Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT – Feb 21 2023

Stellantis, the car company owning RAM pickup trucks, Fiat, Chrysler, and other brands, has contracted with Finnish firm Terrafame for a steady supply of nickel sulfate it will make for its electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Brookfield Corp., one of the world’s largest private equity firms formerly called Brookfield Asset Management, has chosen to default on $755 million in loans related to two Los Angeles office towers rather than refinance the debt in the face of weakening demand for office space.

As of 1 May, Amazon’s office workers will need to show up at a central office at least three days a week, CEO Andrew Jassey wrote in a 17 February memo to staff.

Manhattan’s commuter workforce is in town on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but thins out on Mondays and disappears on Fridays, according to Stanford University data analyzed by Bloomberg.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s index of manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region registered -24.3 this month, diving from -8.9 in January.

Private equity firms and other investors bought 48,445 single-family homes in last year’s fourth quarter, 46 percent fewer than the same quarter in 2021, according to online broker Redfin, which monitors home sales in 40 major U.S. metro areas.

The average monthly U.S. payment for a new car has reached a record $777, industry research firm Cox Automotive reported, about 15 percent of American households’ median income after taxes.

U.S. home sales in 2022’s last quarter dove 40 percent from the same period in 2021, online brokerage Redfin reported.

In January, the Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of wholesale prices, gained 0.7 percent, the greatest monthly increase since June, and 6 percent annually, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Twenty-seven percent of Americans are pulling money out of their savings accounts to keep spending, and 54 percent of that group is using that money to meet basic living expenses, an Ipsos poll has found.