U.S. Market Close 12/29/2025

DOW 30  -0.51% -249.04 48,461.93

S&P 500  -0.35% -24.20 6,905.74

NASDAQ 100  -0.46% -118.83 25,525.56

Walmart, Starbucks and More Are Accepting Crypto Payments: What It Means for You

The future of finance is here. More U.S. retailers are accepting cryptocurrency as payment, albeit with the added step of converting the coins into cash first. For instance, Walmart shoppers must first sell their bitcoin or ethereum holdings within the Walmart OnePay mobile app. Then, they can pay through the app by scanning the bar code at checkout (or paying online, of course).

Starbucks has accepted bitcoin and ethereum since 2021, using a similar process through the SPEDN mobile app, according to QZ.com. However, no retailer is currently accepting these instruments as a direct form of payment.

Who Benefits From Buying With Crypto, Even Indirectly

“I have not seen any of these stores actually advertise payment with crypto [directly], yet,” said Brian Spinelli, Co-CIO at Halbert Hargrove. “Walmart is starting to integrate it into the OnePay app.”

Read more at GOBankingRates

Over 40% of consumers are still in debt from last year’s holiday purchases

For many consumers, tidings of good joy weren’t the only thing they brought with them to Christmas Day.

A new survey of 2,032 U.S. consumers from personal finance firm LendingTree found that 41 percent of people are still carrying debt from the previous holiday season. LendingTree Chief Consumer Finance Analyst Matt Schulz said the leftover debt pushed people to alternative financing options, such as buy now, pay later, to help pay for spending.

“It’s forcing some to rely on credit cards more to make ends meet, but it’s pushing some others to look for lower-cost alternatives or to cut back shopping altogether,” Schulz said in a statement about the survey. “For example, more people are opting for BNPL loans instead of store cards, in search of an interest-free way to extend their holiday shopping budget.”

Read more at YAHOO FINANCE

How financial education is giving jail inmates a second chance

Inmates learn budgeting, banking and credit skills in a class designed to promote stability, prevent reoffending and strengthen the community.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On a late Thursday night inside the Nueces County Jail, while most of the building winds down, a small group of inmates is wide awake, notebooks open, pens in hand, learning lessons many said they never received on the outside.

The topic is not law, discipline or punishment.

It’s financial literacy.

The class is led by Alimursal Ibrahimov, a financial analyst and doctoral candidate at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, who volunteers his time to teach inmates how to budget, manage bank accounts, understand credit and prepare financially for life after release.

Read more at KRISTV.COM

Building a bank for doctors: Supporting physicians on the practice side

Young physicians who begin working with personal finance can grow in their careers to have financial needs involving medical practices. Michael Jerkins, MD, MEd, president and co-founder of Panacea Financial, continues his discussion about why it becomes difficult for physician to navigate the purchase or investment in a medical practice, and why general consumer banks may not be able to help.

Michael Jerkins, MD, MEd: So let me talk about the practice side for a second. And we support practice owners with common sense lending and banking solutions for them to start a practice, expand, acquire, with commercial real estate, all under one roof. And that is also supporting them on the consumer side. So we have plenty of people that we supported in residency that then come back to us and say, hey, actually I have an opportunity to buy a practice, can you help? Absolutely, you don't have to go anywhere else, we can do all that and it's not siloed, it's all together. And it's interesting, because the common theme, and I'm sure I know you guys have commented on this in Medical Economics, is that compared to 20 years ago, independent practice ownership the medical space has certainly declined relative to, you know, where it was again, 20 years ago.

Read more at MEDICAL ECONOMICS

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

https://youtu.be/y6HkaBkdKdU

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

Top Fintech Stocks to Watch in 2026 as Tokenization and AI Transform Finance

Investing.com -- As the financial technology landscape evolves with tokenization, AI advancements, and market structure modernization, several companies are positioned to capitalize on these trends in 2026. According to Clear Street’s analysis, these top fintech stocks are poised to benefit from regulatory clarity, technological innovation, and changing market dynamics.

The fintech sector is experiencing several key transformations that will shape investment opportunities in 2026. Tokenization is shifting trading and payment activities toward 24/7 availability with more transparent and automated rails. AI is simultaneously boosting productivity while creating new fraud risks, driving demand for advanced RegTech solutions. Meanwhile, agentic AI is enabling automated shopping experiences, the IPO market is showing signs of recovery after a prolonged drought, and the Fed’s continued rate cut path is expected to stimulate loan origination and consumer spending.

