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(NEW YORK) — What happens when a social media company succeeds at building a community, then threatens to destroy what its users spent years building?

Devoted users of TikTok face that very question, as the app faces bipartisan criticism and a potential ban stemming from its political and national security issues.

Having built niche followings on the short-form video site, content creators told ABC News that their communities might be unable to migrate to another platform if TikTok were banned, shattering the rare progress of a social media company accomplishing part of their community-building mission.

“If we lose this, I lose a very large community,” Rayne Loucks told ABC News.

With about 52,000 followers for his account @StarTrekGuy, Loucks is a part of the Star Trek community on the platform, though he is far from the archetype of a TikTok influencer. Lacking the hallmarks of TikTok — millions of followers, lucrative brand deals, prolific dance videos — Loucks posts in his spare time between working as an assistant teacher and delivering food for Pizza Hut.

“An important thing to know about me is that I am autistic. I do not have very many friends in real life,” he said. “Most of my friends are there, so I would be devastated.”

Though the timeline and potential for a nationwide ban of the platform are uncertain, the threat of a ban lingers for creators like Loucks, who worries he would lose his community, friends and support system that has allowed him to come out of his “shell.”

As TikTok grew to have over 200 million downloads in the United States, its initial success was primarily built on viral videos created by the slim minority of app users. More similar to YouTube than platforms like Facebook and Instagram, users grew accustomed to a steady feed of targeted content, according to Ted Murphy, the founder and CEO of social media marketing firm IZEA.

“The majority of people are there to be entertained, and they’re not being entertained necessarily by their cousin or their co-worker,” he told ABC News. “They’re being entertained by other people who are producing content that they’re interested in.”

Rick Mason, who posts to his 9,000 followers with the username @randomgotham, described that he initially thought the platform was “just a bunch of dancing videos” that didn’t appeal to him. Jimmy Shoffman, with about 1,000 followers for his account @TREKNOPOD, shared that initial view of the app. Another user Mary Faulds, who posts to her 15,000 followers under the username @flutemusik, told ABC News that she joined the platform to embarrass her kids.

As dance videos made normal teenagers into megastars, TikTok also began to foster niche communities with devoted content creators making videos for smaller, albeit committed, viewers.

All four creators eventually gravitated toward the Star Trek community on the platform, where they found a strong group of friends and collaborators.

“Star Trek is about people coming together from many different backgrounds and finding a sense of self, a sense of family, community, a place where you can be accepted and be yourself,” Mason said. “And I think that’s pretty much how I feel about the people I meet online. They really have become my family.”

Faulds, 33, added that finding friends in her small town of Galion, Ohio, a community she shares with her ex-husband, can be difficult.

“People will say, ‘Oh, I like Star Trek,’ but then when you start talking about like cosplay and conventions and stuff, suddenly you’re just a little too weird,” she told ABC News. “And I found people on TikTok who did not think that I was too weird.”

They attribute the company’s success to the platform’s approach to curating content on a “For You” page, which aggregates videos the platform believes users prefer based on their scrolling patterns and likes. The app also pushes users into niche communities, such as TrekTok, DatingTok, or PowerToolsTok.

“It’s like going to a party where you don’t know anybody,” Mason said to describe the way TikTok curates content. “I feel like TikTok tends to be like [the] host who tends to say, ‘Hey, so and so likes this, you guys should talk.'”

Despite these redeeming qualities, TikTok and its parent company ByteDance appear constantly embroiled in controversies, with critics accusing the company of giving Chinese government officials access to sensitive user data, including the specific profile that TikTok uses to curate its successful and individualized “For You” page.

“I don’t think that spying is the right way to describe it,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told members of Congress when asked if his company spies on US users.

ByteDance has denied this allegation multiple times, yet the company faces a ban in Montana and a threat of a federal prohibition.

Despite the national security risk articulated by politicians and federal law enforcement officials, some users see the risk as menial compared to other social media platforms.

