Telis Demos

Rockefeller Center

Writer, Heard on the Street at The Wall Street Journal

I write about Wall Street for The Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street, and I co-host WSJ’s Take on the Week podcast. [email protected]

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Articles

Private Credit Has a Problem: Too Much Money

2 weeks ago | fnlondon.com | Telis Demos

Private Credit Has a Problem: Too Much MoneyThese lenders are flush with cash, but the lack of buyouts is depressing pricing and activity Published May 22, 2025 at 5:30 AM ET Managers of private-lending funds have no shortage of money at their disposal. The question is whether they will have enough good places to put it.
Today’s Hot Banking Business Is Lending to Lenders

1 month ago | fnlondon.com | Telis Demos

Today’s Hot Banking Business Is Lending to LendersFinancing for nonbank firms is helping banks prop up loan growth and drive trading revenue Published April 17, 2025 at 5:30 AM ET Once again, banks are struggling to expand their loan books. But they have an ace up their sleeve: lending to nonbank lenders. Across several large, global, national and regional banks that have reported earnings so far, a common pattern is tepid loan growth.
Not All Trump 2.0 Regulatory Initiatives Will Survive-Here’s Why

Nov 24, 2024 | wsj.com | Jinjoo Lee |David Wainer |Telis Demos

Giving it a dramatic name like the “Manhattan Project” of our era and appointing wealthy men with social-media clout to take action won’t make freeing favored industries from regulation easy. Many of the Trump administration’s efforts to throw out or rewrite Washington’s rulebook might be challenged, fizzle or fail outright. A good way to handicap their odds is to look at how administrations have fared in the past.
Things Are Quiet in Consumer Credit. Too Quiet.

Nov 19, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

Lenders are open for business. But there might not be a ton of borrowers walking through the door. That can be a formula for trouble. It should be a pretty good time to be lending money to people. Interest rates on credit cards have been at the highest levels since at least the 1990s, while the risk of card lending is subsiding. For the first time since 2021, the rate at which new delinquencies were forming actually declined in the third quarter from the prior quarter, according to the New York Fed.
Heard on the Street: Goldman Sachs Stands Out as a Trump-Era Winner

Nov 14, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

Donald Trump’s election has unleashed big hopes for dealmaking, regulatory easing and private credit. All together, that would put some extra shine on the bank. Find out more:
Why Goldman Stands Out as a Trump-Era Winner on Wall Street

Nov 14, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

Donald Trump’s election has unleashed big hopes in the market for dealmaking, regulatory easing and private credit. Together, all of that would put some extra shine on Goldman Sachs GS -1.00%decrease; red down pointing triangle. Goldman is the top-performer among global banks in the S&P 500 so far in November, up nearly 15%. That is well above S&P 500 banks, which are up around 9%, and on par with private investment firm Apollo Global Management’s gain this month. That may be no coincidence.
The Market Is Betting Trump Won’t Fix High Card Rates

Nov 8, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

Donald Trump was elected at least in part because of voter unhappiness with living costs, and their hope he might do something about it. Among those high prices have been what it costs to borrow on a credit card. Trump during the campaign even floated the idea of a temporary 10% cap on credit-card interest rates, less than half of what the typical rate is today. So why are card lenders some of the best-performing stocks after his win?
Mortgage Lenders Fall Even as Banks Soar on Trump

Nov 6, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

Financial stocks are surging following Donald Trump’s election victory. Yet many companies tied to mortgages and home buying are down sharply. These include some non-bank firms that make home-purchase and refinance loans before selling them into the securitization market. Rocket Cos. and UWM Holdings were down on Wednesday, by 4.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Some homebuilders are also off significantly, including D.R. Horton and Lennar, down 5.3% and 6.4%.
Credit and Debit Cards Ate Cash. So What’s Eating Cards?

Nov 1, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

In the most recent update of an annual diary of Americans’ payment habits, for the first time consumers used debit cards as often as cash for payments under $25. That was a milestone for cards. Was it also the finish line? $13.75/Week $1.75/Week Includes unlimited access to The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Investor’s Business Daily $9.75/Week $1/Week Includes WSJ election coverage, podcasts, the app and more. Already a subscriber? Sign in
PayPal’s Real Friends Will Have to Be Patient

Oct 29, 2024 | wsj.com | Telis Demos

PayPal says it is sacrificing some volume growth to focus on more profitable payment flows. The market doesn’t like the look for that, for now. But investors may come to embrace it, if similar moves at other payments players are any guide. The digital-payments company guided for low-single-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter. Analysts noted that this was below the consensus estimate for north of 5%. The stock responded, falling roughly 3% in midday trading.