US Household Net Worth

Here is a news item I found interesting, followed by my restatement of the story, priced in gold. You can also view a chart of net worth.

Americans' net worth rises for third straight quarter

Friday, March 12, 2010

Stock gains boost Americans' net worth

Americans regained more of their shrunken wealth last quarter, mainly because of gains in stock portfolios. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that household net worth rose 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, to $54.2 trillion. Net worth rose 4.5 percent in the second quarter and 5.5 percent in the third. The value of stocks rose nearly 4 percent in the period, to $7.7 trillion. Higher home prices helped a bit: Real estate holdings edged up 0.2 percent.

Americans' net worth would have to rise 21 percent more to get back to its pre-recession peak of $65.9 trillion.

— Associated Press

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Here's the story as priced in gold:

Americans' net worth falls for second quarter in a row

Friday, March 12, 2010

Currency losses gut Americans' net worth

Americans saw their wealth shrink again last quarter, mainly because of losses in the value of the dollar. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that household net worth fell 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, to 1,526 tonnes of gold. Net worth had risen 2.5 percent in the second quarter and fallen 1 percent in the third. Aside from the second quarter's uptick, net worth has been falling every period since the third quarter of 2007. Falling home prices caused a major hit: Real estate holdings dropped 9.6 percent to 467 tonnes. The value of stocks fell 6.3 percent in the period, to 217 tonnes of gold. Underlying all of these drops is the continuing debasement of the US Dollar, as bogus "bailouts", "stimulus plans" and other reckless deficit spending take their toll.

Americans' net worth would have to rise 227 percent to get back to its pre-recession peak of 5,000 tonnes of gold.

— Associated Press and PricedinGold.com