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ROI-Move over real estate, Wall St now drives US spending: McGeever
USA-WEALTH/HOUSEHOLDS (REPEAT, ROI, COLUMN, PIX, GRAPHICS):RPT-ROI-Move over real estate, Wall St now drives US spending: McGeever
ORLANDO, Florida, Sept 16 - U.S. household wealth rose at a record pace in the second quarter, thanks to an unprecedented rise in the value of equity holdings. This is good news for the economy, as it keeps the "wealth effect" burning bright, but it also means growth is increasingly vulnerable to a downturn on Wall Street.
Federal Reserve figures last week showed that household net worth leaped $12.8 trillion in the April-June period, up 7% from the previous quarter, thanks to a $10.7 trillion jump in the value of equity holdings. Total net worth reached $196 trillion, which is a record 828% of disposable personal income .
In other words, Americans have never been richer, and it's largely down to the soaraway stock market.
