The financial news that actually matters
California drivers are paying noticeably more at the pump again, and the latest run-up is another reminder of how quickly the state’s gasoline market can turn. Federal weekly data show the average price for regular gasoline in California rose from about $4.18 a gallon on Feb. 2 to roughly $4.42 by Feb. 16, a gain…
Ford Motor Company is making one of its clearest mass-market electric vehicle bets yet, tying a roughly $5 billion commitment to a new universal EV platform, a retooled Kentucky assembly plant, and a lower-cost battery supply chain in Michigan. At the center of the push is a midsize electric pickup with a targeted starting price…
Student loan borrowers harmed by Navient’s servicing practices are finally beginning to receive checks tied to a $100 million consumer redress fund, part of a broader federal enforcement action that targeted one of the most criticized names in the industry. The payments are going out automatically. Eligible borrowers do not need to file a claim,…
Warren Buffett’s last Berkshire Hathaway portfolio filing as chief executive offered one more lesson in restraint. The conglomerate disclosed that it reduced positions in Apple, Amazon and Bank of America in the fourth quarter of 2025, while adding just one new stock. For investors used to mining Berkshire’s quarterly filings for sweeping signals, the message…
America’s economy is still producing growth, jobs, and consumer spending. But those headline numbers mask a split that feels very different depending on where a household sits on the income ladder. At the top, affluent Americans continue to spend with far less strain than everyone else. At the bottom, many lower-income households are still forced…
American households are carrying more credit card debt than ever in aggregate, and the number is large enough to stop readers cold. Spread across the nation’s households, outstanding credit card balances work out to roughly $9,300 per household, based on third-quarter 2025 Federal Reserve Bank of New York data and the latest U.S. Census household…
High-yield savings account rates were still attractive by historical standards in mid-December, but the peak of the cycle was clearly fading. Banks had already started nudging yields lower after the Federal Reserve’s latest move, and the best offers on the market were no longer representative of what most savers could expect to earn across the…
American households posted an income rebound in 2023, at least on paper. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that real median household income rose to $80,610, up 4.0% from $77,540 a year earlier. It was the first statistically significant annual increase since 2019 and a sign that wages and employment gains were finally showing up in…
Even after years of job growth and easing inflation, many Americans remain financially exposed to the kind of bill that arrives without warning and demands payment fast. A car repair, urgent dental work, a vet visit, or an emergency room copay can still push a household into debt in a matter of days. That gap…
Wendy’s is moving to shrink its U.S. restaurant base after a stretch of weaker sales, signaling that one of the country’s biggest burger chains sees a real need to cut underperforming stores rather than wait for demand to snap back. The company has already told investors that a mid-single-digit percentage of its domestic footprint could…