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New home sales beat expectations in December
Sales of new U.S. homes ended 2024 on a high note in December, the Commerce Department reported on Monday, as customers took advantage of incentives from builders, leading to a second straight year of increased purchases. The annual pace of new single-family home sales accelerated 3.6% to 698,000 last month, reflecting a sharp advance in…
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Natural disaster losses hit record high
Economic losses from natural disasters in the U.S. reached $217.8bn in 2024, marking an 85.3% increase from the previous year, according to Aon. The figure is the highest since 2017, driven primarily by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused losses of $75bn and $25bn, respectively. Liz Henderson, global head of climate risk advisory at Aon,…
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Deal terms remain attractive to private equity buyers – report
New analysis from SS&C Intralinks, using data from PitchBook has found that with private equity M&A deal activity still well below that of 2021, buyers continue to benefit from favourable deal terms. SS&C stated that “As more PE firms have expanded their investing scope into smaller niches of middle-market company ecosystems across the globe, the…
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JPMorgan COO draws attention to private credit small business lending
JPMorgan Chase president and chief operating officer Daniel Pinto has highlighted the importance of relationships between small businesses and private credit providers, telling Bloomberg Television during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “There is a lot of direct lending going into the smaller side of middle markets.” He went on: “How these…
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Tax troubles cloud Treasury Secretary nominee
Scott Bessent, nominated as Secretary of the Treasury, faces scrutiny over his tax returns, which reportedly show he avoided nearly $2m in taxes through loopholes and write-offs. The Senate Finance Committee’s review indicates he did not follow U.S. tax rules and declined to amend his returns when given the chance. Sens Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron…
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Markets ‘at risk’ from tariff-fueled inflation
The boss of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund has warned that markets are at risk from tariff-fueled inflation. Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos that inflation driven by U.S. tariffs is among the biggest market risks in 2025. He also identified chief…
