Non-revolving credit at highest level in 7 months

U.S. consumer borrowing in January exceeded forecast as non-revolving credit climbed the most in seven months.

Total credit rose $19.5 billion after a revised $919 million gain in December, according to Federal Reserve data released Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $10 billion increase.

Total credit outstanding hit a record $5.04 trillion.

Non-revolving credit, such as loans for vehicle purchases and school tuition, increased $11.1 billion. Revolving credit, which includes credit cards, climbed $8.4 billion in January. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

While a surprisingly sturdy labor market has helped propel consumer spending over the past two years, shoppers have also leaned increasingly on credit cards. With interest rates pusher higher by Federal Reserve policymakers in order to combat inflation, that’s led to record non-mortgage interest payments by U.S. households.

Musk denies scrapping less-expensive car model

Tesla shares pared a steep drop in intraday trading Friday after CEO Elon Musk denied a report saying the carmaker had canceled plans for a less-expensive vehicle.

The stock fell as much as 6.2% after Reuters said Tesla was abandoning the project, citing anonymous sources and company messages it had reviewed.

“Reuters is lying,” Musk wrote on X.

Musk first teased a $25,000 model during an event the company staged in September 2020. The CEO said at that time that a series of innovations Tesla was working on gave him confidence the company could make an electric vehicle at that price point within about three years.

The lack of a lower-price model in Tesla’s lineup more than three years later is proving costly. China’s BYD Co., which offers several much cheaper EVs, outsold the Austin-based company in the fourth quarter of last year.

The automaker also is slashing prices of its best-selling vehicle in a bid to clear its biggest-ever stockpile.

Tesla is marking down Model Y it has in inventory, with the rear-wheel drive version going for $4,600 less than the cost to custom order SUV. Long-range and performance Model Ys are discounted by at least $5,000.

Instagram generates 30% of Meta’s revenue

Meta Platforms brought in almost 30% of its revenue from Instagram in the first half of 2022, according to court filings that reveal for the first time how much money the popular service has generated.

Instagram produced $22 billion in 2020, or 26% of Meta’s total sales, according to documents released in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust suit to break up the company. Instagram revenue jumped to $32.4 billion in 2021, or 27% of Meta’s business.

The app contributed $16.5 billion in the first six months of 2022.

Apple lays off 600 workers in California

Apple is laying off more than 600 workers in Santa Clara, marking the company’s first big wave of post-pandemic job cuts amid a broader wave of tech industry consolidation.

The iPhone maker notified 614 workers in multiple offices on March 28 that they were losing their jobs, with the layoffs becoming effective on May 27, according to reports to regional authorities.

The workers were cut from eight offices in Santa Clara, according to the filings under the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, also known as WARN. But it’s not clear which departments or projects the employees were involved in.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.