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American Express Ranks No. 1 in the J.D. Power

American Express Ranks No. 1 in the J.D. Power

Yahoo4 days ago

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)is one of the 11 Best Financial Services Stocks to Buy Right Now. It is placed first in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Credit Card Mobile App and Online Satisfaction Studies, winning in all four categories: navigation, visual appeal, speed, and content.
A close-up view of a payment terminal, capturing the sophistication of a payment network.
This is the third time that both the Amex app and website have topped the rankings and the fifth time since 2018 that the app has done so. Furthermore, the company's monthly active users jumped by 8% throughout the previous year.
American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) attributes this recognition to its dedication to user-friendly digital experiences, such as expedited card activation, a redesigned website, tailored content, and easier navigation. The improvements are meant to increase consumer happiness and engagement. The company's product, engineering, and analytics teams support its continuous innovation in digital services. It is one of the best financial stocks.
Amex further solidified its position as the industry leader in customer experience by ranking first in both the 2025 Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study and the 2024 Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study.
While we acknowledge the potential of AXP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
READ NEXT: 10 High-Growth EV Stocks to Invest In and 13 Best Car Stocks to Buy in 2025.
Disclosure. None.

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Graph Shows US Births Decline Over 50 Years
Graph Shows US Births Decline Over 50 Years

Newsweek

timean hour ago

  • Newsweek

Graph Shows US Births Decline Over 50 Years

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newsweek has created a graph to show how births in the United States have declined over the last 50 years. This has happened for every age group, fluctuating across the decades, rising steadily in the 1980s and 1990s, and declining sharply after 2008, according to the U.N. Population Division. The Context America is one of many countries around the world struggling with falling birth rates. Fertility rates are projected to average 1.6 births per woman over the next three decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office's latest forecast released this year. This number is well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration. The Donald Trump administration has made this issue one of its priorities, the White House exploring giving women a "baby bonus" of $5,000, according to an April New York Times report. The Birth Rate Situation In America Different age groups have been affected differently by the shift in births. While mothers between the ages of 50 and 54 had no babies in 1975, this number gradually increased to more than 100 over the years and was 159 in 2024. Conversely, teen pregnancies have drastically and consistently declined since 1975, when there were 599,926 before this number started to go down in the early 2000s, to 136,376 in 2024. The issue with a lower number of births, taking place while the elderly live longer, means that is that the country is headed for a time when there are more elderly, dependent people than there are working-age people. At the beginning of this year, a report by the McKinsey Global Institute warned that major economies are heading toward a "population collapse" by 2100 because of falling fertility rates. Trump said during a speech in December: "We want more babies, to put it nicely." Many trying to tackle this issue have focused on public health policies and financial plans, often citing the 2008 financial crisis, its effect on housing, inflation and pay as a major contributor to why people delay having children, have fewer of them or to not have them at all. Parental leave, improved childcare services, and financial independence in general are all things advocates call for in the hopes of making it easier for people to have children. Earlier this month, Trump announced a $1,000 tax-deferred investment account for American babies born during his second term. The White House said the so-called "Trump Accounts" will "afford a generation of children the chance to experience the miracle of compounded growth and set them on a course for prosperity from the very beginning." Meanwhile, the United States could make childbirth free for privately insured families, in an effort to tackle declining birth rates. The bipartisan Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, which would designate maternity care as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act, was introduced in the Senate in May. Beth Jarosz, a senior program director of U.S. programs at the Population Reference Bureau, said that "reducing health care costs is important, but may not be enough to move the needle on births." "The cost of childbirth is just one of the many costs of having a child, and people are also reeling from the much bigger costs of child care, housing, and other necessities," she told Newsweek. Culture's Impact On America's Birth Rates However, while financial concerns are generally accepted as a major contributor to declining birth rates, they are not the lone cause. Bell said that even the policies she calls for "are also unlikely to increase the birth rate, as evidence from other countries with much more supportive policies suggest." Norway is considered a global leader in parental leave and child care policies, and the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) ranks it among the top countries for family-friendly policies. But it, too, is facing a birth rate crisis. The Nordic country offers parents 12 months of shared paid leave for birth and an additional year each afterward. It also made kindergarten (similar to a U.S. day care) a statutory right for all children aged 1 or older in 2008. And yet, Norway's fertility rate has dropped dramatically from 1.98 children per woman in 2009 to 1.44 children per woman in 2024, according to official figures. The rate for 2023 (1.40) was the lowest ever recorded fertility rate in the country. Newsweekspoke to several experts about Norway specifically, who all cited recent culture changes. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty For example, "young adults are more likely to live alone" and "young couples split up more frequently than before," Rannveig Kaldager Hart, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health's Centre for Fertility and Health, said. American Vice President JD Vance touched on cultural changes when he said in January: "We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life. "Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society. So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America."

