WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following text is the summary of the Flow of
Funds data released by the Federal Reserve Thursday:
Debt of the domestic nonfinancial sectors is estimated to have
expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 5 percent in the
fourth quarter of 2010, after an increase of 4.25 percent in the
previous quarter. Private debt edged up 1.25 percent at an annual rate
in the fourth quarter, while government debt increased 12.75 percent.
Household debt declined 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter; it has
contracted each quarter since 2008:Q1. Home mortgage debt fell at an
annual rate of 1.25 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to an
average decline of more than 2.5 percent during the previous four
quarters. Consumer credit rose 2 percent at an annual rate, retracing
the previous quarters decline.
Nonfinancial business debt rose 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter,
on the heels of a 2.25 percent increase in the third quarter. Corporate
bonds outstanding posted strong increases in both the third and fourth
quarters, more than offsetting declines in commercial mortgages and
commercial paper outstanding.
State and local government debt rose about 8 percent at an annual
rate in the fourth quarter, after a 5.5 percent increase in the third
quarter. Federal government debt increased at an annual rate of 14.5
percent in the fourth quarter; for 2010 as a whole, federal government
debt grew a bit more than 20 percent.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, the level of domestic
nonfinancial debt outstanding was $36.3 trillion; household debt was
$13.4 trillion, nonfinancial business debt was $11.1 trillion, and total
government debt was $11.9 trillion.
Household net worththe difference between the value of assets and
liabilitieswas an estimated $56.8 trillion at the end of the fourth
quarter, up about $2.1 trillion from the end of the previous quarter.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MMUFE$,MGU$$$,MFU$$$]
