The unemployment rate for college-educated workers who are 25 or older increased to 2.9% from 2.5% a year earlier and college-educated workers’ perceived probability of job loss in the next year rose to 15% from 11% three years ago.
The SEC suspended trading in 12 emerging growth companies’ stocks since late September, exceeding suspensions from the previous four years combined. All 12 suspended companies are Asia-based emerging growth companies that went public on Nasdaq with the critical link: All 12 are emerging growth companies under the JOBS Act. Though the acronym stands for “Jumpstart Our Business Startups,” these aren’t American companies. It is highly doubtful any of them could have gone public on U.S. exchanges without the JOBS Act and the regulatory relief afforded by their EGC status.
Big-ticket mergers and acquisitions, valued at $10 billion or more, has reached a record $1.2 trillion this year, largely financed by debt.
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, announced a $1.5 trillion initiative focused on national security, meant to bolster American self-sufficiency for critical technologies including rare earths and artificial intelligence.
Consumer sentiment in December was 53.3, a decrease from over 70 in January and near historic lows. Despite low sentiment, consumer spending continues, with retailers reporting signs of a solid holiday shopping season.
The total number of billionaires across the globe reached new heights in 2025, due partly to the soaring valuations of tech companies and rising stock markets. Some 2,900 billionaires now control $15.8 trillion, up from about 2,700 billionaires with a cumulative wealth of nearly $14 trillion a year earlier. The number and wealth of billionaires as a whole were boosted by the second-highest number of new billionaires minted in a year—287.
The OECD forecasts U.S. economic growth of 2% this year and 1.7% next year, a slight upgrade from previous projections. Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.9% next year from 3.2% this year, with risks from increased trade barriers.
Deal value in the U.S. so far this year is up more than 40% from the same period in 2024 to about $1.9 trillion. And there have been roughly twice as many deals valued above $10 billion than in the same period in 2024.