F or private financial technology companies, last year was a quiet one for fundraising. Fintechs raised $34 billion in 2024, down from $42 billion in 2023 and an all-time high of $144 billion in 2021, reports CB Insights. Yet a large group of young companies, some founded as much as a decade ago, started to hit their stride in 2024, showing impressive innovation and fast growth. On our 2025 Fintech 50 list, 18 of the 50 winners had never before made the cut. The Payments category claimed the most first-timers, with six. DailyPay, led by former marketing executive Stacy Greiner,…

O ver the past decade, few fintech startups have been able to disrupt the insurance business, perhaps due to the hefty sums required to compete in the industry and the worsening effects of extreme weather and climate change. Yet four insurtech companies made impressive progress in 2024, using technology to make insurance work better and faster at lower costs, and claiming spots on our Fintech 50 list for 2025. Home insurer Kin, based in Chicago, made our list for the third straight year. To keep costs and rates low, instead of employing insurance agents, it sells policies digitally and directly…

Americans Struggle with Record Credit Card DebtU.S. credit card debt reached a record $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, growing from $770 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and the share of active credit card holders making just minimum payments rose to 10.75%, the highest percentage ever in data going back to 2012. [The Guardian] Americans’ Eager Holiday Shopping Didn’t Bring a Surge in DebtThe number of consumers struggling to pay off their credit card bills remains elevated. Delinquencies, particularly on credit cards, remained at high levels during the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Federal…

If your house is anything like mine, there has been no escape from the soundtrack from “Wicked” this year. It seems like the voices of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo haven’t stopped playing in the background for months. It occurred to me that those songs from Oz were especially appropriate for the current moment in business. Companies around the world are putting their trust in artificial intelligence in much the same way that Dorothy looked to the Wizard. Over the past two years, predictions about the transformational impact of AI on business models and corporate earnings have helped stock prices…

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As we turn the page on 2024, the economic and political landscape presents both opportunities and challenges. With a new administration potentially making changes to the regulatory environment, businesses may find more opportunities for growth and re-investment. At the same time, consumer credit constraints and concerns over national debt require careful navigation. The year ahead is not about extremes—it’s about balance. Leaders must position themselves to capitalize on opportunities while preparing for potential shifts that could impact markets and their businesses. By focusing on clear indicators and staying agile, businesses can thrive in a dynamic environment. Opportunities in 2025 Interest…

The Federal Reserve decided to keep the federal funds rate the same on Jan. 29, 2025. This decision comes after the Fed made three rate cuts in the second half of 2024. The Fed rate’s current target range of 4.25% to 4.50% is still high compared to what it was for most of the past two decades[0]Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. FRED Graph. Accessed Jan 29, 2025..When is the next Fed meeting?The Federal Open Market Committee’s next meeting is March 18-19, 2025. This is the next scheduled time that the FOMC could modify the federal funds rate.This…

It was a close call for a dog named Max when fire raged through his Altadena neighborhood. The brindle-coated Corso mix hid, huddled and scared, under some bushes in his yard as the Eaton fire ravaged his street. Firefighters and photojournalists in the area could hear his terrified barks. As if the situation wasn’t dire enough, an explosion went off in a nearby garage. The moments of his harrowing rescue were caught on camera in some of the most heartwarming photographs of the L.A. fires by freelance photojournalist Nic Coury, who was on the scene that day for the Associated…

In the midst of a wildfire roaring across southern California that is not only destroying homes but also taking lives, home insurance costs are taking on a whole new dimension. Those fears are propagating into the way homebuyers look at new properties, into the shopping and selection process and therefore the sales process, into land development, into economic impacts and on and on. Zillow reports that newly listed for sale homes face increasing climate risk compared to 2019 across five factors: flood, wildfire, wind, heat, and air quality. This increased risk means that more than 80% of home buyers now…