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Alphabet (GOOGL) and Intel (INTC) will approach second-quarter earnings from opposite sides of the artificial-intelligence boom.Alphabet is one of the biggest infrastructure buyers in the industry. Intel is trying to prove it can be a bigger supplier to that build-out.Their reports together could help decide whether the AI trade’s recent slide is a buying opportunity or the start of a wider valuation reset.The market’s expectations are unusually high. S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise 26% during the second quarter, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index remains up more than 60% in 2026 despite falling over 20% from its late-June record.Even strong results from major overseas chipmakers are producing muted stock reactions.That means the question has shifted. Investors are no longer asking if there is demand for AI. They’re asking if it can continue to beat forecasts that already assume exceptional growth.Alphabet must prove its AI spending produces returnsAlphabet reports results Wednesday, July 22, officially one of the most important days for the tech world.The Google parent enters the quarter with a lot of momentum. Revenue for the first quarter grew 22% to $109.9 billion, and Google Cloud revenue grew 63% to $20 billion. Revenue from search rose 19%, suggesting that the AI features haven’t hurt the advertising engine that is funding Alphabet’s growth.But the investment needed to sustain that growth is getting huge.Alphabet’s capital expenditures were $35.7 billion in the first quarter, more than double what it spent a year ago. It plans to spend $180 billion to $190 billion in 2026 as it builds out servers, networking equipment, and data centers.Related: Intel and Google deepen AI ties for chip designThat creates a difficult earnings test.A reduction in planned spending could hurt Nvidia, memory suppliers, data-center companies, and other businesses relying on hyperscaler demand. If the company continues to spend aggressively without commensurate cloud and advertising growth there could be concern on returns on capital.So, Alphabet needs to prove both sides of the AI equation: infrastructure investment growth and faster monetization.

Two earnings reports could decide the next phase of AI stocks and force decisions by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.LUDOVIC MARIN / Getty Images

Intel must prove its rally reflects business improvementIntel reports Thursday, July 23, after its shares gained more than 160% in 2026.More Intel:Top-rated analyst sets a jaw-dropping Intel stock price targetJim Cramer surprises investors with his favorite stock pick5-star analyst resets Intel stock price targetThe company’s first-quarter results provided reasons for optimism. Revenue increased 7% to $13.6 billion, while Data Center and AI revenue rose 22% to $5.1 billion. Intel Foundry revenue advanced 16% to $5.4 billion.The economic outlook remains complicated.The company reported a GAAP net loss of $3.7 billion, including some items excluded from its adjusted results. Management expects second-quarter revenue of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion and non-GAAP earnings of 20 cents per share.Intel has to show that its stock rally is driven by more than AI server excitement and domestic chipmaking.Investors will want to see proof that the stronger processor demand can help margins and that the foundry operation is moving toward sustainable external business rather than just generating more internal revenue.What AI investors should watchAlphabet’s capital spending forecast will be the most important demand signal to the market.Google Cloud growth, backlog, margins, and management commentary on available compute capacity are also things investors should consider. Capacity shortages continue to underpin demand for chips, while slower cloud growth may raise questions about the eventual return on investment in infrastructure.For Intel, data center and AI growth, foundry economics, and third-quarter guidance will matter more than a narrow earnings beat.The semiconductor index tanked in July, a sign that good numbers may no longer be enough. The chip companies are predicted to have 133% earnings growth in the second quarter and will be responsible for 44% of the S&P 500’s profit expansion.Key takeaways for investorsAlphabet reports Wednesday, followed by Intel on Thursday.Alphabet’s spending plans affect demand across the AI supply chain.Intel must justify a stock gain exceeding 160% this year.Cloud growth and foundry margins may matter more than headline earnings.Strong results could still disappoint if guidance does not exceed elevated expectations.Alphabet and Intel don’t have to prove the AI boom is real.The market has already factored in that conclusion.Alphabet needs to demonstrate that all those giant investments in infrastructure are yielding revenue and profit fast enough to justify more expansion. Intel must show that the boom is spreading beyond the top graphics-chip makers and that its core operations are improving.That’s why these earnings could be a two-stock move.They will test if the AI really still has room to expand or whether expectations have finally outstripped the companies themselves.Related: Alphabet stock rally exposes Google’s unusual AI problem

