No. 1Household Finance
Fed survey: median income up 7%, but debt burdens rise
The Fed's 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, released Friday, shows real median family income up 7% since 2022 to $82,200. Real mean income fell 6% to $145,200. Median net worth rose 2% to $215,900, while mean net worth rose 7% to $1.24 million. Homeownership held near 66%, and stock-market participation slipped to 56% from 58%. Among families holding stock, median holdings rose 36% to $77,400. The weak spot is debt service: families with payments above 40% of income rose to 8.6% from 6.5%, the highest since the 2013 survey.
No. 2Credit Stress
Share of families behind on debt payments nears 20%
The same survey shows families more likely to be behind on obligations than at any point since the 2010 survey. About 20% were behind at the end of 2025, up from roughly 12% in 2022. Those two or more months behind rose to over 8% from 5%. The gains were uneven: the top income group's median net worth rose 31%, while the bottom quarter's fell 6%. Median net worth growth of 2% was also described as much slower than in the 2019-22 period. A New York Fed survey this week found households saying their finances had worsened over the past year.
Why it mattersWeigh delinquency risk in consumer credit and spending forecasts, because the stress is concentrated in lower-income households while headline wealth looks healthy.
Full story at Economy →No. 3Treasury
Bessent names Judy Shelton counselor on currency policy and China
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has appointed Judy Shelton as a counselor, advising on currency policy with a focus on China's financial conditions. Shelton is not known as a China specialist. The Senate blocked her 2019 nomination to the Fed board over her views on Fed independence, the gold standard, and whether the U.S. needs a central bank. The post needs no Senate approval, as with David Zervos, the former Jefferies strategist Bessent recently named to the same title. The hire comes as seven Senate-confirmed Treasury officials had left through August, with only one slot filled, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Why it mattersWatch who is shaping Treasury's currency and China thinking, since advisers outside Senate confirmation now carry more of the department's policy bench.
Full story at Economy →