Economics

How well — or how poorly — Americans are managing their Buy Now, Pay Later loans soon could be reflected in their credit scores.

FICO plans to launch a suite of credit scores later this year that incorporate BNPL data, providing lenders a window into what’s been a big blind spot: consumers’ repayment behavior on these increasingly popular installment loans.

BNPL loans can serve as an alternative to credit cards and are used by consumers who are seeking more flexible payment options, who want to overcome a tight financial spot, or who are looking to smooth out some bigger transactions to better meet their budgets.

https://archive.ph/lSBIt

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it is not lowering interest rates, keeping them steady at 4.25 to 4.5%.

"Although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in a press release. "The unemployment rate remains low, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated."

The Federal Reserve last cut interest rates in December. Despite increasing pressure from Donald Trump, Chair Jerome Powell has refused to lower them further.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said Wednesday they have finalized their “historic partnership,” a year-and-a-half after the Japanese company first proposed its deal to buy the iconic American steelmaker for nearly $15 billion.

The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, delaying the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it. It also forced Nippon Steel to expand the deal, including adding a so-called “golden share” provision that gives the federal government a say in some matters.

The combined company will become the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, and bring what analysts say is Nippon Steel's top-notch technology to U.S. Steel's antiquated steelmaking processes. In exchange, Nippon Steel gets access to a robust U.S. steel market, strengthened in recent years by tariffs under Donald Trump and Joe Biden, analysts say.

Americans are feeling a hangover from their tariff-fueled buying frenzy early in the spring.

Retail sales fell by 0.9% in May from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, down sharply from April’s downwardly revised 0.1% decline. That was the steepest monthly decline since January and worse than the 0.7% decrease economists projected in a poll by data firm FactSet.

The figures are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation.

https://archive.is/qfT1p

In a corner of Kentucky just outside of Louisville, family-owned shoe company Keen is opening a new factory this month.

The move fits neatly into the "America First" economic vision championed by the Trump administration - an emblem of hope for a manufacturing renaissance long promised but rarely realised. Yet beneath the surface, Keen's new factory tells a far more complicated story about what manufacturing in America really looks like today.

With just 24 employees on site, the factory relies heavily on automation -sophisticated robots that fuse soles and trim materials - underscoring a transformation in how goods are made today.

Manufacturing is no longer the labour-intensive engine of prosperity it once was, but a capital-heavy, high-tech enterprise.

Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts finished at the top with an overall score of 70.84, beating second-place Utah (69.18) by more than a point. As well as ranking first in terms of innovation potential, Massachusetts placed sixth in economic activity and 17th in economic health.

Washington placed third at 68.97, thanks largely to its innovation potential, leading position in the new technology space and high tech-sector employment.

California, which recently overtook Japan to become the world's fourth largest economy in terms of GDP, ranked fourth at 67.43.

At the bottom of the rankings were Hawaii (33.09), West Virginia (32.34) and Iowa (31.61) in 51st place (results included the District of Columbia in 12th place).

https://archive.ph/mdAWy

https://archive.ph/4vPuE

Remote work, steep mortgage rates and new types of rental properties are fueling demand far from urban downtowns.

Renting is taking off in the suburbs as homeownership remains out of reach for many would-be buyers.

Between 2018 and 2023, rentership surged by at least 5 percentage points in 11 out of 20 suburbs surrounding the largest U.S. metro areas, according to a recent analysis by Point2Homes, a rental market research company.

During the same period, 15 suburbs went from being predominantly composed of homeowners to majority-renter communities. The trend spans fast-growing Sun Belt metros like Dallas, Houston and Miami as well as Northeastern cities like Boston and Philadelphia.

In five of those top 20 metro areas — Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston, Tampa and Baltimore — the suburbs are gaining renters faster than the urban centers they surround, Point2Homes found. The share of residents who rent surged in the Dallas suburbs by 17.6% from 2018 to 2023, while that rate rose just 7.9% in the city itself — with the nearby suburbs of Frisco, McKinney and Grand Prairie each gaining over 5,000 renter households apiece during that period.

“While everyone is focused on the impact of tariffs, the real story for the U.S. economy is the collapse in immigration: down more than 90% compared to the run rate of previous years, equivalent to a slowing in labour force growth of more than 2 million people,” George Saravelos, head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note on Friday. “This represents a far more sustained negative supply shock for the economy than tariffs.”

While Trump has pointed to weaker payroll growth as reasons for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, his immigration crackdown gives the central bank, which is already wary of the inflationary effect of his tariffs, another reason to wait and see.

That’s because a workforce that is growing more slowly doesn’t need as much hiring to absorb the additional labor supply. In fact, even as average payroll gains have cooled to 124,000 a month this year from 250,000 in 2024, the jobless rate has hovered around 4.2% since last summer.

KEY POINTS

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to split into two public companies by next year.

WBD will separate into a streaming and studios company, which will include its movie properties and streaming service HBO Max, and a global networks company, which will include CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery.

CEO David Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios company. Current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become CEO of the global networks business.

Premiums for consumers buying aluminium on the physical market in the United States hit a record 60 cents a lb or $1,323 a metric ton on Thursday after Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on U.S. imports of the metal.

The tariffs doubled to 50% on Wednesday.

The U.S. Midwest duty-paid premium has gained nearly 190% since Trump was elected in November for his second term as president.

The US gambling industry has become a “highway without speed limits”, according to a top state regulator, as the nationwide gambling boom continues at pace.

Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts gaming commission, urged lawmakers in Washington to consider nationwide rules on advertising by betting firms. Operators have spent years lobbying against a federal crackdown.

Nationwide exclusion lists, blocking gamblers who encounter problems like addiction from placing a bet anywhere in the country, are also “ripe for a federal conversation”, Maynard said in an interview with the Guardian.

Many feel frustrated by a tough job market and worried about debt, experts said.

Gen Z seems to have a case of economic malaise.

Nearly half (49%) of its adult members — the oldest of whom are in their late 20s — say planning for the future feels “pointless,” according to a recent Credit Karma poll.

A freewheeling attitude toward summer spending has taken root among young adults who feel financial “despair” and “hopelessness,” said Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma.

They think, “What’s the point when it comes to saving for the future?” Alev said.