Thursday, August 9, 2012

Recession generation with student loan debt on top of a dead economy opts to rent rather than buy houses and cars

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8/8/12, "Recession Generation Opts to Rent Not Buy Houses to Cars," Bloomberg, Fairchild

"Confronting a jobless rate above 8 percent since 2009 and student-loan debt hitting about $1 trillion, 20-to-34-year-olds are renting apartments, cars and even clothing to save money and stay flexible. As the Great Depression shaped the attitudes of a generation from 1929 until the early years of World War II, so have the financial crisis and its aftermath affected the outlook of young consumers....

The shifting attitudes also pose a threat to retail sales, said Candace Corlett, president of New York-based retail- strategy firm WSL Strategic Retail. Younger consumers are already comfortable buying used items and borrowing from friends. Renting will only reinforce their tendency not to buy new."...via Lucianne

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