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealIt’s easier to head outside for a gardening project when tools are easier to grab, and it feels better to relax on the patio when your backyard is tidy. Smaller yards, balconies, and patios can all benefit from a spot to keep essentials organized, helping free up valuable space while also protecting your items. A compact storage solution can help reduce clutter without taking over the whole outdoor area, making it a practical addition for anyone with an outdoor space, and offering a functional setup that still leaves plenty of room to enjoy.While many outdoor storage options can be pricey, Walmart has an outdoor storage shed that’s large enough to store rakes, step ladders, tools, and more for under $100, saving shoppers 53%. The Patiowell Metal Outdoor Storage Shed offers a storage option for any outdoor area, keeping your items safe in the rain and sun while also providing an easy-to-access area that only takes up about nine square feet of storage space. Patiowell Metal Outdoor Storage Shed, $98 (was $209) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at WalmartWhy do shoppers love it?Built from galvanized steel, this shed is made to handle changing outdoor conditions while resisting rust, corrosion, and general weathering from sun, wind, and rain. The construction helps protect stored items from rain and moisture, offering a safe place to store tools, patio accessories, and other expensive items, and the sloping steel roof helps direct rain and snow away from the sides of the structure, reducing water buildup over time. A sleek finish gives the shed a clean look that’s easy to fit into any outdoor space. Related: Walmart’s bestselling lockable 5-foot shed is on sale just $80The lockable doors offer peace of mind when your shed is out of sight, adding extra security and preventing them from blowing open during heavy storms, making it a great option for the garden, patio, or any outdoor area that needs some extra storage. The shed measures 5.2 feet tall, 35.3 inches wide, and 37.5 inches deep, and provides 46 cubic feet of storage space. This is enough space to fit outdoor couch cushions, folding chairs, watering cans, soil bags, gardening tools, leaf blowers, pool accessories, and even a small grill. The pros and cons of this dealProsMaterial: Rust and weather-resistant galvanized steel keeps your items out of the rain.A great size: This shed offers solid storage for smaller areas, where a larger shed wouldn’t normally work. Cons Colors: This shed is only offered in two colors.Assembly: Some reviewers state that assembly took a few hours.”It was a manageable size, and not too complicated to assemble by myself,” said one shopper. “It seems to be a good quality product.”Another buyer said, “It’s a nice size that we used for an outdoor refrigerator between our grill area and our pergola. It worked great with the weather, especially all the rain this summer.”Shop more dealsDevoko Metal Storage Shed, $104 (was $166) at WalmartAivituvin Outdoor Storage Shed, $144 (was $300) at WalmartImpact Outdoor Storage Tent, $102 (was $189) at WalmartThe Patiowell Metal Outdoor Storage Shed offers easy storage for both small and large outdoor areas. The versatile sizing fits many different types of tools and outdoor accessories while maintaining a smaller footprint. This shed is on sale for just $98, offering an $111 savings at Walmart.

