Consumer borrowing up in January

Buyers increased their borrowing on credit cards, auto loans and other types of consumer debt at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in January, the fastest pace in three months, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

That represented an increase of $11.5 billion in borrowing from December, which was double what many economists had been expecting. It came after an increase of $8.7 billion in borrowing in December, which was revised up significantly from an initial estimate that borrowing had risen by just $3.1 billion in December.

The 6.6 percent rate of increase in January compared to a 5 percent rise in December and was the fastest advance since consumer debt rose by 8.2 percent in October.

Economists had expected higher borrowing in January although the extent of the surge took them by surprise. They said that the higher borrowing in January was fueled by strong post-holiday sales at retail stores.

They predicted further gains in borrowing in the months ahead, bolstered by continued strength in hiring. The government reported last week that business payrolls increased by an unexpectedly large 262,000 in January, the biggest gain in four months.

Total consumer debt now stands at a record level of $2.12 trillion.

Demand for credit cards and other types of revolving credit jumped at an annual rate of 8.1 percent in January to a level of $801 billion following an 8.5 percent rise in December.

Wetzel promoted at Windermere

Scott Wetzel has been promoted to president of Windermere Services Co./Inland Northwest Inc., the Spokane-based regional headquarters for the Seattle real estate company.

Wetzel will direct day-to-day operations at the regional headquarters, which oversees 40 real estate offices in Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to a Windermere press release.

John Becker, former president of Windermere Services/Inland Northwest, has been named chairman of the company.

Wetzel previously was vice president of business development for the regional headquarters. Prior to that, he was CEO of Contineo Technologies Inc.

During Wetzel’s time at Windermere the company has expanded into Wyoming, and soon will add new offices in Utah, the press release said.

Mexican court orders Levi Strauss fined

A federal court in Mexico has ordered jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. to pay $45 million to a former contractor wrongly targeted in a police raid seeking to crack down on clothing counterfeiters.

The judgment announced Monday by San Francisco-based Levi’s vindicates Mexico City contractor Comexma, which sued the company for the fallout from a June 2001 incident at its plant.

Accompanied by local media, Mexican police raided Comexma looking for evidence of bogus Levi’s brands based on information provided by a company attorney. The brand-protection attorney set up the raid without getting the required company approvals, Levi’s said.

Police backed off after Levi’s confirmed Comexma as an authorized manufacturer, but it came too late to prevent significant damages, the contractor alleged in a lawsuit filed in March 2002.