• Mortgage rates rose above 7% for the first time since mid-2024, an early setback for a housing market that is coming off two consecutive years of poor sales.
• China said its economy expanded by 5% last year, formally hitting its official growth target, but a variety of weak signals raised skepticism among some outside economists.
• A rule change last year by California’s insurance regulator will likely shift a large portion of the cost of the Los Angeles wildfires to homeowners in the state.
• Retail sales in November and December, excluding cars, gasoline and restaurants, rose 4% from 2023 to $994.1 billion, Commerce Department data showed.
• Cartier owner Richemont reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, triggering a rally in luxury stocks, after its jewelry division bucked a downturn in demand for high-end goods.
• TSMC reported another record quarter on AI-driven demand for chips and said it expects continued growth even as it navigates the U.S.-China technology rivalry.
• American Express agreed to pay about $230 million in penalties over deceptive practices tied to how it sold credit cards and wire services to small-business customers.

• Israel’s Netanyahu said negotiators reached agreement on a Gaza cease-fire deal that would free Israeli hostages, ending two days of debate that had underscored the pact’s fragility.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis named the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody, to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio, who is seeking confirmation as U.S. secretary of state.
• Births in China edged up in 2024 for the first time in eight years, while deaths dropped slightly, but the country’s population still fell as deaths outpaced births.
• TikTok gained new hope for survival in America, with its CEO slated to attend Trump’s inauguration and the president-elect’s advisers working on options to delay a ban of the popular app.
• Biden issued an executive order on cybersecurity, covering topics from securing government communications against foreign hackers to threats posed by AI and quantum computing.
• An uncrewed spacecraft operated by Musk’s SpaceX exploded during a test flight, temporarily disrupting air travel as pieces of it streaked across the sky.
• The U.S. imposed sanctions on Sudan’s de facto president, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as punishment for the brutal campaign he has led in the country’s civil war.
• Died: David Lynch, 78, filmmaker.