Household Net Worth Climbs $1.5 Trillion As Business Debt Ramps Up, Fed Says

Household and nonprofit net worth climbed by $1.52 trillion in the fourth quarter, helped by a $742 billion gain in equities and a $356 billion rise in the value of real estate, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. The report said household debt grew 2.7% in the fourth quarter, while business debt surged 7.2%, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 2008. Nonfinancial corporations kept a record $2 trillion of cash in the fourth quarter, up from $1.89 trillion in the third quarter.