The financial news that actually matters
The University of Michigan has been asking Americans how they feel about the economy since 1952. In all that time, they have never felt this bad. The university’s Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 48.2 in its preliminary May 2026 reading, the lowest mark in the survey’s 74-year history. It undercuts the worst months of…
A homeowner in Cape Coral, Florida, who bought at the 2022 peak may now owe more than the house would fetch on the open market. That scenario, once unthinkable in a state that minted equity for years, is playing out across multiple Florida metros at the same time the rest of the country is barely…
The average monthly payment on a new car loan in the United States has reached $773, according to Edmunds’ quarterly auto financing data. In 2018, that figure was $506. The 53% jump did not happen because Americans suddenly developed a taste for gold-plated bumpers. It happened because vehicle prices climbed, interest rates roughly doubled, and…
A retired engineer in Dallas who earned six figures for 30 years and waited until 70 to claim Social Security might collect more than $61,000 a year from the program. Under a proposal now circulating in Washington, that check would be cut by roughly $11,000, capped at $50,000 annually, with no change for the vast…
In less than two months, the federal government will begin depositing $1,000 into investment accounts for millions of American children. The program, officially called Trump accounts, covers every U.S.-citizen baby born since January 1, 2025, and allows parents to contribute up to $5,000 more each year, invested in S&P 500 and other broad stock index…
A buyer who locked in a 30-year fixed mortgage on a $400,000 home during the first week of January 2026 secured a rate of 5.75% and a monthly principal-and-interest payment of roughly $2,334. A buyer taking out the same loan in early May faces a rate of 6.37% and a payment of about $2,498. That…
Pay your property taxes in Cook County, Illinois, with a credit card and you will see a convenience fee tacked on at checkout. That fee exists because the county has to cover the interchange charge, typically 1.5% to 3% of the transaction on a credit card, that flows to the bank behind your card every…
The call came from Chase. At least, that is what the screen said. The number matched the one printed on the back of the customer’s debit card. The voice on the line sounded like every fraud-department representative who had ever asked to “verify recent activity.” Within minutes, $40,000 was gone. That case, reported in consumer…
When the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs in February 2026, General Motors began preparing to collect what public reporting has estimated at roughly $500 million in refunded duties. So did more than 330,000 other importers that had paid levies on everything from Chinese-made toys and power tools to European auto parts and Vietnamese…
The pound of ground beef in your cart costs $6.70. The gas you burned driving to the store ran about $4.55 a gallon. And if you’re one of the millions of Americans carrying a 30-year fixed mortgage, or trying to get one, the rate on that loan just climbed back to 6.37%. Each of those…