Clear Street rates Nasdaq as a Buy with a $108 price target. The company is viewed as an underappreciated tech partner with growing recurring, non-trading revenue streams that support durable earnings growth. Four key tailwinds support Nasdaq in 2026: increasing RegTech demand as AI elevates fraud risk, an IPO recovery that could lift sentiment, extended trading hours leveraging tokenization, and continued growth in passive investing. With passive AUM projected to grow from $30 trillion in 2024 to $48 trillion by 2029, Nasdaq’s index licensing and data services are well-positioned to benefit. Ongoing deleveraging should also translate into higher capital returns and improved market valuation.

Read more at INVESTING.COM

Stablecoins in 2025: How Regulation, Banks, and Fintechs Turned Digital Money Into a Global Infrastructure

In 2025, stablecoins moved from speculation to structure. Through the developments reported by FinTech Weekly, this in-depth account traces how regulation, banking initiatives, and fintech innovation transformed stablecoins into a pillar of modern finance.

Stablecoins in 2025: A Year When Stability Became the Story

The story of stablecoins in 2025 is not one of sudden disruption but of gradual integration. Over about one year, what began as cautious optimism turned into coordinated policy, market participation, and genuine financial reform. This article follows that evolution as reported through the stories published by FinTech Weekly, recounting how regulators, banks, and fintech innovators worked—sometimes reluctantly—to make stablecoins part of the world’s financial machinery.

The tone of the year was set early. After several years of uncertainty, lawmakers and institutions finally began to treat digital tokens not as an experiment but as a component of monetary reality. The United States and Europe, once hesitant, established clear standards. Banks that had long observed from a distance started building their own instruments. And the fintech sector, already attuned to speed and innovation, became the testing ground where new models of money were refined.

Read more at FINTECH WEEKLY

Alternatives to Zelle to send money for FREE after its closure

If Zelle was your go-to for online money transfers, its standalone app's closure on April 1 might have left you searching for alternatives. However, there's no need to worry. While the app is no longer available, many banks still offer Zelle through their own platforms. Additionally, a variety of other digital payment apps are at your disposal, ensuring you can continue sending money effortlessly.

Since its launch in 2017, Zelle has expanded significantly, with over 2,200 US financial institutions now offering the service. This growth has led to less than 2% of Zelle transactions occurring through the standalone app. The transition away from the app began in October 2024, as Zelle emphasized the benefits of using their service through financial institutions' mobile apps or online banking.

In a statement from October 2024, Zelle highlighted, "Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution's mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur."

Read more at MSN

11 Tax Changes Happening Next Month

The beginning of 2026 will see several major changes to the U.S. tax code, with new rules on tips and overtime pay, child tax credits and standard deductions taking effect in January.

Why It Matters

Some of the scheduled changes are routine, but many are intended to reduce the financial burdens on Americans, who have this year been grappling with higher prices, growing debts and a general weakening of employment conditions. The University of Michigan’s latest survey, released on Friday, revealed a modest improvement in consumer sentiment, though this remains at levels nearly 30 percent lower than in December of last year.

Tax Changes Happening Next Month

1. Tip Income Becomes Tax-Free Up to $25,000

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, introduced a temporary measure allowing certain workers to exempt as much as $25,000 in tips from their federal income taxes.

Read more at NEWSWEEK

When Fraud Goes Social, Banks Need to Think Like Teens to Protect Them

Fraud doesn’t look the way it used to.

Gone are the clumsy emails asking for your Social Security number. Today’s scams are far more sophisticated — fraudsters pose as favorite influencers on social media, spoof loved ones on the phone and exploit the trust built into everyday digital interactions.

Teens are especially vulnerable to fraud, manipulation and financial coercion, and the consequences can be devastating — over five years, 38 teenage boys died by suicide after sextortion scams, in which they were tricked into sending explicit images and money to criminals.

When those early mistakes are met with friction or punishment instead of guidance, they can permanently damage a young customer’s relationship with financial institutions.

The challenge for banks is clear: how can they create tools that educate, guide and protect teenagers without turning them away in the process?

Read more at The Financial Brand

CFPB- Earned Wage Products Are Not Loans Under TILA

On December 23, the CFPB issued an advisory opinion stating earned wage access products fall outside the definition of credit under TILA’s Regulation Z, withdrawing a Biden-era proposed interpretive rule that identified all such products as credit.

