• There were 1.45 million consumer bankruptcies in 2001. There were, 1,217,972 consumer bankruptcies in 2000. 1,281,581 consumer bankruptcies in 1999. 1,398,182 consumer in 1998 Moody's delinquency index, which measures the portion of card accounts whose monthly payments are more than 30-days past due, stood at 4.96 percent in May, compared with 4.32 percent a year ago and 5.06 percent in April.

• In 1990, the typical U.S. household saved 7.8% of it's income; in 1999 that same family spent 0.1% more than it earned.

• According to information CFA has obtained, four of the ten largest credit card issuers have recently increased the interest rate they charge consumers who enter a debt management program, including Citibank, First USA/Bank One, MBNA and Household Credit Services. MBNA recently increased its interest rate by over half from10% to 15.9%. This increase alone would cost a consumer with $10,000 in debt an additional $1,022 over three years.

• Credit card issuers in the CFA survey that charged the highest interest rates to credit counseling consumers include Sears (21.9%), American Express Optima (21.7%), Capital One (19.8%) and First Card (17.65%). At these rates, it would be impossible for a consumer to pay off a $25,000 debt at a typical monthly payment of $350.

• Only one of the largest ten credit card issuers (Chase Manhattan) has lowered its interest rate for credit counseling clients. Credit card issuers that charge the lowest interest rate--0%--include Bank of America, First North American National Bank (FNANB), Mellon Bank, and US Bancorp.

• As of 7/31/01 the total public debt of the US was $3,266,222,376,162.12

• 55 percent of parents roll over credit card debt each month. When asked where they would put or advise their child to put $5,000 to save for education or some other long-term goal, 58 percent do not identify specific long-term investment vehicles such as mutual funds or stocks that historically offer higher rates of return. Instead, more than 1 out of 3 parents cite low-yielding certificates of deposit (CDs), savings accounts, and savings bonds. Twelve percent say they would put savings in a bank or savings and loan, but are unable to articulate a specific type of account. Finally, less than half (45 percent) of all parents say they make a budget and stick to it most of the time.

• People between the ages of 35 and 54 have credit-card balances 5% higher than the median for all Americans

.• Some business indicators that suggest that the economy is headed for a recession:

• Industrial Production has declined for 10 consecutive motnhs and is now 4.2 percent below its high in September (source: the Federal Reserve)
• Employment reached a peak in early 2001 and has dropped by 259,000 jobs according to a survey of businesses and 620,000 by a survey of households (source: the Labor Department)
• Newspaper help-wanted ads have been falling since February 2000 and are down 36 percent (source: the Conference Board, a research group)
• Airline traffic has dropped every month since February compared with the same month in 2000 and is 1.2 percent for the year. Air cargo has fallen 8.7 percent (source: the Air Transport Association)
• Business investment in equipment, machinery and software has slipped 5.1 percent since the third quarter of 2000 (source: the Commerce Department)
• Corporate profits dropped almost 12 percent between September and March (source: Commerce)
• State' sales-tax collections, adjusted for inflation, grew a meager 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2001, down from 5.4 percent a year earlier (source: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government)

• Household borrowing has risen almost 60% to $6.5 trillion in the past five yearsFamilies across America have accumulated $505 billion in credit card debt, averaging a balance of nearly $8,000 per household.

• "Nearly half of all Americans (46%) have less than $10,000 saved for their retirement. And 39% of Americans are anxious about their ability to achieve their desired retirement lifestyle."