In other news, U.S. consumer debt increased to a record $13.5 trillion during the fourth quarter of 2018. Mortgage debt is back to pre-2008 crisis levels.
The household debt and credit report, published Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, showed that the overall debt shouldered by Americans edged up to a record $13.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018.
While mortgage debt, by far the largest slice, slipped for the first time in two years, other forms of borrowing rose including that of credit cards, which at $870 billion matched its pre-crisis peak in 2008.
Meanwhile, auto-loan delinquencies also reached the highest level since 2012 during the fourth quarter of 2018. Some 7 million Americans are at least 90 days behind on car payments.
Finally, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), says it's revamping its investment strategy so it won't accidentally give Jared Kusher a billion dollars. Again.