Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
American home values continue to grind higher even as buyer activity slows sharply, creating a market where prices rise but far fewer transactions close. The national picture, however, masks a striking split: several fast-growing metro areas are posting strong price gains while keeping median costs well below the national figure. That disconnect between momentum and…
Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card, one of the rarest items in the entire trading card hobby, just changed hands for $16.5 million at auction. The sale does not simply reset the record for the most expensive trading card ever auctioned. It forces a broader reckoning with how celebrity provenance and speculative capital are…
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…
Mortgage rates in the United States have slipped lower again, settling just above the 6 percent mark and returning to levels seen roughly three weeks earlier. The modest decline offers a fresh opening for prospective buyers weighing affordability and for current homeowners evaluating whether a refinance makes financial sense. Yet the picture is more complicated…
For adults 65 and older, falls are not a minor mishap but the leading cause of injury death, with over 38,000 deaths in 2021 and nearly 3 million emergency department visits tied to falls that year. At the same time, more retirees are trying to age in place on fixed incomes while navigating higher energy…
Retirement migration is reshaping housing costs in small and midsize communities across the United States, and many older buyers are paying far more than local market fundamentals would suggest. The concentration of aging populations in specific nonmetro and small-metro counties has created pockets of demand that outstrip available housing supply, producing price distortions that hit…
The New York City Council just launched a guaranteed income program that will put $1,200 per month into the hands of 60 young people experiencing homelessness, a direct cash intervention targeting one of the city’s most vulnerable populations. Called “Cash with Care,” the initiative pairs monthly stipends over nine months with a one-time $5,000 payment,…
Home prices in the United States posted a meaningful monthly gain at the close of 2025, offering fresh evidence that the housing market is stabilizing after a prolonged stretch of high borrowing costs and sluggish activity. A 0.6% month-over-month increase in November 2025, paired with steady construction and tightening new-home inventory, suggests the market may…
Several East Coast housing markets that have enjoyed steady price gains over the past two years now face conditions that could push values lower within the next 12 months. National home prices rose 4.0 percent year over year and 0.7 percent from late 2024, according to the latest federal data, but that broad upward trend…
The U.S. car market is under real stress, but the picture is more complicated than a simple crash. Wholesale used-vehicle values are drifting lower year over year, repossessions have surged to levels not seen since the Great Recession, and retail prices keep climbing for buyers who can least afford it. For anyone planning to buy,…