Some 4.8% of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals last year for reasons such as preventing foreclosure and paying medical bills. That is a record high, up from a prior record of 3.6% in 2023 and a prepandemic average of about 2%.
The top 10% of earners, households making about $250,000 a year or more, now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record in data going back to 1989. Three decades ago, they accounted for about 36%.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that about 55% of in-service distribution transformer units are older than 33 years and approaching their end of life. Distribution transformer capacity might need to increase 160% to 260% by 2050 compared with 2021 levels to meet demand.
About 58 million options changed hands daily on average in January, a monthly record in data going back to 1973. That follows a record year for options trading volumes in 2024.
Just under 900 deals were announced in the U.S. in January. That compares with more than 1,200 transactions in the previous January and over 1,500 two years ago.
Microsoft, Google and Meta Platforms have projected combined capital expenditures of at least $215 billion for their current fiscal years, an annual increase of more than 45%. Amazon.com didn’t provide a full-year estimate but indicated that total capex across its businesses is on course to grow to more than $100 billion, and said most of the increase will be for AI.
Private equity returned a median annualized 15.2% over the 10-year period ended in 2023, versus 12% for the S&P 500 index.
Opportunistic real-estate funds had $196.8 billion available at the end of last year, up from $179.9 billion at the end of 2020.