“Google steals our data, Facebook steals our data,” Loucks noted. “Stealing data is the price of having a free online. I am willing to pay that price.”

Other users recognized that a foreign company might collect their data. Still, they opted to accept that risk considering the benefits that the platform brings to their lives — not just enjoying videos, but the feeling of finding a community at a time of overwhelming loneliness. Research from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education found that Americans’ mental health during the pandemic suggests that 36 percent of Americans, including 61 percent of young adults, experience serious loneliness.

“All of the sudden, I had friends, and it’s really difficult where I am to make friends,” Faulds said of the niche community on the platform.

However, the political headwinds TikTok faces in the U.S. threaten to damage or remove that community and others. Other platforms like YouTube and Instagram have embraced the short-form video platform that drove TikTok’s growth, but some users expressed doubt if the community they built could successfully migrate.

“A TikTok ban would result in me really feeling isolated because the community is so close,” Faulds added. “The loneliness would be real, whether or not they are ‘just virtual friends.'”

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(NEW YORK) — Chevrolet is saying bye-bye to the Bolt.

The Chevy Bolt hatchback, as well as its crossover Bolt EUV sibling, will cease production this year, General Motors has confirmed to ABC News.

The Bolt starts at just under $27,000 before federal and state electric vehicle incentives, making it the cheapest way to get into a new EV in the United States.

In a statement, a Chevy spokesperson called the Bolt a “huge technical achievement,” but went on to say that “as construction continues at the Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant in preparation for battery electric truck production beginning in 2024, Chevrolet confirmed Bolt EV and EUV production will end late this year.”

“When the Bolt goes out of production, the American market will have lost its last affordable EV,” said Ed Niedermeyer, an auto industry analyst. The next cheapest electric car on sale is the Nissan Leaf S, which has an EPA-estimated range of 149 miles on a charge. That’s more than 100 miles short of the Bolt’s 259-mile range.

Chad Kirchner, editor-in-chief of EV Pulse, said GM’s decision to ax the Bolt shouldn’t come as a shock.

“It’s not surprising at all,” he said.

In 2021, the Bolt was the subject of multiple recalls over its battery, made by LG Chem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rare manufacturing defects made during the production of those batteries “may pose a risk of fire when charged to full, or very close to full, capacity.” GM issued a statement at the time advising Bolt owners to park their cars outside, and at least 50 feet from other vehicles. The company said at the time it would replace the battery modules. NHTSA says about half of the affected cars have had that replacement done.

The Bolt was also developed before GM rolled out its “Ultium” platform – an electric vehicle architecture that underpins everything from GMC’s Hummer EV pickup truck to a midsize Cadillac SUV called the Lyriq.

The Bolt was launched for the 2017 model year. While it wasn’t GM’s first electric effort, it was the company’s first EV sold in all 50 states. And it sold well – the Bolt was the best selling non-Tesla EV in the last two quarters of 2022.

The company says more affordable Ultium-based Chevy EVs are going to launch soon, including an electric Equinox SUV that’s expected to start around $30,000. Even still, Niedermeyer says price remains a hurdle for wide-scale EV adoption.

“Weak profits in EVs and a lack of regulatory support for lower price points will continue to place the emphasis on expensive premium EVs,” said Niedermeyer. “Only by emphasizing that EVs are best suited to the weekday driving that starts and ends at home, and by aligning incentives for cars and chargers with the opportunity that use case presents, will truly affordable EVs become a widespread phenomenon.”

In the meantime, Kirchner said until the Equinox goes on sale, GM could be leaving market share on the table in the growing EV market.

“I think they’re leaving a fairly big hole in the affordability segment,” he said, adding, “I think that EVs are being priced out of a certain customer’s price range, and that is the customer that could benefit the most from an EV.”

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(NEW YORK) — Shares of First Republic Bank plummeted more than 25% in early trading on Tuesday as the banking crisis continued to ripple through the financial system.

The regional lender, left in dire condition after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last month, suffered a major loss of $102 billion in deposits over the first three months of 2023, an earnings report showed on Monday.

