Consumer Confidential: Debt rises, Apple has best brand, Mickey D’s sprucing up

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Here’s your heavens-to-murgatroyd Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Apparently this a good thing: Consumers are going into debt again, which is a sign that people are feeling more optimistic about their economic prospects. The Federal Reserve says total consumer debt increased slightly in the first quarter of this year, ending a string of nine consecutive declining quarters. In addition, banks are becoming more willing to lend than in recent years, the first such gain since the third quarter of 2008. Total household delinquency rates also continued to improve for the fifth quarter in a row, as overdue balances fell 15% from a year earlier. There were 368,000 new foreclosures during the quarter, a 17.7% decline from the fourth quarter of 2010, and new bankruptcies fell 13.3% during the quarter, to 434,000.

--Which company has the most valuable brand? It was Google once upon a time, but not any longer. A new study finds that Apple now enjoys the bestest brand. Apple rose a stunning 84% in value globally to take the top spot from Google in Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study. But the real climber on the chart was Facebook, which rose a whopping 246% in value over the last year. Meanwhile, Amazon has edged out Wal-Mart to become the world’s most valuable retail brand, according to the survey. Millward Brown’s calculations use brand-equity tracking and financial data about companies to determine who’s got the boss brand. Of the top 10 companies on the list, only two have failed to grow in value since last year: Google and AT&T.

--Mickey D’s is getting a face lift. McDonald’s is undertaking its biggest store-by-store makeover in the chain’s 56-year history in an attempt to look more grown-up. It’s a $1-billion-plus undertaking that McDonald’s and its franchisees hope, by 2015, will have the vast majority of the U.S.’s 14,000 McDonald’s looking comfortable enough to hang out in long after you’ve gobbled down your burger and fries. Adios fiberglass tables and industrial steel chairs. Hello, wooden tables, comfortable faux leather chairs and interiors newly painted in muted oranges, yellows and even subtle greens. But that Big Mac will still slam you with about 540 calories. Just saying.

-- David Lazarus