内容摘要：In the meantime, big U.S. companies continue to produce fatter profits for the start of 2025 than analysts expected.

In the meantime, big U.S. companies continue to produce fatter profits for the start of 2025 than analysts expected.

The regulation, which took effect last year, also prevented borrowers from being forced into automatic payments or charged with multiple fees for the same missed payment.The Trump administration said its non-enforcement decision came “in the interest of focusing resources on supporting hard-working American taxpayers” and that it would “instead keep its enforcement and supervision resources focused on pressing threats to consumers, particularly servicemen and veterans.”

Consumer advocates maintain that without federal oversight, customers seeking refunds or in search of clear information about BNPL fee structures and interest rates will have less legal recourse.Industry watchers point to consumers taking out loans they can’t afford to pay back as a top risk of BNPL use. Without credit bureaus keeping track of the new form of credit, there are fewer safeguards and less oversight.Justine Farrell, chair of the marketing department at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business, said that when consumers aren’t able to make loan payments on time, it worsens the economic stress they’re already experiencing.

“Consumers’ financial positions feel more spread thin than they have in a long time,” said Farrell, who studies consumer behavior and BNPL services. “The cost of food is continuing to go up, on top of rent and other goods ... so consumers are taking advantage of the ability to pay for items later.”The Consumer Federation of America and other watchdog organizations have expressed concern about the rollback of BNPL regulation as the use of the loans continues to rise.

“By taking a head-in-the-sand approach to the new universe of fintech loans, the new CFPB is once again favoring Big Tech at the expense of everyday people,” said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America.

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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Thursday after the United States and United Kingdom announced athat would lower some tariffs between the two countries, the first of what Wall Street hopes will be enough agreements to keep a recession from hitting the economy.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% for its 11th gain in the last 13 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 254 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1%.It wasn’t just stocks. Bitcoin jumped back above $101,000, and crude oil prices climbed, while the price of gold eased back as investors felt less need for safety. Treasury yields rose on bets that more trade deals with other countries may mean the Federal Reserve won’t need to cut interest rates as sharply as feared in order to prop up the economy.