The proportion of credit card holders making only minimum payments rose to 10.75 percent in last year’s third quarter, the most since 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported.
Tag: interest rates
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.
U.S. JOBS IN DECEMBER UP, TYPES OF JOBS LOW
Last month, the U.S. economy created an estimated 256,000 nonfarm jobs, the most since March 2024 and far more than the 120,000 to 200,000 that analysts had predicted. Unemployment ticked down from 4.2 percent to 4.1 percent.
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.
DOLLAR INDEX REACHES TWO-YEAR HIGH AHEAD OF TRUMP INAUGURATION
On 2 January, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.8 percent in intraday trading against an assortment of other currencies, reaching its highest mark since November 2022.
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.
EMERGING NATIONS’ CURRENCY VALUES CRASH AGAINST STRONG DOLLAR
A surge in the U.S. dollar and a “confluence of bad news” has sunk the currencies of emerging nations to their lowest values since the U.S. Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022.
ECB CUTS RATE, WARNS OF WEAK GROWTH AHEAD
On 12 December, the European Central Bank (ECB) shaved a quarter point from its key deposit interest rate, bringing it to 3 percent, and said the Eurozone’s economy will expand by 1.1 percent in 2025. In September, the bank had forecast a 1.3-percent expansion.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
The economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that have profoundly affected the business community this year.