American credit card defaults have surged to the highest levels since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, as consumers continue to grapple with years of high inflation. In the first three quarters of 2024, credit card lenders wrote off $46 billion in delinquent loan balances, marking a 50 percent increase from the same period last year. These write-offs, considered a highly monitored measure of loan distress, are the highest since 2010, according to industry data gathered by BankRegData.
A recent regional poll conducted by CB Consultora Opinión Pública reveals that Argentine President Javier Milei is the most popular head of state in South America, with an approval rating of 51.8%—the highest in the region and the only one exceeding 50%.
At a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Donald Trump made a bold promise to take on the powerful Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) responsible for inflating prescription drug prices in the U.S. Trump criticized PBMs, calling them a “horrible middleman” that profits by driving up drug costs without adding value. He vowed to eliminate the middleman and reduce drug prices to levels “that nobody has ever seen before.”
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, erasing earlier gains after the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point rate cut and projected a slower pace of rate reductions for next year.
Healthcare spending in the United States surged by 7.5% to $4.9 trillion in 2023, driven by increased medical service use and rising enrollment in private health plans, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Federal Reserve made its third consecutive interest rate cut on Wednesday, reducing its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point. The move, widely anticipated by investors and financial markets, brings the federal funds rate to a target range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent. Since beginning its rate cuts in September, the Fed has now lowered rates by a total of 100 basis points, or one percentage point.
