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FINANCIAL TROUBLES INCREASE FOR HOUSEHOLDS Americans polled by Consumer Reports in July indicated they are facing significantly more financial troubles than in June. The Consumer Reports Index measures Americans' financial health based on five key measures: the Sentiment Index, the Trouble Tracker Index, the Stress Index, the Retail Index, and the Employment Index. According to Consumer Reports, the Trouble Tracker Index climbed more than five points to 39.2 in July, "an increase that was entirely fueled by an epic 23.3-point jump among those households earning $100,000 or more," the organization said. The tracker measures the proportion of consumers who have faced difficulties and the number of negative events they have encountered. Negative events include a missed mortgage payment or home foreclosure. The spike in difficulties reported by upperincome households was reflected in the report's consumer sentiment measures. While the lower- and middle-income segments experienced virtually no change in their sentiment, consumers in upper-income households reported a dip of 2.5 points. Overall, consumer sentiment remained in positive territory and unchanged at a reading of 52. Meanwhile, the 30-day retail measure showed spending activity slipped to 8.6 from 9.2 a month earlier, showing customers aren't comfortable spending yet. Planned spending for the next 30 days—reflecting July activity— was weak at 6.2, only a slight improvement from June's value of 6. June and July's planned spending numbers were the weakest since Consumer Reports first started measuring that data in April 2009. News was better on the jobs front, where gains outpaced losses for the fourth straight month. The Employment Index was up slightly to 50.9, while job starts totaled 7.7 percent, up from 5.5 percent the previous month. However, that gain was partially offset by a similar rise in job losses, which increased to 6 percent from 4.2 percent. Finally, the level of stress reported by consumers was fairly flat at 55.7. The most stressed Americans were women (57.7), those in households earning less than $50,000 (58.5), those age 35 to 64 (57.2), and those living in the South (58). "The recovery is sluggishly moving forward," said Ed Farrell, director of consumer insight at the Consumer Reports National Research Center. "This month's reported sentiment setback and increased financial woes may have been promoted by perception rather than reality. The steady, gradual improvement in the employment picture, if maintained, is a very positive sign and may work to resolve the continued weakness in retail as consumer confidence builds." STAT INSIGHT 4,785,000 Number of U.S. properties with mortgages 30 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure as of June month-end. Source: Lender Processing Services Coming in september ... Are Borrowers Who Fail to Make Payments Now Entitled to Loss Mitigation? Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. 46