Borrowed Buying Power / Wsj

[jmf]

Moin from Germany,

uh oh......

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119058413986236614.html

In the past decade, U.K. consumers have become more dependent on borrowed money, both to buy homes and to finance spending. As of July, total mortgage debt in the U.K. had reached £1.1 trillion ($2.2 trillion), more than double the level of 10 years earlier and equivalent to more than 80% of annual gross domestic product.

In the first quarter of this year, U.K. homeowners tapped their home equity for about £13.2 billion, or 6.1% of disposable income, an indication of how much rising home prices have been raising consumer spending, which makes up about two-thirds of the U.K. economy