Yellen: Unexpected $400 expense would put majority of US households in financial bind

janet-yellen
Janet Yellen

An unexpected expense of just $400 would prompt the majority of US households to borrow money, sell something, or simply not pay at all, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said in a speech yesterday in Washington, DC.

Yellen noted that the median net worth reported by the bottom fifth of US households by income was only $6,400 in 2013.

"Among this group, representing about 25 million American households, many families had no wealth or had negative net worth," she said. "The next fifth of

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