CREDIT: Consumer credit rose in April for seventh month
More auto loans and more student loans – and not credit cards – drove up consumer credit once again in April, the latest figures available. “Credit rose by $6.25 billion after a revised $4.82 billion gain in March,” Bloomberg reports.
SHOPPING: Majority of Americans fed up with poor customer service
What do Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines have in common? Nothing. According to Consumer Reports, Wal-Mart ranks last in customer service, while Southwest tops the list. And in a more general sense, “Americans are fed up with poor customer service,”MSNBC reports, “with 64 percent walking out of stores due to poor assistance and 67 percent hanging up on a call before their problems are even addressed.”
GAS: GM CEO calls for $1 gas tax hike
A carmaker calling for higher gas taxes? That’s like Macy’s calling for a higher sales tax. But, CNN reports, “General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said his company and his industry would be helped, not hurt, if consumers paid higher gas taxes.”
ECONOMY: Obama: No fears of double-dip recession
President Obama says the economy is facing “headwinds” but won’t head backward. “Obama said his administration was taking a range of steps to boost the economy, and that the nation is bound for long-term economic growth,” MSNBC reports.
JOBS: Bernanke: Job market ‘far from normal’
More optimism from Washington leaders: “The Federal Reserve chairman is still optimistic that the recovery will pick up again in the second half of the year,” CNN reports. But Ben Bernanke also conceded, “The economy is still producing at levels well below its potential.”
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