Household Wealth at new record level

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US household wealth swells to record in 2nd qtr--Fed

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. household wealth swelled to a new record in the second quarter of 2004, while borrowing outside the financial sector grew at a slower pace, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

In its quarterly "Flow of Funds" report, the Fed said household balance sheets increased 1.4 percent to $45.907 trillion in the second quarter, compared with an upwardly revised $45.270 trillion in the first quarter of this year.

First-quarter household wealth was initially reported at $45.153 trillion, which had been a record high.

Much of the increase in household net worth came from rising real estate values. The Fed said the market value of household real estate, which includes owner-occupied homes, second homes and vacant land, rose 2.9 percent to $15.713 trillion in the second quarter.

The value of U.S. stocks were nearly steady at $6.066 trillion in the second quarter, compared to $6.072 trillion in the first quarter. Mutual funds nudged 1.7 percent higher.

Total U.S. borrowing, excluding the financial sector, rose at a seasonally adjusted 7.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter, slightly slower than its upwardly revised 9.1 percent growth in the first quarter. First quarter non-financial debt was initially reported growing 8.6 percent.

The Fed said the slowdown in debt growth was nearly evenly distributed across all the major non-financial sectors, including the federal government, households, non-financial businesses and local governments.

Household debt grew 9.5 percent in the second quarter, cooling somewhat from its 11.3 percent expansion in the first quarter. Mortgage debt grew 11.1 percent in the second quarter compared to 13.1 percent in the first quarter.

The total level of non-financial debt outstanding at the end of the second quarter was $23.220 trillion, in seasonally adjusted terms.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS & RETORTS:

1) this can't be...

2) it's the rich getting richer....

3) see! the rich can now afford more taxes!...

4) was RAthER involved in this reporting?

5) it's all W's fault.... wait, it wasn't his fault... oh, forget it!

6) please don't confuse our message with facts to the contrary