The lost deposits made up more than half of the $176 billion retained by the bank at the end of last year.

In all, shares of First Republic Bank have fallen nearly 90% since the outset of the year.

The bank’s profit fell 33% to $269 million over the three months ending in March when compared with the same period last year, the earnings report showed.

Meanwhile, revenue dropped 13% to $1.2 billion over the first three months of 2023, the report said.

On an earnings call with analysts, First Republic Bank CEO Michael Roffler acknowledged “unprecedented deposit outflows” in the middle of March, saying the bank faces “challenges and uncertainties.”

“Over the past seven weeks as we were impacted by industry events, our commitment to delivering exceptional client service has not wavered,” he added.

The sharp decline of First Republic Bank shares comes more than a month after the nation’s largest financial institutions injected $30 billion in the bank to stem losses and exhibit confidence in the lender.

Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were among a slew of big banks that participated in the effort.

Over the week following Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, small banks lost $108 billion in deposits, Federal Reserve data showed.

Meanwhile, deposits to the nation’s 25 biggest banks increased by $120 billion over that week, the data said.

JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, received a huge wave of customers and deposits, amounting to hundreds of accounts and billions of dollars in the aftermath of the bank collapse, a source familiar with the matter previously told ABC News.

First Republic Bank came under stress in the days following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, which marked the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis.

Two days after that came the fall of Signature Bank, the nation’s 29th-largest bank, suggesting that the banking crisis had spread.

The banking panic spooked many depositors, who rapidly withdrew their funds from smaller banks and placed them in larger ones.

In response, the U.S. government took rapid and extraordinary steps to protect the financial system.

Still, many bank stocks plummeted in March, including First Republic Bank. The company’s shares fell 88% over the course of that month.

Since then, the shares have stabilized, jumping 10% this month.

The weak earnings report on Monday and the stock decline on Tuesday, however, left in question the steadiness of the bank.

Bank executives declined to take questions on the earnings call on Monday.

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(NEW YORK) — Tech giant Apple last week announced a buzzy product release — but it wasn’t a new version of its iPhone or virtual reality headset. Rather, the company offered its first ever high-yield savings account.

The move reflects growing demand for returns on savings as a topsy-turvy stock market, looming recession fears and aggressive interest rate hikes transform the old-fashioned savings account into a newly attractive financial option, personal finance experts told ABC News.

However, the yields on savings accounts could shift downward if the Federal Reserve reverses its policy of rate hikes, and prospective consumers should make sure that an account offering retains government insurance protection, they added.

Here’s what to know about the rise of high-yield savings accounts, and how to decide whether to open one:

What is a high yield savings account?

Financial institutions have not settled on what exactly constitutes a high-yield savings account, experts said. But the name indicates the key characteristics of this financial product: a savings account that delivers high returns.

While no specific threshold earns an account the moniker of “high-yield,” the enhanced savings from such accounts can prove substantial, experts said.

The average yield for a savings account is 0.24% annual percentage yield, meaning that a typical customer earns a fraction of a percentage point of interest each year for his or her savings deposit, according to Bankrate.com data from last week.

High-yield savings accounts, however, offer customers as much as 5% annual percentage yield, Mark Hamrick, Washington bureau chief and senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com, told ABC News.

“Over a prolonged period of time, it can make a huge difference,” Hamrick said.

For instance, a high-yield saving account that holds $10,000 could return as much as $500 per year. However, if a customer deposits the same amount in a bank account yielding 0.25% each, he or she stands to see just $25 in annual return, Hamrick said.

Instead of seeking out high-yield savings accounts at brick-and-mortar banks with household names or local branches, customers will more often find them at online banks, Christine Benz, the director of personal finance at Morningstar, told ABC News.

Online banks face lower expenses, since they aren’t paying for a commercial space or local bank employees, Benz said.

“Online banks are able to offer more competitive, better yields,” Benz said.

Why are high-yield savings accounts on the rise?

