Datastream

The State of Household Debt in America

Published

4 weeks ago

May 16, 2021

Aran Ali

Growing household debt in America

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The Briefing

U.S. household debt stands at $14.56 trillion, and has doubled since 2003
Student loan debt has expanded a colossal 550% in the same time frame

The State of Household Debt in America

American households are becoming increasingly indebted.

In 2003, total household debt was $7.23 trillion, but that figure has recently doubled to $14.56 trillion in 2020. With just under 130 million households in the country, this equates to an average of $118,000 of debt per household.

Here’s how the various forms of U.S. household debt compare.

Type of Debt	2003 (in trillions)	2020 (in trillions)	% Growth
Mortgage	$4.94	$10.04	+103%
Home Equity Revolving	$0.24	$0.35	+45%
Auto Loan	$0.64	$1.37	+137%
Credit Card	$0.69	$0.82	+18%
Student Loan	$0.24	$1.56	+550%
Other	$0.48	$0.42	-12%
Total	$7.23	$14.46	100%

Mortgages: Steep Price to Pay for Home Ownership

Making up roughly 70% of all household debt, and growing $5.1 trillion since 2003, mortgage debt now stands at $10.04 trillion.

A fundamental driver of mortgage activity is interest rates. Given the two variables tend to have an inverse relationship with one another, interest rates have a big impact on the affordability of housing. As long as U.S. interest rates remain near 200-year lows, its likely mortgages will maintain at elevated levels.

Students Continue Struggling with Student Debt

The second-largest form of debt is student loans. Although not quite the size of mortgages in raw dollars, student debt is the fastest growing as a percentage, having shot up 550% from 2003 to 2020.

The topic of debt is highly discussed in today’s political and economic climate. That’s largely because debt has risen on all fronts to unprecedented levels. For example, the U.S. national debt has recently passed $27 trillion while corporate debt stands at $10.5 trillion.

Throw the aforementioned household debt into the mix and you have a $52 trillion debt pile. That’s a big bill to pay.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Notes: Data ranges from Q1 2004 to Q4 2020

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Datastream

Euro 2020: Qualified Nations and Past Winners

After a year-long delay, the 2020 UEFA European Championship is back with new rules, reduced spectators, and fierce competition.

Published

4 days ago

June 11, 2021

Niccolo Conte

The Briefing

The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship will kick off Friday, June 11th 2021 after a year-long delay due to COVID-19
The tournament will take place across 11 host cities and feature new rules, reduced spectators, and fierce competition

The 2020 European Championship Returns with New Rules

After a year-long delay, the 2020 UEFA European Championship is set to kick off what will be the largest international sports tournament to take place since the pandemic.

While the final stage of the tournament typically takes place in one or two nations, this year’s will be played across 11 different countries.

Running from June 11th to July 11th 2021, the opening game between Italy and Turkey will kick off at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and the final will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium.

COVID-19’s Impact on Teams and Spectators

Aside from the initial year-long delay, COVID-19 has changed how teams and spectators will participate in the tournament.

Squads have been expanded from 23 to 26 players, and coaches will be permitted to call up more players if COVID-19 infections force players into isolation.

For spectators, individual stadiums within host cities have announced varying capacities ranging from 20-100%, with strict stadium entry requirements across the board. Since these capacities are pre-tournament estimates, we’ll have to wait until matchday to see how many ticket-holders are comfortable attending the fixtures in person.

Host Stadium and City	Spectator Capacity
Johann Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam	25-45%
Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku	50%
Arena Națională, Bucharest	25-45%
Puskás Aréna, Budapest	Aiming for 100%
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	25-45%
Hampden Park, Glasgow	25-45%
Wembley Stadium, London	Minimum of 25%
Football Arena Munich (Allianz Arena), Munich	Minimum of 14,500 spectators (~22%)
Stadio Olimpico, Rome	25-45%
Estadio La Cartuja, Seville	25-45%
Krestovsky Stadium (Gazprom Arena), Saint Petersburg	50%

Source: UEFA

Strong Competition Among Euro 2020’s Favorites

Despite current world champions France remaining as undeniable favorites, bookies are putting England to win the tournament (despite a fairly young squad) partially due to the home field advantage in the semi-finals and final.

Spain, Germany, and Italy remain formidable competitors, and Belgium’s golden generation will have one final shot at silverware after their third place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

European champions Portugal are another obvious threat, as Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to become the tournament’s top goalscorer of all time (currently tied with Michel Platini at 9 goals).

While the 2020 edition of UEFA’s European Championship features a variety of on-field and off-the-field changes, the trophy truly feels up for grabs and is a welcome return to international football for fans around the world.

»Like this? Then you might enjoy this article, The Top 10 Football Clubs by Market Value

Where does this data come from?

Source: UEFA

Datastream

COVID-19 Vaccine Prices: Comparing the U.S. and EU

Compared to America, the EU has paid significantly less for a range of COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s a look at vaccine prices in each region.

Published

1 week ago

June 7, 2021

Carmen Ang

The Briefing

The U.S. paid 32.1% more per dose for the Pfizer vaccine, compared to the EU
Between the two areas, the Sanofi vaccine has one of the smallest prices gaps of only 12.9%

Comparing COVID Vaccine Prices between the U.S. and EU

Over two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world.

But the price governments have paid for the vaccine varies, depending on the region or country. Here’s a look at five major vaccine manufacturers, and their price per dose in the U.S. compared to the EU.

COVID-19 Vaccine Prices: Cost Per Dose

Generally speaking, the EU has paid significantly less than America for a range of COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer has the biggest price gap, with the U.S. paying 32.1% more per dose.

Manufacturer	U.S. Price (per dose)	EU Price (per dose)	% Difference U.S. is paying
Pfizer/BioNTech	$19.50	$14.76	32.1%
Moderna	$15.00	$18.00	-20.0%
Sanofi	$10.50	$9.30	12.9%
Johnson & Johnson	$10.00	$8.50	17.6%
AstraZeneca	$4.00	$3.50	14.3%

There are a few factors that might explain the price difference. One is early funding—Germany donated millions towards Pfizer’s development.

And while the U.S. did commit to purchasing hundreds of millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the country didn’t provide any funding for the vaccine’s actual development.

Moderna is the only vaccine on the list that is actually cheaper in the U.S., at $15.00 per dose. However, considering that Moderna’s CEO had initially predicted governments would be charged $25-$37 per dose, it looks like both the U.S. and EU managed to negotiate a good deal.