July 30 is Tim Cook’s last earnings call as Apple’s CEO. He’s been running the company since 2011, and when he gets off that call, John Ternus takes over. That alone makes this quarter worth paying attention to, beyond the usual revenue-and-margins conversation.Bank of America published its preview note ahead of the July 30 report and kept its buy rating and $380 price target. The bank expects Apple (AAPL) to beat Wall Street’s numbers for the quarter. But the more interesting part of the note isn’t about June. It’s about what comes next.Bank of America reiterates buy on Apple stock ahead of Q3 earningsBank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan models fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109 billion and earnings per share of $1.89, both slightly above the Street consensus of $108 billion and $1.87, as TheStreet reported. That would put revenue growth at 16% year over year, near the top of Apple’s own guidance range of 14% to 17%.iPhone demand is driving most of it. The bank expects iPhone revenue to climb more than 20% year over year in the quarter. Services continues growing in the double digits. Gross margin is modeled at 48.2%, right in the middle of Apple’s guidance range of 47.5% to 48.5%.The June quarter looks fine. It’s the September quarter that Bank of America is already flagging as the one to watch.Apple gross margins face near-term pressure from component costsMemory chip prices are still elevated across the tech industry, and Apple isn’t immune. In the June quarter, the bank models product gross margins dropping roughly 190 basis points compared to the previous quarter. In the September quarter, that decline gets worse, another 280 basis points down, as higher component costs hit at the same time the company goes through its typical pre-launch slowdown before new iPhones ship.More Apple:Apple stock move vindicates Palantir CEO warning for AI industryApple’s iPhone cost problem reveals AI’s hidden billApple’s 2027 hardware refresh sends Wall Street a warningThe bank sees this as temporary. When the new iPhone lineup hits in the fall, including the foldable model coming at a higher price point, margins are expected to recover sharply in the December quarter. A potential $3 billion tariff recovery benefit could help, too. But the path through September is going to look ugly on paper, and Bank of America is calling it out directly so investors aren’t caught off guard.Services margins are a different story. The bank models Services gross margins at 76.5% for the June quarter and holding steady around 76% through the rest of the year. One thing worth watching: App Store growth slowed sharply, coming in at 3.2% year over year in Q3, down from 9.8% in Q2, according to SensorTower data cited in BofA’s note. The bank expects iCloud and licensing to offset that weakness. Over time, as Services becomes a larger share of Apple’s overall revenue mix, the bank sees potential for company-wide gross margins to eventually reach 50%.Apple’s staggered iPhone launch will shift seasonal revenue patternsThis is probably the most important operational change Bank of America is flagging. Apple is not releasing all its new iPhones at the same time this year.The Pro, Pro Max, and foldable models are coming in September as expected. But the standard iPhone and the new iPhone Air are being pushed to March 2027. That’s a meaningful departure from how Apple has historically launched its lineup, as TheStreet reported.Here’s why that matters for investors tracking the numbers. Historically, Apple’s December quarter has been its biggest because the whole iPhone lineup ships in the fall and drives a surge in holiday sales. If half the lineup doesn’t ship until March, some of that December quarter revenue moves into the March quarter instead. The September and December results could look weaker than investors are used to seeing, while early 2027 gets a boost it typically wouldn’t.Bank of America is already reflecting this in its estimates. It models fourth-quarter revenue of $106 billion versus the Street consensus of $114 billion. That’s an $8 billion gap, and the staggered iPhone launch is the main reason.

This is probably the most important operational change Bank of America is flaggingSheldon/Getty Images

Tim Cook’s final earnings call and the Apple CEO transitionThe July 30 call is historic in a quiet way. Tim Cook has been Apple’s CEO for 15 years. He took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 and oversaw its growth into the world’s most valuable company. On Sept. 1, he becomes executive chairman. John Ternus, who led Apple’s hardware engineering, takes over as CEO, according to CNN.Ternus was on the Q2 earnings call briefly, saying there was “an incredible roadmap ahead.” He’ll lead his first full earnings call in October. What Cook says on July 30 about the transition, the foldable iPhone launch timing, and Apple’s AI direction will be dissected closely because it’s the last time investors get to ask him those questions in that context, according to Fox Business.What Apple investors are watching on China, AI, and the Google dealThe June quarter result isn’t really the story this time. Bank of America’s note makes that clear. The questions investors are lining up are bigger than whether Apple beats by a few cents.China is one of them. Domestic competition from Huawei and other Chinese smartphone makers has been intensifying, and Apple’s market share there has faced real pressure. Any commentary from Cook on demand trends in China will move the stock.The Google search deal is another. Apple earns billions every year from Google for making it the default search engine on Safari. That arrangement is under regulatory scrutiny, and the rise of AI assistants is starting to shift how people search. If that revenue stream is at risk, it affects Apple’s Services growth story in a meaningful way.And then there’s AI. Apple has 2.5 billion active devices and a partnership with Google to integrate Gemini into Siri. The capabilities are improving. But investors still don’t have a clear answer on how Apple plans to actually make money from AI. Whether that drives upgrades, expands subscription revenue, or creates something entirely new is the question the company hasn’t fully addressed.Related: Top analyst resets Apple stock price target ahead of earnings