High-yield savings accounts have grown in popularity amid a string of rate hikes from the Fed that have allowed some banks to offer attractive returns and damaged the performance of alternative financial vehicles like the stock market, experts said.

“We’ve seen a huge rise,” Hamrick said.

Over the last year, the Fed has raised interest rates at a breakneck pace not seen since the 1980s.

The interest rate hikes make it more lucrative for banks to hold money, which in turn puts pressure on financial institutions to pass along some of those earnings to depositors through higher yields.

As a result, some banks have bid up each other’s yield offerings to attract customers, Hamrick said.

“They’ve got to be competitive with their rivals,” Hamrick said.

Meanwhile, high interest rates have pummeled some alternative investment options, like stocks. The S&P 500 has dropped about 3% over the past year, though it has surged in recent months.

“A savings account is pretty safe money right now,” Hamrick said.

What are the downsides of a high-yield savings account?

A major drawback of a high-yield savings account stems from the unpredictability of its yield, which shifts in rough correlation with the interest rate environment, Benz said.

If the Fed decides to reverse its rate policy and start bringing down borrowing costs, the high-yield accounts would likely suffer.

“With any type of savings account, the interest rate will vary significantly on an ongoing basis,” Benz said.

Moreover, personal finance experts cautioned that customers should make sure that a given high-yield account falls under government insurance protection, especially in light of recent tumult in the financial system.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which safeguards the stability of the financial system, protects depositors at all FDIC-insured banks for up to $250,000 in funds for each different type of account held.

Nearly every bank is FDIC insured, and the vast majority of accounts fall below the $250,000 threshold.

Insurance also covers balances held with the high-yield savings account offered by Apple through its partnership with Goldman Sachs, Apple said.

Meanwhile, high-yield savings accounts often require a minimum deposit size for customers to qualify for the strong returns, Benz said.

“Relate that to your own expectations of how you’ll use the funds or the account,” she said.

“If you’re thinking of it as a checking alternative and don’t think you’ll be able to maintain the minimum balance, you won’t be able to maintain that full yield,” she added.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice has joined an investigation led by the Department of Transportation into Southwest Airlines’ meltdown in December — when the company canceled more than 16,000 flights over an 11-day period — a DOT spokesperson said.

The DOT’s probe is looking into “whether Southwest engaged in unrealistic flight scheduling which is illegal under federal law and whether Southwest Airlines provided timely refunds and reimbursements to affected passengers as required,” the agency spokesperson said in a statement.

“The DOT team … is also closely coordinating with DOJ and FAA,” the spokesperson said.

In a statement, Southwest said it has not received any inquiries yet from the DOJ but is ready to cooperate with the government agencies.

Southwest’s extensive cancellations left thousands of passengers stranded as a result of severe winter storms, staffing shortages and technology issues.

The airline said the breakdown cost more than $800 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022.

At the time, Southwest’s CEO Bob Jordan apologized for the chaos during an interview with ABC News, saying, “This has impacted so many people, so many customers over the holidays, it’s impacted our employees and I’m extremely sorry for that. There’s just no way, almost, to apologize enough.”

In January, the DOT announced that it was investigating and in a February hearing, the company’s COO, Andrew Watterson, addressed the cancellations before the Senate Commerce Committee.

“Let me be clear: We messed up,” Watterson said. “In hindsight, we did not have enough winter operational resilience.”

In March, Southwest unveiled a three-part plan to boost the airline’s operational resiliency in the face of future challenges.

But problems have persisted: Last week, Southwest planes were briefly grounded nationwide and more than 2,000 flights were delayed as a result of a technical issue with an internal system.

“This is another demonstration that Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade their systems and stop the negative impacts to individual travelers,” Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said in a statement at the time.

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(NEW YORK) — Twitter reversed a major change to its subscription policy over the weekend by reverifying some legacy accounts, including ones belonging to dead celebrities like Michael Jackson and Kobe Bryant.

