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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – American consumers increased credit by an annualized 5.7% pace in May, mainly to buy cars and trucks and pay for college loans. Consumers increased their debt by a seasonally adjusted $16.1 billion in May, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Credit had climbed at a 6.2% annual pace in April, 7.9% in March and 8.5% in February. The amount of credit taken out by consumer has risen every month since August 2011. Non-revolving credit that involves longer-term debt such as federal student loans jumped 7%. Credit-card debt rose a much smaller 2.1% after an 11.5% spike in April. Total credit card debt has grown very slowly since 2010 and still hasn’t returned to its all-time high even though the population has increased. Yet nonrevolving loans have surged.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

By Marianne Canada

It’s not secret that I love thrifting. I try to get to my favorite haunts at least a couple of times a month, because in my line of work you never know when you’re going to need vintage textiles, a quirky wooden animal for a bookshelf, or a brass bud vase. But while I’m always hunting for decor items I can use as-is, I’m also always on the hunt for things I can upcycle. This week I found two adorable but oh-so-dated small southwestern planters and gave them a face lift in just two easy steps. Watch the video to see how!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I am loving this modern, clean take on the southwestern design trend. So tell me, do you enjoy thrifting? What are your favorite kinds of upcycled projects? Leave a comment below to let me know.

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From:: HGTV

The options market is preparing for much bigger-than-average move in Alcoa Inc.’s stock after the aluminum company kicks off the second-quarter earnings reporting season after Wednesday’s close. An options strategy known as a straddle, which involves the simultaneous buying of bullish (call) and bearish (put) options at current prices, was implying a one-day, post-earnings move of about 5.8% in either direction, according to FactSet. That’s about double the average move of 2.99%, and median move of 2.9%, on the day after the past 20 earnings reports. The stock made a bigger move than the straddle currently implies just once during the 20-quarter period, when it jumped 6.2% on April 11, 2012 after Alcoa Q1 2012 results were reported. Ahead of Wednesday’s results, the stock slid 3.9% in afternoon trade, putting it track to close at the lowest level since Jan. 15, 2014. The stock has tumbled 33% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained less than 0.1%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — San Francisco Fed President John Williams on Wednesday repeated that his view that the decision to lift interest rates is “data dependent” as he said he hasn’t seen a convincing sign underlying inflation has bottomed out. “Until I have more confidence that inflation will be moving back to 2%, I’ll continue to be in wait-and-see mode,” Williams told a Los Angeles gathering of bank economists. “Every FOMC meeting is on the table.”

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Only one of the 10 Fed officials who have a vote this year was ready to hike rates in June, but that official expressed a willingness to wait “another meeting or two,” according to minutes of the U.S. central bank’s meeting released Wednesday. All of the other voting members said they needed more evidence that “economic growth was sufficiently strong and labor market conditions had firmed enough to return inflation to the Committee’s longer-run objective over the medium term” according to the minutes. A number of Fed officials warned against a “premature” increase in interest rates. When they decide to hike, Fed officials agreed to release a separate statement to convey the operational details regarding the setting of its policy tools in part so that the market does not pore over the technical details for signals of future interest rate plans.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama has been told by advisers there is no indication there were “malicious actors” involved in the New York Stock Exchange trading halt, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. The halt began on the exchange at 11:32 a.m. Eastern time. Earlier Wednesday, a Treasury official said the agency is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the matter. The official said it is primarily a matter for the SEC and the NYSE.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF was still well off its intraday low in midday trade Wednesday, but has pulled back from its high after the NYSE tweeted that the trading halt was not the result of a cyber breach. The ETF was down as much as 1.5% at its low, then started bouncing just before 12 p.m. Eastern, after the NYSE said it suspended trading in all issues. It turned fractionally positive slightly after noon, then started pulling back after the NYSE moved to assure investors that it wasn’t hacked. Separately, shares of cyber security company FireEye Inc. were up 0.1%, but had been up as much as 2% slightly after noon.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

A widely-followed measure of market volatility, the CBOE Volatility Index, jumped and remains elevated after the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in all securities at 11:32 a.m. Eastern. The index rose from around 18.11 immediately after the halt to trade as high as 19.10 before edging back to 18.62 in recent activity, a daily rise of around 15.5%. The index, often called Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” reflects traders’ expectatons for price fluctuations in the S&P 500 index. The NYSE said the trade halt, which remains in place, is the result of a technical glitch. Trading in NYSE-listed stocks has continued via other exchanges.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – President Barack Obama has been briefed on the trading halt at the New York Stock Exchange, a White House official said Wednesday. Treasury Department and White House officials are monitoring the situation, the official said. A Treasury official said that the agency is working in tandem with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “This is primarily a matter for the SEC and NYSE and they are working very hard to resolve this situation effectively, the Treasury official said.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, or Tape A as they’re called, were still trading on other stock markets. Other venues include the Nasdaq and BATS.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News