Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
U.S. merchants paid a record $160.70 billion in card processing fees in 2022, and the pressure on small businesses has only intensified since. As cash transactions decline and consumers increasingly reach for credit cards, shop owners face swipe fees that now rank among their largest monthly operating costs. Legislative efforts and court battles have so…
Bank of America has faced scrutiny over how it handles customer fees and rewards, and the bank’s approach to perks and service can differ sharply by customer tier. Some higher-balance customers may qualify for richer benefits such as travel-related perks and fee waivers, while others may see fewer advantages depending on the specific account or…
Tesla stripped the terms “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability” from its California marketing materials after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles found those labels violated state law. The compliance fix averted a potential 30-day sales suspension, but it also cleared the runway for Tesla to keep charging vehicle owners $99 a month for the same…
Several U.S. states are now charging electric vehicle owners per-mile fees to offset the gas tax revenue that EVs do not generate, and the trend is accelerating. Hawaii launched its road usage charge on July 1, 2025, Utah has a rate increase scheduled for January 2026, and states from Oregon to Virginia already collect similar…
Banks with more than $1 billion in assets still collected $5.83 billion in overdraft and nonsufficient funds fees in 2023, even after a dramatic industry pullback that cut those charges by more than half compared to pre-pandemic levels. That decline has saved consumers an estimated $6 billion a year, yet three categories of “zombie” fees…
Companies across the consumer goods sector are raising prices after holding the line through the holiday shopping season, and the latest inflation data suggests the effects are already showing up in official measurements. The January 2026 Consumer Price Index report confirmed that price growth accelerated from where it stood at the close of 2024, adding…
Costco is enforcing stricter entrance protocols that require members to scan a membership card before stepping onto the warehouse floor at warehouses rolling out the new system. The change signals a broader effort by the retailer to crack down on nonmembers who have long found ways to slip through the doors, and it carries real…
Costco shoppers who chase “deal” gift cards often think they are locking in safe savings at a trusted warehouse club. The collapse of Synergy’s rewards program shows how quickly that confidence can crack when a third-party partner fails and fine print takes over. The bad news for members is that federal rules and Costco’s own…
Amazon shoppers have long been told that low prices are the company’s north star, but new tariffs are now testing how long that promise can hold. In recent public comments, Andy Jassy has warned that many sellers are likely to push higher import costs straight onto customers, even as he insists Amazon has not yet…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to keep financial companies from quietly siphoning money out of household budgets. A new analysis now argues that when Trump officials pulled back that watchdog, the result was a roughly 19 billion dollar hit to Americans’ wallets. The finding lands at a moment when families are already straining…