It is becoming increasingly apparent the the U.S. economy may be in trouble unless some major changes are made. Consumers are taking on more debt than ever before in order to fund their spending habits while lenders are being bailed out and acquired by foreign companies. Meanwhile, a mortgage crisis has broken the back of the largest source of funds for most Americans. When consumer debt rises to $15.4 billion in the same month that Citigroup is bailed out by foreigners for $7.5 billion then we know we are in for some problems - especially when Consumer Confidence hit an all-time low...

From SeekingAlpha:
It took a few years, but some key factors are finally exposing the dangerous delusion of the credit-fed lifestyle and how it affects the U.S. economic outlook.

• Debt is up, and consumer confidence is down
• Sovereign-wealth funds are coming to the rescue of drowning U.S. lenders
• Two wars and broken social services mean the national balance sheet will get much uglier
  

The sub-prime credit disaster and subsequent brake-slam of the international finance industry are tossing momentum back and forth from the highest levels of the economy down to the lowest-paid workers. Unemployment is also up, and you can bet that driving around to look for a job gets a lot more urgent when gasoline costs upwards of three bucks a gallon.