Just Business

Friday, Sept. 29, marks the end of Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service after 25 years and the delivery of more than 5 billion disks. At its peak, customers were inundating the United States Postal Service by returning more than 1.6 million disks daily. It’s the end of an era; let’s take a trip down memory lane with [...]

It’s not anecdotal: Extreme natural disasters are happening more often and causing way more damage. Insurance is supposed to be there to safeguard homeowners in case the worst happens to their property. However, in disaster-prone areas, some insurers are declaring that it’s too risky to keep doing business there. “The last few years, insurers have [...]

Congress has until the end of September to fund the government. With about a week to spare, here are the options: Meet the deadline, pass a stopgap bill, or shut down. But when budget showdowns reach shutdowns, there is a significant taxpayer cost. Here are five times politicians shut down the government in this week’s [...]

The U.S. is barreling toward a government shutdown. Congress has so far failed to agree on spending legislation to fund the government starting Oct. 1. But didn’t the U.S. just deal with a spending crisis a few months back? Government shutdowns and debt ceiling debacles are often conflated. Here are the differences between a government [...]

United Auto Workers are striking against Detroit’s Big Three automakers at the same time for the first time. The impact could be financially devastating. Economists estimate 10 days on the picket lines against General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler-parent Stellantis could cost the U.S. economy $5.6 billion and push Michigan into a recession. Strikes can [...]

Student loan debt is again accruing interest without much reform following a 3.5-year payment pause. Meanwhile, millions of current college students will soon join the existing indebted borrowers that have racked up around $1.8 trillion in debt to date. University spending sprees are far outpacing enrollment and inflation, fueling the student debt crisis. As colleges [...]

Will those looking to buy a car ever catch a break? With interest rates around 7% and average monthly payments above $700, it has never been more expensive to buy and finance a new car while affordable used cars remain hard to find. A glimmer of hope has arrived for hopeful buyers: According to a [...]

At one point, China was so worried about its rapidly growing population that the Chinese Communist Party implemented notorious family-planning policies. But now its population has peaked, its workforce is aging and the party can’t convince its people to have more kids. In 2023, India will take the long-held title of the world’s largest population [...]

The latest swell of dedollarization really gained steam after the U.S. levied harsh financial sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. Russia, its allies and economic partners have gone as far as discussing creating a brand new currency to combat dollar dominance. As the current world reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is at the center of [...]

The U.S. dollar has been the world’s dominant reserve currency for as long as most people alive can remember. Dedollarization talk in the past has never amounted to much, but with renewed calls to dedollarize, is king dollar about to lose its reign? I should say never is a very long time. I shouldn’t say [...]