Private sector continues to deleverage

Total debt outstanding in the economy is still growing, but at the slowest pace on record.  The household has decreased its debt for 4 straight quarters.  You can see just how unique this debt deflation is, given that household debt had previously never fallen year-over-year in the recorded history of this data series.  The household sector isn’t the only one:  the finance and corporate sectors are also putting in their first ever declines in debt during this recession.  We don’t include charts of those sectors because they all look just like the household one above.  In fact, the sum of all non-federal debt is falling.  The process of elimination tells you who is keeping overall debt creation positive:  the US Government, which has grown its debt outstanding by $2.2 trillion since the first quarter of 2008.  This is a big number, when considering that it comes off a base of $5.3 trillion.

Dr. Steenbarger: What trading (and life) is all about

Think of your view of the ideal person: who they are, what they represent, how they behave, what is important to them, what they undertake. Think hard about what makes this ideal person admirable. Create a character in your imagination: your personal hero or heroine.

Now think about how you have been like or unlike this ideal today.

How will you be like that hero or heroine tomorrow?

What is the gap between your real and ideal: between you as you are and you as you, deep down, know you can be?

How can you start to bridge that gap now? Tomorrow?

Trading is just one of those bridges. There are many others: career fields, relationships, competitive sports.