Despite a pickup in the services sector, the Eurozone’s economy closed 2024 with a variety of data pointing toward a grim year ahead.
Tag: inflation
MORTGAGE RATES RISE TO HIGHEST IN SIX MONTHS
After falling to 6.2 percent in September, the average national interest rate on a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage climbed back to 6.93 percent last week, its highest since July, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported.
CORPORATE BANKRUPTCIES SHOOT TO 14-YEAR HIGH
In 2024, at least 686 U.S. corporations filed bankruptcy, 8 percent more than in 2023 and the most since 2010 during the Great Recession when 828 corporations went bust, S&P Global Intelligence reported.
DELINQUENT CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS ARE ON THE RISE
Late-paying credit card accounts in the U.S. are more numerous than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Times reported, as low-income households have run out of financial reserves after more than two years of relentless inflation.
HOMELESSNESS IN U.S. KEEPS RISING, WHILE CELENTE SOLUTION IS IGNORED
The number of homeless Americans increased by more than 770,000 in one year—representing an increase of 18 percent, as more people struggle under high interest rates, high inflation, and surging housing costs.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
The economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that have profoundly affected the business community this year.
U.S. ECONOMY ADDS 227,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER
Employers took on another 227,000 workers in November, indicating a strong but not overheated jobs market.
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS BOOST U.S. GDP GROWTH
The U.S. economy has undergone a boom in productivity, the amount of work accomplished per worker, the U.S. labor department reported.
TRUMP’S DEPORTATION PLANS RISK WORKER SHORTAGE
Donald Trump’s announced plans to close the U.S. borders and deport “millions” of immigrants could deprive the economy of between 25,000 and 100,000 new jobs in 2025, analysts have estimated.
U.S. INFLATION INCHES UP IN OCTOBER
The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation, edged up to an annual rate of 2.3 percent in October from 2.1 percent the month before, according to the Commerce Department.