by Calculated Risk on 5/04/2005 09:51:00 PM

Is this the future for the US? A housing slowdown with declining consumer spending. And now the BBC reports that Britain is bracing for rising foreclosures and bankruptcies:

"Not since the mid-1990s, as the last economic recession claimed its final victims, has so much debt pain been felt by so many people.

Debt charities and credit industry bodies have told BBC News that they have seen a surge in the numbers of people unable to pay their bills.

At the same time, according to official figures nearly 26,000 property repossession orders were granted in the first three months of 2005, the highest number since 1995.

And on Friday, it is widely expected that the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) will reveal a sharp rise in the number of people going bankrupt.

In short, the UK's trillion pound debt hangover finally seems to be kicking in."