- Farrell: What's Different On This Black Friday
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Schork Oil Outlook: Gas Bulls Pinning Hopes on Mother Nature
- Busch: The Debt-Interest Rate Paradox
- Busch: Markets Smell a Country Rat
- Schork Oil Outlook: Mission Impossible For The Bears?
- Losey: Asset Allocation At Retirement
- Farrell: Obama Hectored, Ignored and Restricted?
- Don't Dwell on Investment Mistakes; Move on, Like Buffett
- Hirschhorn: Greed...or Fear
MOST SHARED
- U.S. Stocks Fall on Dubai Worries
- Black Friday at Best Buy
- Strategists on Dubai: Avoid 'Rash Moves' Now
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Dubai Stock Market Fear Has 'Legs': Dennis Gartman
- Obama's Emission Reduction Pledge Paints Future for Autos
- Is Super Bowl Halftime Act Too Old?
- Surprising Options Trades in TiVo Shares
- EA Sports Hopes to Pump Up Sales Through Pop-Up Locations
- Abu Dhabi Will Aid Debt-Fraught Dubai 'Case by Case'
- Banks With The Biggest Exposure to The UAE
- Dubai's Debt Woes Signal New Era for Creditors
- Next Week: Cash In Now Or Wait For A Santa Rally?
- Dubai Stock Selloff May Bring Buying Opportunity
- Longer Lines, Fuller Carts This Black Friday
- Big US Banks May Be Forced to Raise Capital: Bove
- Bank of America Amends Pay for Senior Executives
- Tiger Woods Out of Hospital After Accident
RSS FEED
CNBC Guest Blog
Text Size 
Much attention has been paid recently on the impact that the credit crisis might have on businesses, with most concluding that
business loans will more difficult to obtain
. There is already plenty of evidence in this regard. Recent data indicate that business lending has in fact slowed, although probably not as much as feared and certainly not nearly as much as in the credit crunch of the early 1990s.
New data released late Friday by the Federal Reserve indicate that commercial & industrial loans increased $4.4 billion to $1.512, the fifth gain in six weeks and only fractionally away from the record high set four weeks ago.
The growth rate for the past three months was 6.2%, which compares favorably with the past two recessions. For example, from March 2001 (the start date of the last recession) until April 2004, commercial & industrial loans fell at a 6.5% annual rate. From July 1990 (the start date of the recession of 1990-1991) until December 1993, commercial & industrial loans fell at a 2.7% annual rate.
More: Click for Latest Economic coverage ...
__________
Tony Crescenzi is the Chief Bond Market Strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., LLC where he advises many of the nation's top institutional investors on issues related to the bond market, the economy and other macro-related issues. Crescenzi makes regular appearances on financial television stations such as CNBC and Bloomberg, and is frequently quoted across the news media. He is also the co-author of the just-revised "The Money Market" and "The Strategic Bond Investor."
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes