THE SURPLUS JUST KEEPS SURGING:

American household wealth surges to new record--Fed (Reuters, Mar 10, 2005)

Rising real estate prices and a resurgent U.S. stock market pushed the net wealth of American households to a record high in the fourth quarter of 2004, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday.

In its quarterly "Flow of Funds" report, the central bank said household balance sheet values rose to $48.53 trillion in the fourth quarter, up from $46.59 trillion in the third quarter.