The financial news that actually matters
For years, selling on Amazon meant accepting a growing list of fees as the cost of reaching the platform’s massive customer base. But since early 2024, when Amazon introduced an inbound placement fee and a low-inventory-level penalty on top of already-rising fulfillment and advertising charges, many merchants say the economics have tipped from tight to…
A graduate student starting a social work program this fall at a school that charges $65,000 a year could, until now, borrow every dollar of that cost through a single federal loan. Starting July 1, 2026, that option disappears. New graduate and professional students will no longer be eligible for Direct PLUS loans, the federal…
Most retirees drive less than they did a decade ago. Fewer commute miles, fewer rush-hour merges, fewer claims. Yet the insurance bill that lands in the mailbox often looks the same as it did before retirement, or worse. The reason is simple: insurers rarely volunteer discounts. If you don’t ask, you don’t get them. The…
A Netflix subscription in the United States has never been more expensive. As of early 2026, the company’s ad-free Standard plan costs $19.99 per month, a $2 increase from its previous $17.99 price point, according to the company’s help page (though the page may not always reflect the most current pricing in real time). The…
Paying $550 a year for a credit card used to feel like a stretch. That number is now a relic. Chase has raised the annual fee on its Sapphire Reserve to $795, and American Express has pushed the Platinum Card to $895. Together, the back-to-back increases represent the steepest hikes either card has ever carried,…
Two shoppers walk into the same grocery store, pick up the same box of cereal, and open the same retailer app to check the price. One sees $4.29. The other sees $3.79. Neither knows the other’s price exists. That scenario is no longer hypothetical. Federal and state regulators are actively investigating a practice called surveillance…
When Maria Gonzalez, a dental hygienist in suburban Phoenix, sat down with her husband in March to review their bank statements, the numbers told a story they already felt. Groceries were up. Car insurance had jumped. Their two kids’ school fees had risen. The family’s income had not. “We canceled Disney+ and Hulu the same…
A carton of eggs at your local grocery store might cost you more than it costs your neighbor, and you would never know it. That is the scenario New Jersey lawmakers are trying to prevent with Senate Bill 3732, introduced in the state legislature in April 2026. The bill would outlaw the use of algorithms…
A heat pump is only as good as the person who installs it. That basic reality has become one of the biggest obstacles to Europe’s push to electrify home heating, and it is now the focus of a new investment from one of the world’s largest HVAC manufacturers. Carrier Global Corporation announced in spring 2026…
For years, Jeff Bezos trailed Elon Musk in the satellite race. SpaceX’s Starlink constellation grew into the dominant force in broadband from orbit while Amazon’s Project Kuiper struggled to get off the launchpad. Now Bezos is trying to close the gap in a single move. According to the terms of the merger agreement filed with…