The financial news that actually matters
If you bought a car on finance through a dealership in the past decade, there is a real chance the interest rate you paid was quietly inflated so the dealer could pocket a larger commission. Santander has now earmarked more than £460 million to cover compensation for affected UK customers, according to The Guardian, which…
Starting April 26, 2026, every package shipped through the U.S. Postal Service will cost more. A new 8% fuel surcharge on Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select, and other parcel products will add roughly $1.24 to a five-pound Priority Mail box that previously ran about $15.50, and the markup scales with weight and distance….
Fifteen months after the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 12,000 structures across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, thousands of displaced homeowners are still waiting to rebuild. Many remain in temporary housing, caught between mortgage payments on homes that no longer exist and a reconstruction process slowed by permit backlogs, contractor shortages, and insurance…
When Mariana Castillo walked across the stage at her university commencement in May 2024, she assumed her federal student loan payments would be manageable. She had budgeted around the SAVE plan, the most generous income-driven repayment option the government had ever offered. By the time her first payment came due that fall, SAVE was frozen…
U.S. banks are carrying about $42 billion in credit card balances that are at least 30 days past due, according to figures drawn from bank Call Reports and highlighted in recent coverage. On its own, that total is eye-catching. In context, it points to something broader: more households are falling behind on card payments after…
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…
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…
American consumers are carrying more credit card debt than ever, and the cost of carrying that debt remains punishingly high. Credit card balances have pushed past $1.2 trillion, while the average annual percentage rate on card plans has stayed near 21%, leaving many households with less room to absorb higher housing, food, insurance, and transportation…
The federal government’s beneficial ownership reporting system was once poised to reach a huge share of the American small-business economy. Under the original framework, millions of corporations, LLCs, and similar entities were expected to disclose the real people behind them to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. That is no longer the…