The Elon Musk-owned social media platform last week removed blue checkmark verification from its legacy users as part of revamp of Twitter Blue, a subscription service that grants purchasers the site’s signature checkmark and additional posting capabilities.

However, the company appeared to return the verification checkmark for some popular accounts over the weekend, eliciting outcry from some widely followed users who clarified that they had not paid for the service.

In addition, Twitter appeared to reverify accounts for some dead celebrities, including Anthony Bourdain, Chadwick Boseman and Norm Macdonald, among others.

It was not immediately known whether Twitter reverified the accounts or individuals operating the accounts on behalf of the deceased figures had subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Twitter did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said that he personally paid for subscriptions for accounts belonging to basketball star Lebron James, actor William Shatner and author Steven King. In a tweet, King called on Musk to “give my blue check to charity.”

James received an email from a Twitter employee informing him that Musk had paid for a complimentary subscription but James did not respond to the email, the Verge reported.

Chrissy Teigen, a model with nearly 13 million Twitter followers, reacted to the return of some legacy verification check marks in a tweet: “wait I’m crying they’re giving them for punishment now.”

Teigen, like some other celebrities, appeared to remove the check mark by briefly altering their Twitter handles, the usernames anchored to their accounts.

Previously, Twitter verified celebrities, politicians, journalists and prominent figures on a case-by-case basis in an effort to authenticate their identities and prevent impersonation.

Under Twitter’s new subscription service, users gain access to account verification for an $8 monthly fee, which amounts to $96 per year.

“Until now, Twitter used the blue checkmark to indicate active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest,” the company said on its website.

Twitter delayed by a few days the initial release of a revamped Twitter Blue in November over concerns about impostor accounts posing as prominent figures or organizations.

To address impostors, Musk said the site would permanently suspend users who attempt to impersonate others, unless the speech is clearly marked as parody.

The reversal of the subscription policy change for some legacy users marks the latest shift at Twitter since Musk acquired the company in October for $44 billion.

Days after Musk purchased Twitter, the company began layoffs that ultimately cut roughly 75% of its 7,500-person workforce, raising concerns about Twitter’s capacity to maintain its platform.

Twitter suffered a user outage in February that lasted for hours and required an emergency fix, prompting an apology from the company.

The outage came hours after Twitter announced that subscribers to Twitter Blue would be permitted to post longer messages than other users.

For his part, Musk has defended his actions at Twitter as part of an aggressive effort to rescue the company from financial peril, which he described in a Twitter Spaces interview in December as an “emergency fire drill.”

“That’s the reason for my actions,” he added. “They may seem sometimes spurious or odd or whatever.”

The policy change over legacy verification came during a difficult week for Musk, who watched on Thursday as a SpaceX rocket Starship exploded minutes after takeoff.

Still, Musk congratulated the workers behind the rocket launch and vowed to try again later this year.

“Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months,” Musk tweeted.

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(NEW YORK) — Bed Bath & Beyond filed on Sunday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company’s 360 stores — along with its 120 buybuy BABY stores — are expected to remain open as the retailer begins its bankruptcy restructuring, according to a statement released Sunday. Online sales are also expected to continue.

Sue Gove, president & CEO, said the company would work “diligently to maximize value for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

“We deeply appreciate our associates, customers, partners, and the communities we serve, and we remain steadfastly determined to serve them throughout this process,” Gove said.

In a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, the company said its liabilities totalled more than $1 billion. The company said in a release it had secured financing of $240 million from Sixth Street Specialty Lending to support its operations during the turnaround process.

The New Jersey-based company listed debt, including long-term liabilities, totalling about $5.2 billion in its most recent quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its assets were about $4.4 billion, including about $153 million in cash or equivalents.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds contributed to this story.

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(NEW YORK) — Facebook users who had an account at any time from May 2007 to the end of last year can now apply for their share of a $725 million privacy settlement that the platform’s parent company, Meta, agreed to last December.

