Like many of us, some companies' New Year's resolutions are pretty simple: to make it to the next new year in tact.
Why it matters: Although the U.S. economy looks poised to avoid a hard landing in 2024, a slew of businesses face potentially existential troubles of their own.
Like many of us, some companies'New Year's resolutions are pretty simple: make it to the next new year intact, Nathan writes.
Why it matters: Although the U.S. economy looks poised to avoid a hard landing in 2024, a slew of businesses face potentially existential troubles of their own.
Threat level: Business bankruptcies were up 30% in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, according to the federal court system, as spiking interest rates dragged down many wobbling companies.
Among those that filed were WeWork and Bed Bath & Beyond — the former of which has survived so far, the latter did not.
Looking ahead, here are five businesses that can't afford a misstep in 2024:
Bitcoin's 12-month surge continued into the new year, with the price of the original cryptocurrency hitting $45,000 Tuesday for the first time since April 2022.
Driving the news: Anticipation for the approval of spot-bitcoin exchange traded funds, or ETFs, has helped drive BTC price for months, and a report by Reuters over the weekend helped reignite speculation that a green light could be imminent.
The central question for the 2024 economy — one that underpins everything else — is whether 2023's relatively pain-free disinflation can continue.
Why it matters: So far, inflation has fallen to near-normal levels without any major upsurge in joblessness or other broad damage to the economy. In 2024, the Fed's job is to try to stick the (soft) landing. It could err in either direction.
You have to look very closely, but stablecoin supply has started to gently tick back up since October.
Why it matters: Stablecoins — designed to provide holders with a steady value pegged to other assets like the dollar — are the dry powder of cryptocurrency markets.
The first Powerball drawing of the new year resulted in a ticket sold in Michigan matching all six numbers.
Why it matters: The jackpot, worth $842.4 million, was the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot and the tenth-biggest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won, officials said Tuesday in a statement.
Grab your cardigans, take out your boxing gloves and get your disco on — 2024 has loads of new trends in store, according to a Pinterest predictions report.
Why it matters: With a new year comes new fads and fascinations, and this year'semerging trends in music, fashion, sports and hobbies have something in store for each generation.
It's the only generation born fully in the 21st century: the oldest are about 13, and the youngest will be born in the coming year.
The big picture: EnterGeneration Alpha, the first entirely online cohort. Its members have grappled with a climate crisis and pandemic — and can spend money more easily at their age than even their savviest close elders.
Stocks have soared under President Biden, although not by quite as much as they had at the same point in former President Trump's term.
Why it matters: Voters often feel like stock market performance is a gauge of America's economic health, and of presidential policy, even if most economists would disagree.
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