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DETROIT, Aug 25 (Reuters) — U.S. consumers are responding to surging prices for new cars and trucks by going deeper into debt, pushing the average new vehicle loan to a record-high $40,290 during the second quarter, credit monitoring company Experian said Thursday. The average monthly payment for a new vehicle loan rose to $667 in the second quarter, up nearly 15% from a year earlier, Experian said in its latest report on the automotive finance market. The average amount borrowed rose 13.2%, Experian said. The length of the average new vehicle loan stayed flat in the second quarter compared to a year ago at just over 69 months. Used car buyers also are borrowing more. The average used vehicle loan jumped 18.7% to $28,534, with an average monthly payment of $515, up 17%. Despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy by raising interest rates, prices of new vehicles in the United States have been rising faster than overall inflation rate for much of the year. Automakers say...

In this article BAC AXP Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Shoppers carry bags in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. consumers have demonstrated a willingness to continue to pay higher prices in the face of a sluggish economy that could be tipped into a recession, according to credit card giants American Express and Bank of America. American Express on Friday reported stronger-than-expected third -quarter earnings and revenue, while raising its full-year forecast. The company said overall customer spending jumped 21% year over year, driven by growth in goods and services as well as travel and entertainment. The demand for travel is particularly resilient as Americans make up for postponed trips due to the pandemic. Consumers are also splashing out on food and entertainment after pandemic lockdowns eased. American Express said its travel and entertainment segment saw spending climb 57% from a year ago ...

Foreign direct investment from Germany to China grew by about 30% in the first eight months of the year from a year ago, China's Ministry of Commerce said Monday. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — European businesses in China are revaluating their market plans after this year's Covid controls further isolated the country from the rest of the world, said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. China's stringent Covid policy has restricted international travel, and business activity — especially after a two-month lockdown this year in Shanghai. The tough measures of the last two years initially helped China recover more quickly from the pandemic's shock compared to other countries. But the policy increasingly contrasts with a world that's increasingly relaxing many Covid restrictions. For European businesses, "we talk about a complete readjustment of our view on China over the last six months," Wuttke t...

The average 30-year mortgage rate has climbed to 6.02% — the first time the figure has surpassed 6% since 2008, according to new data from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. The new rate level — double what it was this time last year — is an effect of the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to raise interest rates as it works to fight inflation. The impact of higher rates will be to reduce housing demand and put downward pressure on home prices , Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a statement. Yet thanks to a nationwide housing shortage, property values will not fall very much, Khater said. The median price for existing homes rose 10.8% in July from a year earlier to $403,800, the National Association of Realtors said last month. “Home prices are still rising by double-digit percentages year-over-year, but annual price appreciation should moderate to the typical rate of 5% by the end of this year and into 2023,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “With mortgage ra...

Daniel Pinto, JPMorgan's chief executive of corporate and investment bank. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images The deal-making slowdown that has weighed on Wall Street this year shows no signs of letting up. Investment banking revenue at JPMorgan Chase is headed for a 45% to 50% decline in the third quarter from a year earlier, president and chief operating officer Daniel Pinto said Tuesday during a conference. related investing news Bank of America warns that investors are ignoring dangers of 'synchronized' policy tightening Jeff Cox 22 hours ago The bank posted $3.3 billion in third-quarter investment banking revenue last year, amid what was then a bull market for IPOs, stock issuance and other deals. Now Wall Street is grappling with steep declines in capital markets activity as IPOs slow to a crawl and mergers declined after stocks had their worst first half since 1970. A bull market for bankers has turned to bust this year, and firms are expected to cut compens...

Late in a summer when Walmart and Target have offered discounts on certain items that had grown into surpluses, other major U.S. department stores have been telling investors they will keep slashing prices as they deal with a glut of unsold items. Kohl's said last week that its inventory was 48% higher than where it stood at the same time last year. Although it attributed some of the increase to investments in its Sephora partnership and other strategy decisions, CEO Michelle Gass said the company plans to increase promotions and get "aggressive" on clearing excess inventory. Gass said Kohl’s was not alone in doing so. "We acknowledge that many others are taking similar actions, which will likely make for a more promotional environment in the near term,” she said. Macy's and Nordstrom also warned Tuesday that they were sitting on more inventory and were moving to cut prices . Macy's said its inventory rose by 7% from a year earlier , while Nordstrom's ...

A view of the Norwegian Encore cruise ship during its inaugural sailing from PortMiami, which took place from Nov. 21-24, 2019. Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Norwegian Cruise Line — Shares sank nearly 12% on Tuesday after the company reported second -quarter results that missed Wall Street's expectations and showed occupancy rates of only 65%, compared to more than 100% in the same quarter in 2019. In addition, the cruise line said that it wouldn't return to pre-pandemic occupancy levels until next year, signaling losses will continue. Micron Technology — The chipmaker's shares lost 5% after the company reported a decline in demand for its DRAM and NAND chips and said it expects a challenging market environment in in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022 and fiscal first quarter 2023. Several other chip stocks fell with Micron. Applied Materials, On Semiconductor and Teradyne each fell abou...