Under the CFPB’s guidance, “covered” EWA products do not constitute credit. Covered EWA arrangements are limited to advances that do not exceed a worker’s earned wages and that require repayment solely through employer-facilitated payroll deduction. In addition, the provider must represent that it has no legal or contractual recourse for amounts not repaid (i.e., no debt collection efforts), must not report repayment activity to consumer reporting agencies, and must not assess an employee’s credit risk.

In addition, the Bureau stated that expedited delivery fees and tips are not finance charges because they are not imposed by the provider. The Bureau did not address direct-to-consumer, non-covered EWA products in the opinion. It also stated that nothing in the opinion should be construed to cover other types of EWA products.

Read more at National Law Forum, LLC

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IRS Boosts Tax Cheat Whistleblowers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it will be making it "easier" for whistleblowers to report tax noncompliance to the IRS, through the launch of a new digital form.

Why It Matters

The American tax system is based on the principle of voluntary compliance: taxpayers file returns and pay their taxes.

Noncompliance with tax laws can lead to significant tax gaps, or the difference between tax liability for a given tax year and the amount that is paid on time.

For example, the U.S. system's annual gross tax gap for the 2022 tax year was well over $600 billion.

Read more at NEWSWEEK

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for (audience)? Why should Credit card firms target a new group: people who pay too much

Credit card marketing used to revolve around people who carried balances and paid late. Now, the industry is quietly zeroing in on a different profit center: customers who spend heavily, pay early and often, and generate rich data trails. The result is a system where people who think they are "doing everything right" can still find themselves targeted, repriced, or even nudged into paying more.

Behind the glossy rewards pitches and sleek mobile apps, a sophisticated machine is sorting cardholders into ever finer categories of profitability. I see a clear pattern emerging: the more you swipe, the more you reveal, and the more valuable you become to banks, networks, and advertisers that are learning to monetize not just debt, but disciplined spending itself.

From revolvers to "customers who pay too much"

Read more at The Daily Overview

Contact Chuck.Sockol@mcrc.biz to discuss your recovery needs

Warren Buffett's subtle and not-so-subtle warnings for Wall Street: What investors should do as 2026 approaches

Key Points

• Investors should pay attention to what Buffett isn't doing.
• Buffett's amassing of a huge cash stockpile for Berkshire Hathaway and his advice from 2001 are also warnings to heed.
• Investors' best response to Buffett's warnings could be to take the same steps he's taking.

Warren Buffett will step down as Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) CEO at year-end. He isn't fully retiring, though. The investing icon will continue to serve as Berkshire's executive chairman.

In his last few days at Berkshire's helm, Buffett is also leaving some subtle and not-so-subtle warnings for Wall Street. What are his warnings – and what should investors do as 2026 approaches?

Read more at The Motley Fool

How FinTech Innovations Are Changing the Future of Digital Lending

Getting a loan used to mean paperwork. Stacks of it. Three weeks of waiting. Phone calls that went nowhere. That’s changing—fast.

Over the past decade, financial software development has quietly rewritten how money moves from lenders to borrowers. The global digital lending market hit $507 billion in 2025 and should climb to $890 billion by 2030. Digital channels now account for 63% of U.S. personal loan originations. SoFi reported $8.8 billion in originations during Q2 2025 alone—a 66% year-over-year surge. LendingClub crossed $100 billion in lifetime originations earlier this year. These aren’t projections. They’re happening now.

Key Takeaways

• AI slashes loan processing time by 40-60% — Upstart automated 91% of decisions for over 240,000 loans in Q1 2025
• Alternative credit data opens doors for credit-invisible borrowers — Cash flow analysis, rent payments, and utility bills create fuller financial pictures than traditional scores alone
• 83% of credit risk leaders expect real-time loan approvals to become standard by 2030 — Younger borrowers already demand instant, seamless experiences
• Machine learning models now analyze 300+ variables per application — Traditional models handled just 15-20

Read more at NERDBOT.COM

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ICE taps new surveillance tech as Trump cuts down privacy protections

ICE’s interest in high-tech gear raises new questions: ‘What is it for?’

The immigration agency’s surveillance tools and increased access to government databases draws privacy concerns.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying millions of dollars’ worth of new surveillance tools at the same time President Donald Trump has scaled back protections for use of civilian data — a combination that could lead to a vast expansion of domestic surveillance that goes far beyond immigrants.

