The U.S. stock market has seen robust growth in 2023, with the S&P 500 Index surging by 16%. But according to "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
"The S&P 500 employs 40% of America," he told Fox Business's Larry Kudlow in a recent interview. "Where the cracks are starting to show is in mainstream America where the car loans have gone from 5½% to 9½% and continue to go up."
The U.S. Federal Reserve has implemented aggressive interest rate hikes to combat rampant inflation. As a result, many borrowers now face substantially higher loan and mortgage payments.
O'Leary noted that lending has slowed down, and the cost of borrowing for small businesses has gone up.
"If you're a regional bank right now, you're not lending. I deal with this every day with small business. It's not good for small business," O'Leary said, adding that "Some cracks are starting to show" in regional banks as well.
Check out:
- Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. With as little as $100, average investors are becoming landlords thanks to this Jeff Bezos-backed startup.
- Elon Musk has reportedly bought 6,000 acres of land just outside of ...