A flurry of bank earnings this week shows American consumers are still spending and borrowing.
Plus, U.S.
home sales finished 2025 on a surprisingly strong note.
Can it continue?
Definitely we could see a continuation of this increased activity,
but if rates fall and that brings more buyers into the market,
maybe that just pushes prices up faster and kind of offsets any of that affordability improvement.
And speaking of housing,
Polymarket now lets Americans bet on whether home prices will go up or down.
It's Wednesday, January 14th.
I'm Alex Ocilla for The Wall Street Journal.
This is the PM edition of What's News,
the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
Earnings out this week from some of America's biggest banks show that consumers continue to spend and borrow at a healthy clip at the end of last year,
despite economic uncertainty.
JPMorgan Chase reported yesterday and today we had Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
Collectively, the four banks posted $28.5 billion in profit for the fourth quarter,
with profits for the full year up nearly 5% from 2024.
JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup say spending on cards rose in the fourth quarter,
while delinquencies on credit cards edged lower.