TOO LITTLE DEBT TO NOTICE:

Consumer Credit Tumbled in July (Jeff Bater, 9/08/09, WSJ)

Americans reduced their borrowing a sixth consecutive time during July in a bad omen for any easy economic turnaround.

Consumer credit outstanding tumbled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.4% to $2.472 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. The $21.6-billion drop in borrowing was a record.