Business News

(WASHINGTON) -- Hiring ticked down in December, defying the Federal Reserve's effort to boost hiring with a recent series of interest rate cuts, a jobs report on Friday showed. The reading fell short of economists' expectations.The U.S. added 50,000 jobs in December, which marked a slight drop from 64,000 jobs added in the previous month.The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4% in December from 4.6% in November, the Bureau of Labor […]

(NEW YORK) -- President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the opportunity for U.S. companies to extract and sell oil from Venezuela, which holds the largest oil reserves in the world."We're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground," Trump said on Saturday, just hours after a U.S. military attack removed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.Venezuelan oil, however, will likely provide little relief for gas prices […]

(NEW YORK) -- Fears of an artificial intelligence bubble have rattled the stock market in recent weeks and set off concern among critics about a wider risk to the U.S. economy.A surge of AI spending accounted for roughly two-thirds of gross domestic product growth over the first half of 2025, JPMorgan Asset Management found, outpacing the contribution made by hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers. Many of the nation’s largest […]

(NEW YORK) -- Mortgage rates this week fell to their lowest level in 15 months, easing borrowing costs for homebuyers eager for a thaw in the housing market in 2026.The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.15%, plummeting from a level of 6.89% in May, data from financial services company Freddie Mac showed. Last January, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeded 7%.Each percentage point decrease in a mortgage rate […]

(NEW YORK) -- Online shoppers set a record high on Thanksgiving, paving the way for gangbusters performance on Black Friday, Adobe data showed.Digital spending on Thanksgiving jumped 5% from a year earlier, totaling $6.4 billion and exceeding Adobe’s expectations, the firm said.The company also expects Black Friday shoppers to set a new record, outpacing last year's total by more than 8%.Adobe attributed the strong performance on Thanksgiving to better-than-anticipated discounts, […]

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) In the latest reversal of his signature economic policy, President Donald Trump is rolling back tariffs on furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities.Higher tariff rates on those goods that were set to take effect Jan. 1 will now be delayed for another year, according to a White House fact sheet.In October, the White House imposed a 25% tariff on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities. […]

(NEW YORK) -- Holiday shopping season sets forth an annual gut check for the U.S. economy, prompting buyers to splurge in a show of optimism or cut back out of fear of what next year holds.In 2025, shoppers opened their wallets with gusto, though consumers appeared to favor low-cost options and discounts, according to spending data shared with ABC News.The performance defied concerns overhanging the economy for months, as hiring slowed and inflation ticked higher. […]

(NEW YORK) -- If you're looking for a new set of wheels next year, the choices can be overwhelming.From 3-row SUVs to wagons and futuristic electric vehicles, buyers can select from a wide range of powertrains, prices and body styles.Which models are already generating excitement in the industry? ABC News spoke to several insiders to get their take on the hottest vehicles headed to showrooms.Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLBThe German automaker […]

(NEW YORK) -- The stock market surged to record highs in 2025, hurtling past tariffs, a government shutdown and fears of a bubble in artificial intelligence.The S&P 500 -- the index that most people's 401(k)s track -- climbed about 17% this year, as of Dec. 23. That performance marks a slight slowdown from two consecutive years of more than 20% growth, but the latest uptick extends a run of gangbusters […]