In a 2018 lawsuit, Facebook was accused of improperly sharing the personal information of 87 million users with third-party advertisers, including Cambridge Analytica, the data firm linked to then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Meta denies any liability or wrongdoing, but is agreeing to pay out the large settlement to users whose information may have been comprised during that time. ABC News Radio anchor Michelle Franzen spoke to ABC News correspondent Alexis Christoforous on START HERE to discuss the case’s background and how people can apply for their claim online at facebookuserprivacysettlement.com.

MICHELLE FRANZEN: Alexis, first of all, jog our collective memories on this lawsuit and how it impacted Facebook users at the time.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: So, you know, Michelle, this was quite a few years ago now. This lawsuit was filed in 2018 after Facebook disclosed that the information of 87 million users was improperly shared with third-party advertisers, data brokers, namely Cambridge Analytica. That is the political consultant that was used by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, among others. So in coming to this settlement, you know, Meta, which is the Facebook parent company, denies any liability or wrongdoing, but they are agreeing to pay out $725 million to users whose information may have been compromised during that time.

FRANZEN: So how much money could users receive and what do you have to do if you were a Facebook user to see if you’re due some sort of settlement money?

CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, I think we all hear $725 million and our ears perk up because that sounds like a lot of money. But the fact is, when you divvy it up amongst millions and millions of people, it’s not that much money anymore. So the amount of money that you might get from this claim is still unknown, because it’s going to depend on a couple of things: How many people actually submit a claim and then how long you had your Facebook account for given the years that, you know, make you eligible.

So I guess we should let folks know that you’re only eligible if you had an active Facebook account sometime between May of 2007 and December of 2022. You don’t have to have had it for all that time, just some of that time. You have until August 25 to submit a claim. You can do that right online. You have to go to a website. It’s facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. It’s long. You have to write it all out. Again, don’t expect the money super soon. It has to get final approval from a judge in early September. But at some point at the end of this year or next, your money should be coming to you.

FRANZEN: That span of time listed was during the height of Facebook, right?

CHRISTOFOROUS: It was, so, I mean, you would imagine that, you know, many, many millions of people, tens of millions of people. I mean, according to Facebook, its 87 million users had their information improperly shared with these third parties. So many millions of people could claim this money. And so the more people that tried to claim it, the less amount you would get. I mean, if all 87 million people tried to get a piece of the pie, you know, you’d probably walk away with about $8. But you know what, Michelle? That’s $8 you wouldn’t have had if you didn’t file the claim. That’s how I look at it.

FRANZEN: Exactly. That’s what Twitter is asking for for a month.

CHRISTOFOROUS: Exactly, exactly. So, you know, it’s also, I think the principle of the thing for lots of folks, they feel like, you know, you can’t just go willy-nilly and use my information without my consent, and these are privacy violations and so I want what’s coming to me.

FRANZEN: And those privacy violations that resulted in the CEO and the founder of Facebook and Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, having to go to Congress and testify.

CHRISTOFOROUS: That’s right. That was quite the media circus when Zuckerberg went before lawmakers to really defend his company. But, you know, again, with this settlement, they’re not admitting any wrongdoing, but it is their way to sort of, I guess, put a period at the end of this scandalous time for Facebook.

FRANZEN: And Alexis, this is a pretty big settlement, nearly as big as the $787.5 million dollars that Fox News just agreed to settle in a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. Of course, Dominion alleging Fox knowingly pushed false claims about its voting machines during the 2020 election. What do these settlements signal as we turn the corner to the next general election?

CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, I think it tells us that, you know, people are a lot smarter this time around. I think they are much more careful about their personal information and they’re much more caged about how they’re going to let other entities use their personal information.

For companies like Meta, for companies like Fox, I mean, these sound like huge numbers, but when you look at the revenue that flows into these companies, I would imagine for them and their legal teams, they think that this is, you know, sort of the most prudent thing they can do is to settle for what seems like eye-popping amounts of money.

But for sure, I mean, I think privacy, integrity, I mean, these are going to be things that are going to be top of mind for voters in the upcoming election.

