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Corporate Earnings Growth Faces Uncertainty Amid Inflation Worries, Policy Shift Impact

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street expects corporate profits to have surged in 2024 and forecasts an even stronger jump for 2025. Companies still face a long list of uncertainties in the year ahead, including economic policy shifts, reheated inflation and shifts in the jobs market and consumer spending. Earnings for companies within the S&P 500 are expected to have grown by about 9.4% in 2024, according to FactSet. Companies will start reporting their final quarterly financial results for that year in the next few weeks. It will mark a sharp gain from 1.4% growth in 2023. Profit growth ...

Financial Goals

By Cora Lewis Adriana Morga Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — With the end of 2024 around the corner, you might be reflecting on financial goals for 2025. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you ...

Jillian Shults Joins Ownership Group At Shults Auto

Jillian Shults has been named partner at Ed Shults Chevrolet, Inc. and Shults Nissan Subaru on Fluvanna Avenue, part of the Shults Auto Group in Jamestown, NY. A native of Jamestown, Jillian has been involved with the Auto Group since graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2012 and has ...

Should You Worry About Overfunding Your 529 Plan?

529 college savings plans are powerful tools to help pay for the mounting costs of an education. Why are some people hesitant to use them? One common concern is oversaving. You can use 529 funds to cover only qualified education expenses without incurring a tax penalty, but it can be hard to pinpoint how much money you actually need. Many parents open 529s for their children when they are born; they have no way of knowing whether their kids will earn a scholarship or even go to college at all. Fortunately, parents of multiple children can change the beneficiary of a 529 plan. But ...

Tesla Sales Dropped 1.1% In 2024, Its First Annual Decline In A Dozen Years

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla posted its first annual sales drop in more than a dozen years Thursday, undercutting a stock that has soared since Donald Trump’s victory on optimism Elon Musk’s close relationship to the president-elect will help the company. Tesla’s global vehicle sales rose 2.3% in the final quarter of 2024 thanks to 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases. But that was not enough for billionaire Musk’s most valuable holding to overcome last year’s sluggish start. The Austin, Texas, company sold 495,570 vehicles from October through December, boosting ...

Value was in vogue in 2024. Shoppers and restaurant patrons in the U.S. were choosy about where and how to spend their money as they wrestled with high housing and food prices. Well-heeled customers traded down to Walmart and Aldi. Diners opted for fast food or home cooking instead of sit-down restaurants. Department stores struggled as buyers shopped online or at cheaper chains like H&M. Residents also moved away from buying furniture or investing in expensive renovations, opting to refresh their homes with inexpensive items like frames and candles. Those shifts changed the ...