NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jul 11, 2012) - U.S. consumers spent more on their credit cards in May than any other month since the Great Recession. "We might see additional increases in credit card debt in the coming months," said Paul Edelstein, IHS Global Insight consumer financial economics director. "But they won't match the May surge." Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Credit Card Industry and provides equity research on Discover Financial Services (NYSE: [ DFS ]) and American Express Company (NYSE: [ AXP ]).

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"It is possible that households are relying more and more on credit cards to cover everyday expenses, given that job and income growth are so weak," added Edelstein

According to a report released by the Federal Reserve Monday consumer borrowing increased by $17.1 billion in May. The increase brought the seasonally adjusted borrowing total to $2.57 trillion, just under the all-time high of $2.58 trillion in July of 2008. Credit card debt increased by $8 billion, the largest single month increase since November 2007. Although the gain was quite impressive the total level of credit card debt in May was just 2.2 percent above post-recession lows set in April 2011.

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Shares of Discover Financial Services have soared nearly 43 percent year-to-date. Consumer confidence in the economy and personal finances, which are key economic indicators, worsened in June to the lowest levels since January 2012. The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor, a 5-year-old daily poll tracking economic confidence and spending intentions of nearly 8,200 consumers throughout the month, declined 4.8 points to 90.7 in June.

American Express announced its network roadmap to advance EMV chip-based contact, contactless and mobile payments for all merchants, processors and issuers of American Express-branded cards in the U.S. "The payments industry is continuing to evolve rapidly, and American Express recognizes the growing demand for chip-based contact and contactless payments in the U.S.," said Suzan Kereere, Senior Vice President and General Manager, American Express Global Network Business. Shares of the company are up nearly 24 percent year-to-date.

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