The Federal Reserve reported that household net worth swelled to $122.9 trillion in the fourth quarter from $116.2 trillion in the third quarter and $111.4 trillion at the end of 2019.

American homeowners cashed out $152.7 billion in home equity last year, a 42% increase from 2019 and the most since 2007.

Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to acquire Athene Holding Ltd. in an all-stock deal that values the annuity business at about $11 billion. The deal is expected to close in January 2022.

Royal Caribbean’s net debt rose more than 42% to $16.45 billion in 2020 from the prior year. The cruise operator, which ended 2020 with about $4.4 billion in cash, expects to burn through between $250 million and $290 million a month during the cruise hiatus.

It is estmated that 17% of renters are now behind on their payments—three times the typical rate. Unpaid rent exceeds $52 billion with the average delinquent household owing $5,586.

The Fed will continue to support the economy with near-zero interest rates and large-scale asset purchases until “substantial further progress has been made,” a standard that Mr. Powell said “is likely to take some time” to achieve.

Since February 2020, the leisure-and-hospitality sector has shed nearly four million jobs, roughly a quarter of its workforce. As of January 2021, 15.9% of the industry’s workers remained unemployed; more than any other industry.

Shoppers boosted spending by 5.3% in January, the first increase in four months, buoyed by recent virus-related stimulus payments. The rise followed three consecutive months of declining sales during the 2020 holiday shopping season.

Lumber futures have climbed 47% over the past three weeks, to within a few dollars of records set in September. Lumber for March delivery ended trading Friday at $982.10 per thousand board feet, more than twice the price a year earlier.

The U.S. budget gap totaled a record $736 billion during the first four months of fiscal 2021, an 89% increase from a year earlier.