Are Soaring Student Loans The Best Economic Indicator?

"Last night, Goldman entered into unchartered territory with its first observations of the student loan bubble in a piece titled "Are Student Loans Driving Consumer Credit Growth?" Most of the observations are nothing new, although author Alec Phillips does bring up one amusing implication of what the soaring student debt may mean in macro terms. Specifically, to Goldman the rise in debt is merely "A more important source of countercyclical credit. Since federal student lending standards are looser than most other forms of credit, they now rely mainly on Treasury borrowing for financing, and demand for them appears stronger when the labor market weakens, it seems likely that education-related debt will grow fastest at times when the economy slows and other lenders are pulling back." In other words, the rate of change in student debt is inversely proportional to the improvement in the US economy, or directly proportional to its deterioration. So since the student debt chart is, for lack of a better word, parabolic, what does that mean for the broader economy?..."



Source: Name The Bubble

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/are-soaring-student-loans-best-economic-indicator

Robert Shiller Answers: Are We In Another Tech Bubble?

"Maybe," answered Shiller to Daily Ticker's Aaron Task earlier this week.
It's not the greatest answer in the world. But it's not a "No."
Remember, Robert Shiller was the genius who predicted the dot.com bubble of the late 90's in his book Irrational Exuberance. He also predicted the housing bubble. So, when Shiller talks about bubbles, people listen and markets move.
"There's always a chance of another technology bubble," Shiller added..."

at http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-tech-bubble-2012-3#ixzz1qn7EALpR

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