BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Consumer debt increases by 12%

Consumers nationwide have increased their debt more than 12 percent in the past two years, according to a study released Wednesday by a Costa Mesa-based credit report company.

Experian Consumer Direct found consumer debt increased during the same time as minimum monthly payment obligations increased by 10 percent.

``In addition to consumers taking on substantially more debt over the past two years, their number of late payments increased nearly 20 percent,'' said Ty Taylor, Experian president.

The average consumer carries $11,669 in debt and makes $538 in monthly payments, according to the study. That is an increase from 2004 when the average consumer had $10,371 in debt and made monthly payments of $489.

XM Radio lowers growth prediction

NEW YORK -- XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. lowered its forecast for full-year subscriber growth and revenue on Wednesday, citing ``overall softness'' of retail sales for satellite radios in the second quarter and product availability problems. The company's shares tumbled 11 percent.

XM, which competes with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. in the emerging business of selling nationwide radio service delivered by satellite, said it now expects to have 8.5 million subscribers by the end of the year, down from its previous estimate of 9 million.

The Washington, D.C.-based company also said it now expects to have full-year subscriber revenue of $835 million, down from its previous estimate of $860 million.

The company had told investors on April 27, when it reported first-quarter results, that it expected to reach those full-year goals.

XM's shares, which were already down about 50 cents before the announcement, fell even further after the news came out, closing down $1.76, or 11.4 percent, at $13.75, after dipping as low as $13.43 earlier in the day on heavy trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Warning needed on ADHD drugs?

Accidental overdoses and side effects from attention deficit drugs likely send thousands of children and adults to emergency rooms, according to the first national estimates of the problem.

Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated problems with the stimulant drugs drive nearly 3,100 people to ERs each year. Nearly two-thirds -- overdoses and accidental use -- could be prevented by parents locking the pills away, the researchers say.

Other patients had side effects, including potential cardiac problems such as chest pain, stroke, high blood pressure and fast heart rate.

Concerns over those effects have led some doctors to urge the Food and Drug Administration to require a ``black box,'' its most serious warning, on package inserts for drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall. Yet even doctors advising the FDA don't agree on whether that's warranted.

Latin Americans aim for security

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Currencies and stocks kept falling across Latin America Wednesday as investors shifted money out of emerging markets toward more secure investments.

The Brazilian real fell to its weakest point of the year, closing at 2.4 to the dollar. Mexico's peso closed at 11.2850 to the dollar, its weakest since January 2005, and Colombia's peso fell to 2,541 to the dollar, its lowest since November 2004.

Chile's currency also fell, closing at 533.10 per dollar, its lowest since March 23, in part due to predictions of lower production of its principal export, copper, but also because its economy is affected by investors turning to safer securities in the United States, where inflation fears have markets expecting further interest rate increases.

The capital flight was apparent on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, where the benchmark Ibovespa index closed 0.88 percent lower at 35,792 points, down from 36,110 Tuesday.

40,000 to receive fen-phen payouts

PHILADELPHIA -- Drug maker Wyeth is preparing to distribute $1.28 billion from a supplemental fund to about 40,000 people who took a diet drug linked to heart problems.

The money will come from the $21.1 billion the company set aside for litigation related to the drug combination known as fen-phen, company spokesman Doug Petkus said.

The drug combination was pulled from the market in 1997 amid concerns that it caused heart-valve defects and other problems. Some 5.8 million people had taken the drug.

The supplemental fund covers plaintiffs with the least serious problems, and was created to ensure that the first settlement fund did not run dry for those with more serious problems. With final court appeals exhausted, the supplemental fund became final this month.