Imagine not having to shop anymore because your “agent” does it for you. That’s the pitch, at least. One of the 2026 buzzwords is agentic commerce, and if you’ve noticed a “Buy” button in a chatbot or heard your kids say they let AI handle their grocery reorders to save time, welcome to a new trend. Agentic commerce is real, growing quickly, and worth understanding before it appears in your digital shopping cart (or online account) with little fanfare or warning.The good news? Agentic commerce isn’t as strange or risky as it sounds once you understand what’s happening under the hood.Read:Best credit cards to obtain before retiringWhat is agentic commerce?For those of us like me (who loathe shopping and resent having to do it), this technology is akin to having your own competent, personal shopper who doesn’t tire or get distracted — and who can compare 50 options in the time it took you to read this sentence. That’s how the average AI shopping agent works.You tell it what you want — “find me a well-rated washing machine under $500” or “restock my typical weekly grocery order” — and it does the legwork. It will search, compare prices, check reviews, and in some cases, complete the purchase.The key word? Agent. This AI acts on your behalf, not unlike how travel agents book your flights and hotel stays without you having to make the calls yourself. You set the goal and the rules. The AI does the running around.If you think it sounds like some 25th-century sci-fi concept, it’s not. It’s already live. ChatGPT lets U.S. users buy directly from Etsy sellers without leaving the chat window. Also rolling out this year? The ability to shop at nearly unlimited Spotify stores, including brands like SKIMS and Vuori.Mastercard built Agent Pay, designed so AI agents to make verified purchases on your behalf. Visa has AI-ready cards built for agents. Perplexity has a Buy with Pro button connected to thousands of merchants through PayPal.The biggest names in payments and shopping have embraced this technology and trend, and are quickly building the infrastructure to support it. McKinsey researchers estimate AI agents could orchestrate up to $1 trillion in retail revenue by 2030. Where will you see agentic commerce?The short answer: many places. But these agents don’t always announce themselves as AI shopping.Inside a chatbotYou can ask ChatGPT or a similar tool for a product recommendation. In addition to links, a Buy button pops up in the conversation. You can confirm your shipping and payment information, and the purchase goes through without you having to visit the brand’s website.As a set-it-and-forget-it reorderWouldn’t it be lovely to never run out of paper towels or cat litter again? An agent can reorder it for you when it notices you’re running low (or because you’ve set a specific cadence, like Amazon and Chewy’s subscribe options). You don’t have to do a thing, unless you want to be asked first.Through a price-watching assistantYou can tell an agent to buy something if the price drops below a certain dollar amount. It watches, waits, and completes the transaction as soon as the deal appears — which beats having to remember to refresh a webpage every day for a week.On retailer websites you already useSome online stores are redesigning their product pages to be easier for AI agents (not just humans) to read. You likely won’t notice this part directly, but it’s reshaping what appears when an agent goes searching on your behalf.Is Agentic commerce safe?This question matters the most, and it’s the one companies are working hardest to answer.How do you set spending guardrails for an AI shopping agent?Three habits do most of the work here.Set guardrails immediatelyBefore an agent buys anything, you tell it the rules:A maximum priceSpecific brands to stick to or avoidWhether it should ask before buying or go aheadIndustry groups are very clear on this point. Humans stay in charge of the goals and limits. The AI executes within them.You don’t hand over your card numberYou don’t give an AI agent your credit card number. The system creates a token, which is a stand-in number that only works for that specific purchase, with that specific merchant, for that specific amount. If something goes wonky, your actual credit card numbers aren’t exposed.You confirm to finalize a purchaseOpenAI’s checkout system still requires you to tap to confirm the order, shipping address, and payment method before a charge goes through. You don’t hand your wallet to a robot and walk away (at least, not yet — and only if you choose a more hands-off approach).The pros and cons of agentic commerceThe upside:It saves time. Comparing five retailers for the best price on a new mattress used to mean multiple open tabs and lots of back-and-forth. Now, you can share your specific requirements with a generative AI platform like ChatGPT, and it will return options in seconds.It remembers things so you don’t have to. Agentic AI remembers your sizes, preferences and what you bought last time because a good agent keeps track, like shop clerks once did. If you run a busy household, your AI assistant can place those automatic monthly orders for you.It catches deals you might miss. Agents that watch prices for you, like airline and other big-ticket items, have their eyes open 24/7 (and are much more patient than humans refreshing a browser tab).The downside:There’s no consensus about what happens when something goes wrong. If an agent buys the wrong size or gets tricked into making a bad purchase, who’s responsible? You, the company that built the agent, or the store? Researchers studying this phenomenon said there’s no clear, universal answer yet.Trust is still catching up to the tech. A 2025 Visa survey found that nearly 8 in 10 people interested in AI shopping expressed concern about data privacy.It opens a new door for scammers. Wherever money moves automatically, fraud follows. Companies are building safeguards to reduce the likelihood that a cybercriminal will trick an agent with fake offers or misleading signals. But as with all tech, keeping ahead of scammers requires constant diligence.It can nudge you toward purchases you didn’t choose. If retailers pay agents to recommend their products, would you know?  Currently, the process works on the honor system, and not all companies are committed to telling their customers.Should you try agentic commerce?There’s no rush. But if you take advantage of Amazon’s Subscribe & Save or Chewy’s monthly autoship, you’re already using a version of it. If your current way of online shopping works for you, agentic commerce won’t replace it (and there are still plenty of folks — like me — who enjoy doing our own comparison shopping).If you’re curious, start small. You’re in control. Try it for something low-stakes, like restocking what you already buy each month. Keep the “ask me before you buy anything” setting on until you get a feel for how this technology works. In other words, treat it as you would a new assistant (or a toddler): give it a small task first. See how it does, and only hand over more control once you trust it to handle the smaller stuff.Before you try agentic commerce, check for these four things:A spending limit that you control. You should be able to set a maximum dollar amount.A confirmation step. You should be able to approve the order before you’re charged.A token option. The system should use a one-time token number and not your actual credit card number.An easy off switch. You should be able to toggle off auto-buying if you change your mind.The bots haven’t taken over your grocery list entirely — yet. But they’re getting really good at finding the best price on toilet paper, and for some people, that’s a great thing to hand off.This story written for TheStreet by Nifty 50+

