Economy

Javier Ghersi | Moment | Getty Images Corporate debt defaults soared last year and could be a problem again in 2024 as cash-strapped companies deal with the burden of high interest rates, S&P Global Ratings reported Tuesday. The number of companies that failed to make required payments on their debt totaled 153 for 2023, up

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz arrives for the weekly federal government cabinet meeting on Oct. 11, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. Michele Tantussi | Getty Images News | Getty Images Europe’s largest economy contracted by 0.3% year-on-year in 2023, as high inflation and firm interest rates bit into growth, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany said Monday. The estimate

Saudi Arabia nearly doubled the estimate for the value of its mineral resources and is seeing lucrative deals signed during its Future Minerals Forum held in Riyadh this week, ministers told CNBC. Estimates for the kingdom’s untapped mineral reserves have jumped from $1.3 trillion in a 2016 forecast to $2.5 trillion, according to Saudi Mineral Resources

People carry shopping bags as they visit a department store during the holiday season in New York City. Eduardo Munoz | Reuters Retailers chalked up solid gains in the final month to wrap up the holiday season, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor for December. However, the data also shows the true state of consumer

Prices that consumers pay for a variety of goods and services rose more than expected in December, according to a Labor Department measure Thursday that shows inflation still holding a grip on the U.S. economy. The consumer price index increased 0.3% for the month, higher than the 0.2% estimate at a time when most economists

Wholesale prices unexpectedly declined in December, providing a positive signal for inflation, the Labor Department reported Friday. The producer price index fell 0.1% for the month and ended 2023 up 1% from a year ago, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting a monthly gain of 0.1%. The index

Ongoing disruption to trade flows through the Red Sea could hit global economic growth, the head of one of the world’s largest container shipping firms said Thursday. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said it remained unclear whether passage through the waterway would be re-established in “days, weeks or months,” in comments first provided to the Financial

The U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 15, 2023. Nathan Howard | Bloomberg | Getty Images The U.S. government ran up another half a trillion dollars in red ink in the first quarter of its fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. For the period from October 2023 through December 2023, the budget

Vanishing Turkish Currency: 1 Turkish Lira with the Portrait of Kemal AtatürkTurkish Manuel Augusto Moreno | Moment | Getty Images The Turkish lira hit a fresh record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, trading at 30.005 to the greenback just before noon local time. It marks the first time that the lira has broken

Consumers shop at a retail chain store in Rosemead, California, on Dec. 12, 2023. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images Economists expect that inflation nudged higher in December, a trend that could call into question the market’s eager anticipation that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates this year. The consumer price index,

A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the closing bell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 13, 2023. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters The global economy is moving into a new “super cycle,” with artificial intelligence and decarbonization being driving factors, according to Peter Oppenheimer, head of macro research

A pedestrian holds an umbrella as they walk along a street in the rain in Times Square, New York, on Sept. 26, 2023. Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images The state of the U.S. economy may be a chief concern among Americans, but 2023 wound up as a pretty good year for the macroenvironment.

Hiring in the private sector rose at a faster-than-expected pace in December, closing out a strong 2023 for the resilient U.S. jobs market, ADP reported Thursday. Private payrolls increased by 164,000 for the month, a substantial rise from the downwardly revised 101,000 in November and better than the 130,000 estimate from the Dow Jones consensus,

The U.S. labor market closed out 2023 in strong shape as the pace of hiring was even more powerful than expected, the Labor Department reported Friday. December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 positions for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Payroll growth showed a sizeable gain from November’s downwardly revised 173,000.

Getty Images The U.S. labor market beat expectations again in December, adding 216,000 jobs to close out the year while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. Yet the job gains were slower than the same period a year ago, with the three-month average gain dropping to 165,000 a month compared with an average of

A networking and hiring event for professionals of color in Minneapolis, MN.  Michael Siluk | Getty Images The unemployment rate for Black Americans fell significantly in December, closing out 2023 on a positive note, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor. Black Americans, the group with the highest jobless percentage in the country,

St. Louis Fed names Alberto G. Musalem as new president. Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve Economist Alberto Musalem was named the next president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on Thursday. Musalem, 55, will start on April 2. He succeeds James Bullard, who joined Purdue University last August. The St. Louis

A now hiring sign is posted in front of a U-Haul rental center on November 03, 2023 in San Rafael, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images When the December jobs report is released Friday morning, markets will be looking for a number that hits a sweet spot between not so robust as to trigger more