National Retail Federation, which represents national retail chain stores. But it's unlikely that retail sales will return to the go-go days of 2003 or 2004 because consumers still face job insecurity and general angst about the nation's direction. The expiration on Dec. 31 of the payroll-tax holiday means that all workers are giving Uncle Sam a greater share of their earnings. The ongoing tax and spending battle also dampens consumer sentiment. On the plus side, there's been a bull market for stocks and rising home prices in much of the nation. Both make some parts of the population feel wealthier, at least on paper, and boost consumer confidence. That psychological benefit runs up against changes in lending, however. Banks require bigger down payments for home purchases, and homeowners no longer can freely borrow against the equity they've built up in their homes. "I definitely think the results of the recession will change the habits of consumers, because they won't be able to borrow as freely as they did 10 years ago," Kleinhenz said. "We know that consumer credit has been increasing, but they are very guarded in not keeping too many balances." Auto loans make up much of the borrowing, inflating the overall retail sales numbers. January light-vehicle sales were on a pace for a 2013 annual volume of 15.29 million cars and trucks, according to MotorIntelligence.com, an industry research group. In 2009, 10.4 million light vehicles were sold, a 30-year low. "The happiest people at a bank right now are in the auto financing section," said Richard Hunt, the head of the Consumer Bankers Association, said Thursday in a conference call with reporters. Banks are sitting on $10 trillion in deposits and are eager to lend, Hunt said. But since the Great Recession, consumer demand for loans has been weak, improving slightly in recent months. "There was a crisis, people were severely impacted by it and course they're going to be more cautious going forward," said Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota who's the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, the lobby for big banks. 
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Today is Saturday, May 18, the 138th day of 2013. There are 227 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: A large variety of children's wagons and gigs have arrived in thecity and are being sold at war prices.
1888 -- 125 years ago: All Rock Island retail houses, with the exception of a clothingstore and a jewelry store, have agreed to early closing hours during the summer months.The store will be closed at 8 p.m.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Baseball enthusiasts in Rock Island are attempting to raise$20,000 to keep the Island City Park open, despite the fact that the city has no franchise inorganized baseball this year.
1938 -- 75 years ago: The organization of a third rural young people's unit will beundertaken tomorrow night at the Milan Presbyterian Church, with Mrs. Mildred K.Wellman, home advisor, and Robert Smith, county farm adviser in charge.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Deere & Co. will begin a "big switch" on its telephone systemMonday morning. The extension numbers of all 1,600 telephones on the firm's EastMoline and Moline exchanges will be changed Monday morning.
1988 -- 25 years ago: East Moline's June Jamboree VI -- Nostalgia Days, will seemlike a '60s revival with the appearance of stars like Bobby Vee, Freddie Cannon, PeterNoone, Turtles, The Grass Roots and Lou Christie. This year's festival has beenexpanded to five days, June 22-26, at the Northeast Park complex.
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