Americans have missed or skipped payments on more than $100 million in loans since 1 March.
About 106 million installment loans were enrolled in formal deferment, forbearance, or relief programs on 1 May, about triple the number on 1 April.
Roughly 79 million student loan payments went unmade on 1 May, up from 18 million a month earlier. Auto and personal loans in trouble doubled to 7.3 million and 1.3 million, respectively.
Capital One Financial Corp. reported that 2 percent of loan recipients were in formal payment deferment programs by 1 June, double the number in mid-April.
The federal bailout law passed in March allows student loans to go unpaid through September 2020 without penalty and homeowners to ask their mortgage lenders for permission to pause their payments for up to 12 months.
TREND FORECAST: COVID Fear is still running very deep in the hearts of mask-wearing, crowd avoiding, hand washing, socially distancing Americans.
Restaurants and retailers add to the Fear with warning signs of what to do and how to do it.
This is from a restaurant in New York that has recently reopened:
“Waves are the new handshakes and hugs! While we’ve missed your hugs, we’re adhering to the following guidelines to keep you and our staff safe and healthy:
- Please wear your mask on entering and any time you leave your table.
- Maintain 6 feet of social distancing.
- Practice good hygiene – wash and sanitize hands.
- If you’re not feeling well, please do not come in – plan to visit us another time.”
No hugs, no kisses, no handshakes, no socializing… no meeting new people. Thus, with countless new regulations in place and various reasons people go to restaurants gone, profits will fall, pushing restaurants, in addition to many other service sectors, out of business.
Again, clearly, Wall Street’s equity markets rise has no correlation to the realities on Main Street.