There are a lot of warning signs flashing in the economy right now. Here's another one:
Macy's is warning of a spike in customers who are failing to make credit card payments, adding to the evidence of mounting financial stress on consumers.
The iconic department store had anticipated delinquencies would climb following a post-Covid lull. But Macy's management has been caught off guard by the magnitude of the uptick.
As if the delinquencies themselves weren't alarming enough, we have this: Macy's was anticipating these defaults... and they're still alarmed by them.
CFO Adrian Mitchell claimed the defaults are "an indication of some of the pressures that we're actually seeing on the consumer," including student loans, "auto loans, mortgages." Don't forget to throw inflation in there, as well.
More broadly, meanwhile, Moody's claims that "new credit card and auto loan delinquencies have now surpassed pre-Covid levels."
And remember, it's not just Macy's: After a couple of years of crazy inflation and sky-high prices, Americans are racking up credit card debt at historic levels.
Bad signs! Not good!
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