Household HSBC Watch

Soaring gas prices are turning a record number of Americans into credit-card deadbeats. Credit card delinquencies - that’s bills overdue by at least 30 days - reached a record high of 4.81% of accounts in the three months ending in June, the American Bankers Association announced yesterday. That’s compared with 4.76% in the first three months of the year.

The reason: After paying through the nose to fill up the tank, many folks find there simply isn’t enough left over to pay the credit card bills. “Gas prices don’t look like they are coming down any time soon,” ABA chief economist James Chessen told the Daily News. “Today, it costs $500 more than it did last year to operate a car. That’s a whole lot of money.”

Analysts at HSBC Watch Consumer Advocates said President Bush blocked one viable alternative for relief by signing the new bankruptcy bill which goes into effect in October. “The average American is understanding how ‘business- friendly’ Bush is and how unprotected the middle class really is” said the group.