Businesses Racked Up New Debt At The Fastest Rate In Seven Years

Businesses outside the financial sector racked up new debt at an annual rate of 8.3% in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. That was the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2008 and was driven mostly by corporate bond issuance, the Fed said. While issuing debt, the corporate stockpile of cash rose to $2.06 trillion from $1.99 trillion. The Fed report also shows that households and nonprofits saw their net worth increase by $695 billion in the second quarter, mostly due to the rise in home values but also due to the stock market. Household credit grew 3.9% in the second quarter, mostly due to student and auto loans. The total debt outside the financial sector -- of households, businesses and all forms of government -- rose to $43.98 trillion from $43.51 trillion.

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