Happy New Year all. Here are the top-of-mind headlines here at LNW as we start 2025:
— U.S. credit card companies wrote off 50% more in card debt last year — total of $46 billion — a default growth rate not seen since 2010; bottom third income tier has zero savings.
— U.S. latest weekly unemployment claims dropped to 211,000, the lowest level since March; the unemployment rate remains a healthy 4.2%, although up from a historic low of 3.4% last year.
— The Biden administration blocked the nearly $15 billion acquisition of US Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, a move supported by the United Steelworkers union and the incoming Trump administration.
— China’s manufacturing sector barely expanded in December (reading of 50.1 in Purchasing Managers’ Index), despite government stimulus; country forecast to grow 4.9% in 2025.
— Bank of America and Citi joined Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo in withdrawing from the Net Zero Banking Group, aiming to finance emissions reduction in carbon-heavy sectors.
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