Social Security's 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Estimate Is Getting a "Trump Bump" -- Here's How Much Extra You Might Receive
Social Security's 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Estimate Is Getting a "Trump Bump" -- Here's How Much Extra You Might Receive

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Social Security's 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Estimate Is Getting a "Trump Bump" -- Here's How Much Extra You Might Receive

As many as nine out of 10 retirees rely on their Social Security income to cover some portion of their expenses. Estimates for Social Security's 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) are climbing, and President Trump's tariff and trade policy looks to be the culprit. Though an above-average COLA for a fifth-consecutive year would be welcome on paper, retirees continue to get the short end of the stick when it comes to annual raises. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Last month, Social Security's retired-worker benefit made history, with the average payout topping $2,000 for the first time since the program's inception. Although this represents a modest monthly benefit, it's nevertheless proved vital to helping aging workers cover their expenses. In each of the prior 23 years, pollster Gallup surveyed retirees about their reliance on the Social Security income they're receiving. Between 80% and 90% of respondents noted it was a "major" or "minor" income source. In other words, only around one in 10 retirees could, in theory, make do without their Social Security check. For an overwhelming majority of Social Security beneficiaries, nothing is more important than knowing precisely how much they'll receive each month -- and that begins with the program's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is announced during the second week of October. This year's COLA announcement will be of particular interest, with President Donald Trump's tariff and trade policies expected to directly affect how much Social Security beneficiaries will receive per month in 2026. But before digging into the specifics of how President Trump's policies are expected to impact the pocketbooks of seniors, survivors, and workers with disabilities, it's important to understand the building blocks of what Social Security's COLA is and why it matters. The program's COLA is effectively the "raise" passed along on a near-annual basis that accounts for the impact of inflation (rising prices) on benefits. For example, if a large basket of goods and services increased in cost by 3% from one year to the next, Social Security benefits would need to climb by a commensurate amount, or buying power for Social Security recipients would decrease. In the 35 years following the issuance of the first retired-worker check in January 1940, COLAs were assigned at random by special sessions of Congress. Only a total of 11 COLAs were passed along during this timeline, with no adjustments made in the 1940s. Beginning in 1975, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was adopted as Social Security's inflationary measure that would allow for annual cost-of-living adjustments. The CPI-W has over 200 spending categories, each of which has its own unique percentage weighting. These weightings are what allow the CPI-W to be expressed as a single figure each month, which leads to crisp month-to-month and year-to-year comparisons to see if prices are, collectively, rising (inflation) or declining (deflation). When calculating Social Security's COLA, only CPI-W readings from the third quarter (July through September) are taken into consideration. If the average CPI-W reading in the third quarter of the current year is higher than the comparable period of the previous year, inflation has occurred, and beneficiaries are due for a beefier payout. Following a decade of anemic raises in the 2010s -- three years during the decade (2010, 2011, and 2016) saw no COLA passed along due to deflation -- beneficiaries have enjoyed four consecutive years of above-average cost-of-living adjustments and are hoping for this streak to continue. A historic increase in U.S. money supply during the COVID-19 pandemic sent the prevailing rate of inflation soaring to a four-decade high. This resulted in COLAs of 5.9% in 2022, 8.7% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024, and 2.5% in 2025, respectively. For context, the average annual increase in benefits since 2010 is 2.3%. While estimates for Social Security's 2026 cost-of-living adjustment came in below this average shortly after President Donald Trump took office for his nonconsecutive second term, the script has now been flipped. Nonpartisan senior advocacy group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) was forecasting a 2.2% COLA for 2026 as recently as March. Meanwhile, independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson, who retired from TSCL last year, was calling for a 2.2% increase in April following the release of the March inflation report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). After the release of the May inflation report from the BLS, both TSCL and Johnson are now forecasting a 2026 COLA of 2.5%. A 2.5% COLA would increase the average retired-worker benefit by $50 per month next year, as well as lift monthly checks for the typical worker with disabilities and survivor beneficiary by $40 and $39, respectively. This 0.3% increase in both forecasts over the past couple of months is estimated to boost the average Social Security payout (for all beneficiaries) by approximately $5.57 per month in 2026. This "Trump bump" is the result of the president's tariff and trade policies having a very modest inflationary impact on domestic prices. Charging a global import duty on all countries while imposing higher "reciprocal tariff rates" on dozens of countries that have historically run adverse trade imbalances with the U.S. can result in these higher costs being passed along to consumers. Though a lot can change with Trump's tariff and trade policy in the coming weeks and months, its current design points to a modest bump in the 2026 COLA. On paper, a fifth consecutive year where COLAs are above average (compared to the previous 16 years) probably sounds great. With the average retired-worker payout cresting $2,000 per month, an added $50 per month would be welcome in 2026. But the fact of the matter is that a 0.3% bump in COLA estimates since Trump introduced his tariff and trade policy doesn't remotely move the needle when it comes to what retirees have been shortchanged for more than a decade. Though the CPI-W is designed to be an all-encompassing measure of inflation, it has an inherent flaw that can be seen in its full name. Specifically, it tracks the spending habits of "urban wage earners and clerical workers," who, in many instances, are working-age Americans not currently receiving a Social Security benefit. Urban wage earners and clerical workers spend their money very differently than seniors. Whereas the former has a higher percentage of their monthly budgets devoted to things like education, apparel, and transportation, seniors spend a higher percentage on shelter and medical care services. Even though an overwhelming majority of Social Security beneficiaries are aged 62 and above, the CPI-W doesn't factor in this added importance of shelter and medical care services inflation. The end result for retirees has been a persistent decline in the buying power of a Social Security dollar. According to a study conducted by TSCL, the purchasing power of a Social Security dollar has dropped by 20% since 2010. A very modest "Trump bump" isn't going to offset this. What's more, the aforementioned two costs that matter most to retirees -- shelter and medical care services -- have had higher trailing-12-month (TTM) inflation rates than the annually issued Social Security COLA. The BLS inflation report for May showed TTM increases of 3.9% for shelter and 3% for medical care services, respectively. As long as the program's cost-of-living adjustment trails the annual inflation rate for these two key expenses, retirees will continue getting the short end of the stick. If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Social Security's 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Estimate Is Getting a "Trump Bump" -- Here's How Much Extra You Might Receive was originally published by The Motley Fool

JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards
JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards

This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. American Express and JPMorgan Chase are ramping up their competition for upscale cardholders. JPMorgan fired the opening salvo when it teased a refresh of its Sapphire Reserve credit card last week on its Instagram page. Amex then touted major changes coming later this year to its Platinum cards via a Monday press release. On Tuesday, as JPMorgan unveiled hundreds of dollars worth of new perks and pricing for its premium Sapphire Reserve card, the bank said it would hike annual fees for the card by 45% to $795. The Amex Platinum card currently has an annual fee of $695. The American Express Platinum card and the Sapphire Reserve card are both geared to higher-income consumers. Both charge hefty annual fees, but provide perks like dining and travel credits or priority reservations at exclusive restaurants. Amex dominated the premium card network until Chase launched the Sapphire Reserve card in 2016. The American Express card refresh was likely in the works for months before the card network's Monday news release, TD Cowen analyst Moshe Orenbuch said in an interview. But the timing of the company's initial announcement, just days after JPMorgan's Instagram post, was likely not a coincidence, Orenbuch said. "There's a definite competitive dynamic going on there," Orenbuch said. Amex's news release amounted to an announcement for an announcement planned later this year, giving very little new information and saying more details would come. 'I would say that maybe they rushed that announcement,' Orenbuch suggested. Although he stressed that Amex does not appear to be rushing the refresh itself. 'These are not things you can do by flipping a switch,' he said. An American Express spokesperson declined to comment on the timing of its release or say precisely when the card network will provide more information on the refresh. Amex and JPMorgan aren't just competing with each other when they update their premium cards, said Tony DeSanctis, senior director of payments for the consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors. 'They're also thinking about buy now, pay later,' he said in an interview. American Express has openly courted members of Gen Z, who are increasingly using BNPL, he noted, and the perks on premium cards must appeal to members of that demographic who are looking for alternatives to credit cards. JPMorgan's Instagram marketing post was light on details until the company sent out a news release announcing the new fees and perks on Tuesday. The list of new perks for the Sapphire Reserve card include a $500 annual credit at certain hotels and resorts and a $300 credit at restaurants that are part of the Sapphire Reserve's dining program. It remains to be seen what new perks Amex will offer cardholders, but the company said the forthcoming changes would represent its largest ever investment in a card refresh. That likely means bigger annual fees and more perks, Orenbuch said. 'This is not just about raising the price,' he said. 'You have to provide significantly more value than the increase in price to the consumer.' Recommended Reading Amex, Fiserv cite inflation benefit

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