Americans stepped up borrowing in January to buy cars and attend school, while staying cautious about using their credit cards.
The Federal Reserve says consumer borrowing rose $16.15 billion in January from December to a total of $2.8 trillion. That's the highest level on record.
A measure of credi- card debt rose only $106.1 million. That followed a $3.2 billion drop in December. Credit- card debt remains 17.2 percent below the peak set in June 2008.http://www.cnbc.com/100534083