Sean O'Brien Has a Credit Card for You
Mr. O'Brien likes to denounce credit-card issuers for their rates. Interest rates on 'credit cards are 19 to 29 to 30% depending on your credit,' he said in a recent interview. 'So it's like a strategy I think just to keep people in debt now and make them beholden to work in 2 or 3 jobs.'
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wall Street sees stock market rotation charting 'healthiest path' to new highs
The stock market's rally to record highs has started to suggest some investors see life outside of the Big Tech names that have defined markets since 2023, as lagging sectors like Health Care (XLV) and Homebuilders (XHB) — as well as out-of-favor investments like small- and mid-cap stocks — have played a larger role in this summer's move. And some strategists see this rotation as an early sign that an even healthier market dynamic could be emerging. Scott Chronert, managing director of US equity strategy at Citi, sees this broader participation as framing out "two parallel paths" for the S&P 500 — one led by the AI-fueled growth giants and the other driven by more traditional sectors tied to the economy. "The simple answer is that we see ongoing Mega Cap Growth participation, if not leadership, but with fundamental and performance broadening creating a more durable structural setup," he said on Friday. "The healthiest path to higher index levels is a combination of Growth/Tech leadership persisting but with other areas of the market additive more so than has been the case this past year." Data from Bespoke Investment Group published Friday noted investors last week showed signs of moving out of 2025's biggest winners and into less-loved pockets of the market. Over the middle three trading days last week, Bespoke's work found stocks in the worst-performing decile this year among S&P 1500 companies were up an average of 6.7%; the best performers were up less than 1% over the same period. "When momentum names stall or sell-off, it can really hit the major indices hard if no other areas of the market are there to pick up the slack," Bespoke said. "But [last] week, the year's worst performers finally saw some buying interest as investors rotated across the market instead of out of it." Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research added that rising expectations for a September Fed rate cut helped fuel the shift, sparking a rotation from growth to value and from large caps to small- and mid-cap stocks. "We certainly welcome such a broadening," he wrote in a Sunday note to clients. 'Significant headwinds' remain Sean Simonds, US equities strategist at UBS, described the current broadening setup as "a mixed bag," noting that AI-driven momentum is starting to spill into other adjacent areas like software, power, and re-shoring. Simonds added that after a wave of downward earnings revisions earlier this year, earnings breadth has also shown signs of improving. However, areas such as consumer and healthcare remain weaker, even if the outlook there has turned "less negative." Gerry Fowler, head of European equity strategy at UBS, added that small-cap stocks in particular depend on a 'Goldilocks' scenario in which the Fed manages to cut rates without spooking markets. "If Powell is able to stay out of the headlines and deliver the September cut in line with expectations, there is room for the broader market to remain quite healthy," Fowler said. "On either side of Goldilocks, you've got significant headwinds for the Russell 2000." Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments Fowler's cautious note echoes a broader concern on Wall Street, which is that signs of rotation among styles and sectors overstate the extent to which this shift sees investors actually preferring to put more money behind new themes. DataTrek Research noted in a recent report that just two of the S&P 500's 11 sectors — Technology (XLK) and Industrials (XLI) — have outperformed since the index's April lows. The firm also noted that the top 20 names in the index, or nearly half the S&P 500 on a market cap basis, are up more than 40% on average over that period. That concentration means the durability of the rally may hinge on whether new pockets of strength can sustain recent momentum. Looking ahead, Simonds cautioned that momentum could stall if earnings expectations fade or if the Fed delivers a surprise that clashes with market expectations. "There's still the possibility of earnings expectations slowing into the second half of this year and first half of next year," he said. 'And any disappointment out of Jackson Hole or into the September Fed meeting will definitely take some wind out of the sails as well." Allie Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Android Authority
29 minutes ago
- Android Authority
Verizon's loyalty discount mess is somehow getting worse
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Verizon subscribers are reporting that the carrier is tricking them into accepting lower discounts. A new $10 discount on the My Verizon app replaced the existing $20 loyalty discount without warning. Some users say they were able to stack the two discounts, but many others report increased bills after unknowingly accepting the new offer. Verizon's loyalty discount mess seems to be getting worse. Users are now reporting that they are being tricked into accepting lower discounts, replacing higher existing benefits without warning. One Reddit user warned others not to accept a $10 discount prompt in the My Verizon app, since it canceled out their existing $20 discount and left them paying more. 'It prompted me for a $10 discount off my line, so I hit accept. That overrode the $20, increased my bill, and support says there's no way to revert,' the user wrote in frustration. Other subscribers chimed in with similar stories, saying they also felt deceived into accepting smaller discounts. To make matters worse, customers reported receiving follow-up emails with the subject line 'Good news — your bill just got lower,' even though their bills have actually gone up. 