Economic indicators

Misleading data and hypersensitivity left over from the last financial crisis have us scared of shadows. The U.S. consumer is actually in pretty good shape.

The Canadian bank now expects loan growth in the mid-single-digit range this year, down from a high-single-digit forecast three months ago. "We're not slowing, but the economy is," one executive said.

On Tuesdays, this band of seven Republican senators, which includes some of the chamber's leading obstructionists, meets to plot ways to extract austere spending concessions from Democrats in exchange for their help in averting a catastrophic U.S. payments default.

Ultraconservatives in the House have dominated the public discussion on the U.S. debt ceiling, but Speaker Kevin McCarthy can't afford to ignore GOP centrists if the country is to avoid a catastrophic payments default later this year.

The Birmingham, Alabama, bank expects up to $5 billion in additional deposit declines in the first half of 2023 but is hopeful for potential growth in funding later this year.

The Cincinnati bank expects net interest income growth to cool considerably and fee income to tread water as rate hikes slow and inflation moderates but still continues.

The Pittsburgh bank posted a solid profit and said that it expects continued loan growth. But the pace of business expansion could slow alongside an economic downturn.

CEO Bruce Van Saun said that any potential recession will likely be "subdued," as the Rhode Island bank projected a rebound in noninterest income.

Regulators must not choke off lending at a time when banks are well positioned to help ease the blow of an economic downturn.

The market volatility and interest rate hikes that gave U.S. banks their biggest windfall last year may prove to be their biggest headache in 2023.

More U.S. consumers are relying on their credit cards each month — and many are doing so without knowing the interest rates they're paying.

Significantly fewer households expected to be in worse shape in the coming year than was the case last summer, according to a December survey. The results are a positive sign for banks at the start of earnings season.

Banks, fintechs and advisors are cautiously pushing investments next year to keep up with industry expectations.

As global banks from Credit Suisse to Goldman Sachs prepare for a fresh wave of job cuts, HSBC is going on the offensive.

The credit reporting firm said credit card and personal-loan delinquencies are likely to rise in 2023 to the highest in a dozen years, with lenders cutting back on originations as a potential recession looms.

The overwhelming majority of top leaders at large U.S and Canadian banks expect a prolonged downturn in 2023, according to a recent survey. Almost none of them expect it to be particularly harsh, though.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon praised the results of last month's U.S. midterm elections, saying cooperation in Congress may be more likely since both parties' "wing nuts didn't get elected."

Citigroup is seeing countries around the world roll into recessionary environments, with the U.S. economy on track to follow them in the second half of next year, Chief Executive Jane Fraser said.

Bank of America is slowing hiring as fewer employees leave in an attempt to manage the company's headcount ahead of a possible U.S. recession, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called October's positive inflation report in the U.S. "a good reading," but cautioned against relying too much on one data point.