The financial news that actually matters
For nearly one in four Americans who financed a new car in early 2026, the payoff date is sometime in 2033. Loans stretching 84 months or longer accounted for 22.9% of all financed new-vehicle purchases in the first quarter, according to preliminary data from Edmunds, the automotive research firm. That is roughly double the share…
On June 30, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published two interim final actions that allow nationally chartered banks to keep charging merchants credit card processing fees on tips and sales tax, overriding an Illinois law designed to eliminate exactly those charges. The state’s ban was set to take effect the very…
Starting July 1, about 7.5 million federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan will begin receiving letters from their loan servicers with a blunt message: the plan they signed up for no longer exists, and they have 90 days to choose a replacement. Anyone who doesn’t respond will be automatically placed on…
If you are one of the roughly 8 million people still enrolled in the now-blocked SAVE repayment plan, your loan servicer is about to send you a notice that starts a 90-day countdown. Miss it, and the U.S. Department of Education will place you into a fixed-payment plan that could cost you thousands of dollars…
In 28 days, federal bank examiners will lose one of the most controversial tools in their supervisory arsenal. Starting June 9, 2026, examiners at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will be barred from pressuring banks to close customer accounts, deny services, or sever banking relationships based…
A borrower with $35,000 in federal student loans who has been paying nothing per month under the SAVE repayment plan could soon owe $350 or more. Starting July 1, loan servicers will begin sending notices to roughly 7.5 million people still enrolled in SAVE, informing them the plan is finished and giving them 90 days…
The average American who financed a new car in the first quarter of 2026 committed to a monthly payment of $773. The average amount financed hit a record $43,899. And nearly one in four of those buyers signed a loan lasting 84 months or longer. That last figure, 22.9% of all financed new-car deals, comes…
In 2014, a licensed firearms dealer in Wisconsin discovered his bank account had been shut down. No fraud. No bounced checks. No explanation beyond a form letter. When he applied at other banks, he was turned away. Years later, internal FDIC documents revealed that federal examiners had flagged gun sellers as reputational liabilities, quietly pressuring…
A borrower earning $45,000 a year with $35,000 in federal student loan debt could pay roughly $350 to $400 a month under the government’s default repayment schedule. Under an income-driven plan, that same borrower might owe closer to $150 to $200. The difference is real, and it kicks in on July 1, 2025, when the…
Every time you tap or swipe a card at a restaurant in Illinois, the bank that issued your card collects an interchange fee, typically between 1.5% and 3.5% of the total charge depending on the card type and network. That total includes the meal, the sales tax, and the tip. Illinois passed a law, the…