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1. Eurozone inflation rises in December
Consumer prices increased by 2.4% year over year in the Eurozone in December, increasing from 2.2% in November and growing further from the European Central Bank's annual target rate of 2%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite this, the ECB projects inflation will cool throughout 2025.
While energy prices are putting less pressure on inflation, high services prices remain a concern, the WSJ reports. Unemployment was 6.3% in November, remaining at a record low.
Policymakers at the ECB are expected to cut interest rates again on Jan. 30, but economists have lowered their projections from a 50-basis-point cut.
2. US winter storm disrupts travel for millions
The winter storm that crossed over the U.S. Monday dumped snow and ice over the Midwest and mid-Atlantic, leading to closed airports, delayed or canceled flights and trains, and snarled traffic, the New York Times reports.
Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., closed all its runways Monday evening. FlightAware reports more than 9,000 canceled flights between Texas and New York.
Amtrak canceled dozens of trains in the Northeast and Midwest because of the weather and equipment issues.
3. Peachtree's Greg Friedman on 2025's lending environment
Hotel owners and developers could have a better year finding financing this year, but that's going to require going off the beaten path, Peachtree Group Managing Director and CEO Greg Friedman said on the latest episode of HNN's podcast.
"The regional banks, the community banks, the national banks that used to make up 50% of the hotel lending market ... are still not able to lend at the same levels that they once could," he said.
Borrowers who look at other financing vehicles, such as Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy — or C-PACE — loans and EB-5 funding, and work with private lenders should find more success, he said.
4. Uber and Lyft return to driverless options
While Uber Technologies and Lyft previously abandoned plans to develop driverless car technology, these rideshare app companies are revisiting the space, the Wall Street Journal reports. This time, however, they're working with the competitors that stuck with it.
Both Uber and Lyft will offer driverless cars from Alphabet's Waymo and other companies through their respective apps, according to the article. Uber customers in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta will be able to order Waymo. Lyft will offer May Mobility's cars in Atlanta as well.
5. Real ID deadline looms again
The deadline is approaching for American travelers to get a Real ID-compliant state-issued identification card or driver's license, USA Today reports. After May 7, those without will not be able to fly domestically or enter certain federal facilities. A valid passport, however, would still allow them to fly.
The rule requiring compliant IDs comes from the Real ID Act of 2005, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has pushed the deadline back in recent years to allow states' motor vehicle divisions time to process backlogged applications.
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