The competing stories on consumer credit

Credit card delinquency rates in Q1 hit the highest level since 2012, with total household debt rising to nearly $14 trillion.

What it means: Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities, warns that creeping delinquency rates, and the "associated increase in interest rates on credit cards and auto loans will begin to weigh on consumer spending." While consumers are taking on more debt, Fed data also shows that delinquency rates on mortgages are at their lowest level since 2006, despite housing debt rising to $9.7 trillion in the first quarter.

Go deeper: Signs of credit crisis grow