Briefs for Friday

U.S. consumer borrowing surged by a larger-than-expected $35.3 billion in May as Americans, bolstered by a reopening economy and rising job levels, went back to using credit in a big way.

Borrowing on credit cards and for auto and student loans showed solid gains in May, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

It marked the fourth straight month of strong growth in consumer borrowing and followed an April advance of $20 billion.

Fed officials said the $35.3 billion seasonally adjusted increase in May was the largest one-month gain on records that go back to 1943.

The May borrowing total was driven by a $26.1 billion increase in the category that includes auto and student loans, which followed a $21 billion rise in that category in April. The big gain reflected strong auto sales.

The category that covers credit cards saw a $9.2 billion rise in May, the strongest advance since a $10.9 billion increase in January 2020 before the economy was laid low by a global pandemic.

Even with the rise in credit card borrowing in May, that category is down 2.2% from a year ago.

By contrast, the category that covers auto and student loans is up 5.8% from a year ago, reflecting strong auto sales.

Analysts predicted that growth in the use of credit cards, which the Fed labels revolving credit, will strengthen in coming months.

The Fed labels auto and student loans as nonrevolving credit.

“We expect growth in revolvig credit to pick up as consumers feel more comfortable using their credit cards, particularly to finance spending in the service sector,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, senior economist at Oxford Economics. “As spending shifts away from goods, including autos, we expect growth in nonrevolving credit to moderate.”

Consumers’ use of credit cards has been falling since early 2020 as households cut back on their use of credit in the face of the pandemic-triggered recession.

The Fed’s monthly credit report does not cover mortgages or any other loans, such as home equity loans, secured by real estate.

Stellantis vows 98% of fleet will be electric by 2025

DETROIT – Stellantis is a little late to the global electric vehicle party, but on Thursday it pledged to catch up and pass its competitors.

CEO Carlos Tavares said by 2025, 98% of its models in Europe and North America will have fully electric or plug-in gas-electric hybrid versions.

He said the company that combined Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot is developing four fully electric vehicle platforms with ranges from 311 miles to 497 miles.

It also will have three electric drive modules to power all of its vehicles, and Stellantis will take advantage of its scale to reduce electric vehicle costs.

The company expects to reduce battery costs by more than 40% from 2020 to 2024 with two new battery chemistries.

It plans to introduce solid-state battery technology by 2026 that can store more energy than current versions.

The models include a fully electric Ram pickup in 2024 and a hybrid Jeep Grand Cherokee later this year, as well as small cars.

There even will be an electric Dodge muscle car.

The company says it will use its electric commercial vehicle expertise from Europe to build EV models worldwide.

It says Jeeps, known largely for going off road, will have zero-emissions electric vehicles in every market segment by 2025.

FDA revises instructions for Alzheimer’s drug usage

WASHINGTON – A month after approving a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug, U.S. health regulators on Thursday signed off on new prescribing instructions that are likely to limit its use.

The Food and Drug Administration said the change is intended to address confusion among physicians and patients about who should get the drug, which has faced an intense public backlash since its approval last month.

The new drug label emphasizes that the drug, Aduhelm, is appropriate for patients with mild symptoms or early-stage Alzheimer’s but has not been studied in patients with more advanced disease.

That’s a big change from the original FDA instructions, which said simply that the drug was approved for Alzheimer’s disease in general.

Drugmaker Biogen announced the change in a release Thursday, stating that the update is intended to “clarify” the patient group studied in the company trials that led to approval.

The FDA first approached the company about narrowing the label and OK’d the language.

The FDA’s OK last month quickly sparked controversy over Aduhelm’s $56,000-a-year price-tag and questionable benefits.

From wire reports