Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.01% last week, its lowest point in more than three years, offering a rare window of relief for homebuyers who have spent months sidelined by elevated borrowing costs. The decline coincided with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down most of the tariffs imposed by the…
Federal prosecutors and state regulators across the country have taken enforcement action against faith-based health plans that collected millions in member contributions while leaving families responsible for nearly all of their own medical bills. A co-founder of Medical Cost Sharing, a Christian health care sharing ministry based in St. Joseph, Missouri, pleaded guilty to an…
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bipartisan package of bills reforming California’s insurer of last resort on October 9, 2025, the latest in a string of state actions aimed at reversing a home insurance crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of homeowners dependent on a strained backup plan or no coverage at all. The reforms…
Drivers looking for immediate relief on their car insurance premiums often overlook one of the simplest adjustments available: raising their deductible. The strategy involves accepting more financial responsibility per claim in exchange for a lower monthly or semi-annual premium, and state regulators have quantified the potential savings at up to 20%. But the move carries…
Reinsurance, the behind-the-scenes insurance that insurers themselves purchase to cover catastrophic losses, has become the single biggest cost driver pushing carriers out of wildfire corridors, hurricane alleys, and flood zones across the United States. As reinsurance premiums climb and coverage terms tighten, primary insurers face a binary choice: raise rates dramatically or stop writing policies…
Many consumers pay for insurance products that sound protective on paper but rarely deliver meaningful value when a claim arises. From dealer add-ons pushed during car purchases to credit card extras enrolled without clear consent, a pattern emerges across the financial services industry: low-cost monthly charges that add up over years while providing little actual…
Life insurance is one of those financial products that many people assume they can put off until later, but for certain groups, waiting carries real risk. The question is not whether everyone needs a policy but rather which people face the most serious consequences without one. Three categories stand out when you look at the…
Mortgage delinquencies are rising in pockets across the United States, and the borrowers falling behind are disproportionately those with the least financial cushion. While national averages still look manageable, county-level and metro-level data tells a different story, one that federal tracking tools have been recording for months without generating the alarm the numbers probably deserve….
Buying a home with a small down payment has long been a goal for first-time buyers, and the federal agencies that set mortgage limits just made it easier for 2026. With the Federal Housing Finance Agency raising the baseline conforming loan limit to $832,750 and HUD updating FHA loan ceilings effective January 1, 2026, borrowers…
Buying a home with cash sounds like the ultimate power move. No monthly payments, no interest charges, no lender breathing down your neck. Yet a surprising number of high-net-worth households choose to carry mortgage debt even when they could write a check for the full purchase price. The reason is not financial carelessness. It is…