'Support agent has no way to revert. It's funny that after my $20 discount being replaced to $10 discount, I received an email titled as: good news – your bill just got lower, while in reality my bill just got higher, up $10 per month. Support agent also confirms my bill will go up $10 per month. The email title is 100% a lie in any means,' wrote a user. Not everyone is experiencing the same outcome, though. Some users say they were able to stack the new $10 loyalty discount on top of their existing $20 discount, suggesting Verizon may be applying these changes differently depending on the plan. Either way, it's worth calling customer care before accepting any new discount offers to make sure you're not losing benefits you already have. This all comes after Verizon confirmed plans to cut loyalty discounts, raise fees, and remove perks earlier this month, sparking backlash from customers who saw their bills going up. Verizon defended the changes as 'adjustments in line with market rates,' similar to what other carriers have done. Still, the company's handling of its most loyal customers has been a particular sore spot. Don't want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a preferred source in Google Search to support us and make sure you never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more. Loyalty discounts on Verizon are set to end as early as September 1, 2025, with users potentially losing between $10 and $25 per line. After confirming the cuts, Verizon later reinstated discounts for some customers who threatened to leave. In at least one case, a user said they even got a $20 monthly discount restored after filing a complaint with Verizon's CEO. But with these latest reports of misleading discount prompts and contradictory emails, Verizon isn't exactly winning any brownie points from long-time customers right now. Perhaps the carrier should consider clear communication so subscribers can at least know what they're in for instead of being taken by surprise. Follow
CBS News
31 minutes ago
- CBS News
Air Canada, flight attendants resume talks as days-old strike continues
Toronto — Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 flight attendants resumed talks late Monday for the first time since a strike by the flight attendants began over the weekend. The walkout affecting about 130,000 travelers a day at the peak of the summer travel season. It was the first time the two sides talked since early Saturday or late Friday. In an update to its members, the union said the airline reached out and the meeting occurred with the assistance of a mediator in Toronto. It followed the union's declaration that the flight attendants won't return to work even though the strike, now in its third day, has been declared illegal. Earlier, Air Canada said rolling cancellations would now extend to Tuesday afternoon after the union defied a second return-to-work order. The country's biggest airline had said earlier that operations would resume Monday evening but the union president said that won't happen. "We will not be returning to the skies," said Mark Hancock, national president for Canadian Union of Public Employees, or CUPE, which also represents some non-public sectors. The Canada Industrial Relations Board had declared the strike illegal Monday and ordered the flight attendants back on the job. But the union said it would defy the directive. Union leaders also ignored a weekend order to submit to binding arbitration and end the strike by Sunday afternoon. The board, an independent administrative tribunal that interprets and applies Canada's labor laws, had said the union needed to provide written notice to all of its members by noon Monday that they must resume their duties. Asked on Monday what repercussions the union was willing to face for its defiance of the labor board's return to works orders, Hancock said, "There's no limit. We're going to stay strong." "If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it. If it means our union being fined, then so be it," Hancock said. "We're looking for a solution here. Our members want a solution here, but solution has to be found at the bargaining table." It wasn't immediately clear what recourse the board or the government have if the union continues to refuse. Labor leaders are objecting to the Canadian government's repeated use of a law that cuts off workers' right to strike and forces them into arbitration, a step the government took in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere. "We are in a situation where literally hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors to our country are being disrupted by this action," Prime Minister Mark Carney said. "I urge both parties to resolve this as quickly as possible." Carney stressed it was important that flight attendants were compensated fairly at all times. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said the federal government is launching a probe into the unions' allegations that flight attendants are not paid for work they do while airplanes are on the ground, and is considering introducing legislation to address the issue. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The airline estimated Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Monday afternoon, Air Canada had called off at least 1,219 domestic flights and 1,339 international flights since last Thursday, when the carrier began gradually suspending its operations ahead of the strike and lockout. Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau said he still was looking for a quick resolution. "We're obviously hoping we can go tomorrow, but we'll make that decision later today," Rousseau said on BNN Bloomberg shortly after the union announced it would continue with the strike. Montreal resident Robert Brzymowski has been stranded in Prague along with his wife and their two children since Saturday, when Air Canada canceled their flight home from what was meant to be a two-week vacation visiting relatives. Brzymowski, who consults businesses on energy-efficient practices, said he was set to start a new job Monday but lost out on the contract because he wasn't back in Montreal in time. "I wasn't planning on losing my job over vacation," he said. Frustrated by what he described as a lack of communication from the airline, Brzymowski said he went to the airport in Prague on Monday morning and was able to get the airline to book them a new flight on Aug. 25 - more than a week after their original flight. He said his children will also miss the first day of the new school year, and his wife won't get paid for the week because she used the last of her paid time off for the year for this trip. "I, for one, will never fly Air Canada again," Brzymowski said. "I'll take a boat if I have to." Flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday after turning down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Air Canada and CUPE have been in contract talks for about eight months but remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work that flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions, over four years that it said "would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada." But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada.
