More than 42 million Americans hold student loans with around 9 million people currently in default on their education debt. The outstanding debt currently exceeds $1.6 trillion.

Total returns from five of the largest private-credit funds aimed at individual investors declined to an average of about 6.22% in the first nine months of 2025, compared with 8.76% in the same period of 2024 and 11.39% in 2023.

Americans with a net worth of more than $5 million are expected to pass down about $17.3 trillion over the next decade.

Fed officials now see rates falling from their current range of 3.5% to 3.75% by a quarter of a point this year, which would leave rates roughly at “neutral,” neither restricting nor stimulating growth.

The number of operating rigs in the Permian Basin is down 14% over the past year.

In 2025, job creation sputtered, wage growth cooled and the unemployment rate rose. Much of the job creation that took place in 2025 was concentrated in two sectors: education and health services.

Fundraising for U.S. venture-capital firms dropped 35% in 2025, the most anemic stretch in at least six years, with money flowing primarily to the most trusted investment firms as companies stay private longer. The $66 billion raised last year represents a 70% drop from the 2022 record.

The consumer sentiment index, which started the year at 71.7, ended it at 52.9.

There were a record 68 transactions valued at $10 billion or more announced globally in 2025. That drove the average annual deal size to a new high of nearly $227 million.

The latest Household Debt and Credit Report showed a $197 billion increase in total household debt during Q3, reaching a record $18.59 trillion. Mortgage debt, which represents the bulk of household debt, grew by $137 billion to $13.07 trillion. Non-housing debt also increased with credit card balances rising by $24 billion from the previous quarter to $1.23 trillion and student loan balances increasing by $15 billion to $1.65 trillion.