Federal records show that ICE has increased its spending on surveillance technology, looking to spend more than $300 million under Trump for social-media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work.

These upgrades are expected to be used in ICE’s push to help fulfill the president’s campaign promise of “the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.”

Read more at POLITICO

Consumer spending has been resilient despite uncertainty

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now we turn to Michael Brown. He oversees analysis of the U.S. economy for Visa. Good morning, Michael.

MICHAEL BROWN: Good morning.

FADEL: What does spending over the holiday season tell us about spending the rest of the year? I mean, this is a season that a lot of people spend a lot more than they usually do.

BROWN: Absolutely. I mean, if you go back over the last couple of quarters, we've seen the consumer be incredibly resilient despite a lot of economic uncertainty...

FADEL: Yeah.

Read more at WFDD.ORG

People in These 10 States Are Likely Better With Money — See What They Have in Common

If you’re good at managing money, you might be in a cold location with low winter temperatures. WalletHub recently ranked each U.S. state based on its financial literacy. Colder states dominated the list, with only one southern state making the top 10 list — and it’s the furthest up southern state in the country.

Fortunately, your location alone doesn’t guarantee whether you’ll be good or bad at finances. Some people are financially affluent in states that were at the low end of WalletHub’s list, while others in the top 10 states are struggling with debt.

Top 10 Most Financially Literate States

WalletHub ranked each state based on its financial education programs, consumer habits and the results of the WalletLiteracy Survey. These were the top states:

Minnesota

Colorado

Nebraska

Virginia

Wisconsin

New Hampshire

Iowa

Washington

Vermont

New Jersey

Read more at GO Banking Rates

Should you use buy now, pay later? Experts share 4 tips to know: NPR

More shoppers are choosing to buy now, pay later this holiday season.

On Cyber Monday alone, consumers financed more than $1 billion in online purchases using this payment option — a record, according to Adobe Analytics data.

By the end of the holiday season, that figure is projected to jump to $20.2 billion, up 11% from last year, according to Adobe.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) works like it sounds. Shoppers buy goods instantly through lenders like Afterpay, Affirm and Klarna — and pay them back over time.

Because many loans are easy to access, interest-free for limited or set periods, and don't require any long-term commitment, it's an increasingly popular purchasing option. Especially for people with no or limited credit history, BNPL can make large or unexpected purchases more manageable.

Read more at NPR.org

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start-up, product development, and product evolution stages. PS

Worried about your finances in 2026? Here are 5 money moves recommended by experts.

Many Americans are heading into 2026 with serious money worries as an affordability crisis collides with stagnant wages, making it more important to take steps to shore up their finances.

On top of that, a major tax overhaul is taking effect under Republicans' "big, beautiful" law, or OBBBA, creating opportunities to benefit from the new rules. Other financial changes, such as potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, could also impact your bank account next year, experts say.

About 84% of Americans have new financial resolutions for 2026, including building an emergency fund or opening a high-yield savings account, according to a recent Vanguard survey. That resolve may be spurred by growing unease about the year ahead. About one in three Americans thinks their finances are likely to worsen in 2026, according to Bankrate, the highest share since the personal finance firm began tracking sentiment in 2018.

"The last few weeks of the year are a great time to review your finances, especially around saving, and it's important to know how you might be impacted by the new tax law," Sabino Vargas, a certified financial planner and senior financial advisor for Vanguard, told CBS News.

Read more at CBS NEWS

IRS Finds $10.6 Billion in Crimes as Agents Ramp Up Warrants

(Bloomberg) -- The Internal Revenue Service uncovered $10.6 billion in financial crimes — a nearly 16% increase from the year prior — even as it deployed agents to Trump administration law enforcement priorities far beyond their usual remit.

The IRS’s criminal investigations unit emphasized the role its officials played in advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda in its annual report released Friday. Those included cracking down on tax fraud tied to the employment of undocumented immigrants and the use of IRS agents to boost National Guard deployments in US cities.

The agency identified $4.5 billion in tax fraud — a nearly 112% increase from the year prior — and more than $6 billion tied to other financial crimes in the federal fiscal that ended Sept. 30. The number of warrants issued also jumped by a quarter, while about 14% more cases were referred to prosecutors compared to the previous fiscal year, the agency said.

Read more at BLOOMBERG

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