The number of “zombie” companies—those whose operating income is too small to cover interest payments on their debts—has reached its highest since early 2022.
Tag: interest rates
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SPOTLIGHT: DANGERS IN THE PRIVATE CREDIT MARKET
The private credit market has ballooned in recent years, reaching an estimated $3 trillion at the beginning of 2025.
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HOMEOWNERS RUSH TO REFINANCE AS MORTGAGE RATE TICKS DOWN
A decline of 0.3 of a percentage point brought the national average mortgage interest rate to 6.26 percent over the three weeks ending 17 September, the lowest rate since last November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
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EUROZONE’S JOBLESS RATE RISES AS LABOR MARKET DIVIDES IN TWO
In August, the unemployment rate among the 20 countries sharing the euro currency ticked up to 6.3 percent from 6.2 percent in July. About 11,000 more people were without work.
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EU WANTS PEOPLE TO STOP SAVING, START INVESTING
Europeans traditionally have saved a larger share of their incomes than Americans do.
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LABOR MARKETS IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES ARE SEIZING UP
Employers in G7 countries, considered the world’s most advanced, hesitate to hire or to lay off workers as uncertainties over interest rates, taxes, tariffs, and artificial intelligence (AI) leaves them unable to plan, the Financial Times reported.
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IS THE U.S. STOCK MARKET RALLY LIVING ON BORROWED TIME?
Interest rates are down, consumer spending is up, corporate earnings are strong, bond values have risen, and tax cuts are giving corporations more money for growth.
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U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY’S FLASHERS ARE WARNING THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
Americans are buying fewer cars, tariffs are shrinking automakers’ margins, the shift to electric mobility has stalled, and a company making car loans to subprime borrowers recently collapsed, all indications that a key U.S. industry might be rolling downhill.
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CONSUMERS INCREASED THEIR SPENDING IN AUGUST
U.S. households spent 0.6 percent more in August than in July, the commerce department reported. Economists in a Reuters poll expected a 0.5-percent gain.
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GLOBAL DEBT REACHES YET ANOTHER NEW RECORD
At the end of this year’s second quarter, worldwide debt had climbed to $337.7 trillion as the world’s economy weakened, central banks reduced interest rates, and the U.S. dollar’s value continued to slump, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) reported.