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(NEW YORK) — Twitter on Thursday began removing blue check marks from legacy verified accounts.

Elon Musk, the CEO of the social media platform, had announced earlier this month that the checks marks would be taken down on April 20.

Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2023

The blue check marks were used to make sure that accounts of notable people or organizations were actually being run by those people or groups.

Now, the verification symbol is going to cost users $8 a month.

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(NEW YORK) — High inflation, interest rate hikes and recession worries pummeled stocks last year.

The market has rebounded in 2023, though, even as each of those problems continues to vex the economy. Compounding those concerns, the banking sector underwent a crisis last month and a debt ceiling dispute in Congress risks financial distress.

Still, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed more than 15% this year, while the S&P 500 has jumped more than 7%. The Dow has ticked up about 2% since the outset of the year.

The gains in recent months owe in part to the poor performance last year, since investors already responded to the grim economic conditions with a sell-off, stock analysts told ABC News.

Investors flocked back to the market as inflation eased and rate hikes slowed, even if those market headwinds persist and the threat of a recession looms, they said.

“The stock market is obviously performing better than the vast majority of people would’ve expected,” Tom Essaye, president of financial data firm Sevens Report Research, told ABC News.

“The market has proven very impressively resilient, despite bad news,” he added.

Analysts differed about the outlook for stocks going forward, however, as some said they expect the rally to endure for the remainder of the year while others predicted a recession that would render the good times short-lived.

Over the last year, the Federal Reserve has imposed an aggressive string of interest rate hikes last seen in the 1980s.

The policy aims to slash inflation but risks slowing the economy and bringing about a recession.

So far, the approach has succeeded in cooling price hikes but fallen short of the Fed’s goal.

Consumer prices rose 5% last month compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong slowdown of price increases but leaving inflation more than double the target rate of 2%.

The progress in slashing inflation has left investors confident that the Fed will soon stop raising interest rates and may even begin to lower rates by the end of the year, analysts told ABC News.

“The theme we’re seeing in 2023 is ‘The end is near,'” Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, told ABC News.

Softening inflation and rate hikes have coincided with resilient economic performance, fueling investor optimism, analysts said.

The U.S. added 236,000 jobs in March, which marks robust job growth but a reduction from an average of 334,000 jobs added each month over the previous six months, according to government data released last week.

Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales fell moderately in February but remained solid, suggesting that households still retain some pandemic-era savings.

When asked about rising stock prices this year, Tigress Financial market analyst Ivan Feinseth said: “The key fundamental reason is the economy is still strong. The world hasn’t come to an end.”

Still, the economy remains under threat of a recession.

Fed economists said in March that they anticipate a “mild” recession later this year, escalating a previous forecast, central bank meeting minutes showed.

Sixty-five percent of economists expect a recession within the next year, according to a Bloomberg survey last month.

Still, many stock investors hold out hope that the economy could avert a downturn or expect that a mild recession would cause little economic upheaval, said Turnquist, of LPL Financial.

“We’re seeing a message from the market that we could still potentially avoid a recession,” he said.

Some analysts said each of the major stock indexes would end the year at a higher price than its current level, since resilient economic activity would buoy corporate profits, the key focus for stock forecasters.

“The market is teetering on a major breakout,” said Feinseth, of Tigress Financial. “I think we’re going to see a powerful second half of the year.”

Essaye, of Sevens Report Research, offered a more pessimistic outlook, saying the S&P 500 could fall as much as 10% by the end of the year if the economy turns downward.

“It’s extremely difficult to execute a soft landing,” he said, referring to an outcome in which the Fed raises rates to bring down inflation but avoids causing a recession. “There has only been one executed successfully in the last 40 years.”

Despite the glum forecast, Essaye said the current moment offers an opportunity for patient investors to jump into the market.

“We’re pricing in the bad news now and getting ready for a positive surprise in the long term,” he said. “The U.S. economy isn’t going to break.”

ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report.

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