Twenty-four percent of U.S. adults who rent their homes say they can no longer comfortably afford to pay their rent, according to a survey of 1,249 individuals by Intuit Credit Karma.
Tag: U.S. economy
LAYOFFS VIRTUALLY DOUBLED IN 2023
Last year, U.S. companies planned or carried out layoffs targeting 721,677 jobs, 98 percent more than in 2022 and the most since 2020, outplacement service Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC) said in a report released last week.
M&A ACTIVITY BOUNCING BACK
In 2023, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) slowed by 18 percent, year on year, to $3 trillion worth, a pace not seen since 2013, thanks to inflation, rising interest rates, and fears of a recession, data service Dealogic reported.
U.S. VENTURE CAPITAL FUND-RAISING PLUMMETED 60 PERCENT IN 2023
Venture capitalists’ (VCs’) attempts to raise funds to invest in new and young companies brought in only $67 billion last year, the least since 2017 and 60 percent less than in 2022, which was a peak year, according to the National Venture Capital Association.
ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW
We got it right, we got it wrong. In November 2022, we had forecast the S&P 500 would boom in 2023, going up at least 16 percent. It did, spiking up 24.2 percent for the year.
U.S. JOB GROWTH IN DECEMBER… BUT THE NEWS IS NOT ALL GOOD
U.S. businesses hired 216,000 more workers in December and average hourly wages rose 0.4 percent from November and 4.1 percent year over year, the labor department reported on 5 January.
RENTERS GETTING CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM EAGER LANDLORDS
From 2020 through much of this year, residential rents were climbing steeply, in some markets by double digits each year, with potential tenants—sometimes numbering 40 or more—bidding against each other for the same home.
STORE SIZES SHRINKING, DEMAND FOR RETAIL SPACE GROWING
The average retail store is now the smallest since at least 2006, according to data service CoStar. At the same time, demand for retail space is its strongest in 18 years, with the national vacancy rate a scant 4.8 percent in this year’s third quarter, according to retail estate services firm CBRE.
LAYOFFS MOUNTING: ALMOST 40 PERCENT OF COMPANIES WILL CUT STAFF IN 2024
Almost 40 percent of U.S. companies will cut their workforces in the new year, according to a poll of 906 executives by Resumé Builders, with even more imposing a hiring freeze.
FED HOLDS RATES STEADY, PROJECTS THREE CUTS IN 2024
At its mid-December meeting, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee not only froze interest rates at their current levels, but also said it expects to make three quarter-point rate cuts next year and drop rates by a full point in 2025.