The financial news that actually matters
American households carried sharply higher debt loads into bankruptcy court over the past two years, with total filings climbing 16.2% in the twelve months ending June 2024 and continuing to rise into 2025. The increase, driven almost entirely by consumer cases rather than business restructurings, reversed a years-long decline that followed pandemic-era relief programs. What…
Tricolor Holdings, a used car seller and subprime auto lender that served low-income buyers across the southern United States, has collapsed under the weight of federal fraud allegations, leaving thousands of borrowers uncertain about the status of their car loans. The company’s CEO, CFO, and COO now face criminal charges in connection with what prosecutors…
The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book paints a split-screen picture of the U.S. economy: overall growth is inching forward, but the spending power behind that expansion is concentrated among wealthier households. Lower- and middle-income consumers, meanwhile, are pulling back on discretionary purchases as price sensitivity deepens. The gap between these two groups is widening enough…
The average transaction price for a new vehicle in the United States climbed to $49,191 in February, setting an all-time record as buyers rushed to close deals ahead of steep tariffs on imported automobiles. The price spike, up 3.4% year over year according to Kelley Blue Book, lands just weeks before a 25% tariff on…
Goldman Sachs has shifted its forecast for the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut to June, responding to a string of inflation readings that came in stronger than Wall Street expected. The move reflects growing unease among major banks that sticky consumer prices will keep the Fed on hold longer than markets had hoped. For…
Monthly child care bills can exceed $5,000 in some parts of the U.S., pushing the annual cost of infant care well past what many families pay for a year of in-state college tuition. The gap between what parents spend on care for young children and what they earn has widened sharply, with recent reporting and…
JPMorgan Chase warned in January 2026 that a proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates could eliminate lending access for up to 40 million American borrowers, a figure the bank’s executives cited during earnings-cycle communications. The warning landed as Senate bill S.381, the 10 Percent Credit Card Interest Rate Cap Act, continues to draw…
Auto loan delinquencies in the United States have climbed to 4.1%, the highest level recorded in 14 years, according to Federal Reserve data tracking the share of balances at least 30 days past due. The increase signals mounting financial pressure on millions of American households that depend on vehicle financing for daily transportation. With total…
U.S. manufacturing ended the year on a weaker note, with the sector slipping deeper into contraction as demand remained soft and factory managers grew more cautious about the near-term outlook. The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.9, down from 48.2 a month earlier, marking the lowest reading of the year and extending…
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield pushed above the 4.2% threshold this week, a move that reflects growing tension between the bond market’s expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts and a wave of government borrowing that keeps pushing long-term rates higher. The climb puts pressure on mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, and household budgets at…