Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
President Donald Trump has thrown a political grenade into the credit-card business, calling for a sharp, temporary ceiling on how much interest lenders can charge. The move, framed as a one-year emergency measure, could reshape how millions of Americans borrow, spend and manage debt if it ever becomes reality. It also pits the White House…
President Donald Trump’s push to cap credit card interest at 10 percent lands squarely on a raw nerve for households juggling double digit rates on everyday debt. The idea promises quick relief for borrowers who revolve balances, but the mechanics of card lending mean a hard ceiling on rates is likely to squeeze revenue somewhere…
A federal judge has given the green light to President Donald Trump’s plan to charge employers a $100,000 fee for each new H‑1B visa application, cementing one of the most aggressive price hikes in the history of the skilled worker program. The ruling hands the Trump administration a major legal victory over business groups that…
Across the United States, checkout counters are turning into negotiation tables as cashiers and customers haggle over nickels and dimes. With the 1 cent coin no longer being made and existing pennies vanishing into jars and couch cushions, retailers are pleading for exact change or steering shoppers toward cards and apps. I see a simple…
Costco is reshaping one of the most sensitive parts of the warehouse experience: the moment you pay. Self-checkout, once a relatively anonymous way to scan a cart, is now a frontline for membership enforcement, with staff posted nearby and ID checks that shut out non-members. The retailer is betting that tighter controls, backed by new…
The penny, long treated as pocket change clutter, is suddenly dictating how Americans pay for burgers and fries. As production of the one-cent coin winds down and shortages ripple through cash registers, McDonald’s is quietly rewriting the rules of cash payments, shifting to rounded totals and new pricing habits that could outlast the coin itself….
The penny shortage has moved from abstract policy debate to the fast-food counter, where McDonald’s is quietly rewriting how cash is handled. Instead of digging for one-cent coins that are no longer being made, the chain is shifting to rounded totals that bring every bill to the nearest nickel. The change keeps prices the same…
A sharp $245 jump in a major U.S. bank’s premium card fee has become a breaking point for many borrowers who once treated high-end plastic as a status symbol. Instead of quietly absorbing the increase, cardholders are canceling, downgrading, and publicly questioning whether elite rewards are still worth the cost. The revolt is reshaping how…
Instacart’s decision to end its AI-powered price experiments followed a wave of complaints from shoppers who discovered they were paying more than others for the same groceries. I examine how the tests worked, why they triggered such a backlash, and what the fallout means for consumers, regulators, and the broader use of artificial intelligence in…
Netflix’s long-promised crackdown on password sharing has finally landed where it always would: in viewers’ wallets. Millions of people who once piggybacked on a friend’s or relative’s login have been forced either to start paying or to walk away, even as the company converts that friction into record subscriber and revenue growth. The result is…