U.S. consumer credit falls again, sending the global economy a message
Just call it "the sound of no cards swiping." Americans are keeping their credit cards in their wallets.
Balances on U.S. consumer credit cards in August fell at a 5.8 percent annual rate, or by $11.98 billion, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday. It was the seventh consecutive monthly decline in consumer credit -- a pattern that's consistent with both the frugal-consumer trend in the U.S. and banks' decisions to lower, or in some cases eliminate, credit lines in the wake of the financial crisis.