Most large mergers do not die in a courtroom. They die of exhaustion.The lawyers stay expensive. The financing goes stale. The executives who staked their reputations on the thing start quietly updating their contact lists, and one morning somebody runs the numbers and decides the prize is no longer worth the wait.That part never makes the press release.For most of this year, media consolidation has been treated as a formality. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) put itself up for auction in late 2025, Netflix (NFLX) bid and lost, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) won with cash, and the Justice Department cleared the deal in June without demanding a single change.Wall Street priced the rest as paperwork. Traders who buy merger spreads for a living treated the remaining approvals abroad as speed bumps.That assumption cracked Monday, when a federal judge in Oakland barred Paramount from closing its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery through August 3, after a coalition of states led by California argued the combination would strangle competition in film and television.The states made a “strong showing” that the deal would unlawfully decrease competition, according to Reuters.

Judge halts Paramount’s $110 billion Warner deal; every day of delay now costs millions.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Why the Oakland ruling stings more than the state lawsuit didThe lawsuit itself was no surprise. California and 11 other states filed on July 13, and Paramount dismissed the challenge as “one of the weakest merger challenges in modern antitrust history,” according to NBC News.July 20 changed the register. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín found the states had raised questions serious enough to freeze the deal, writing that the balance of equities “tips sharply in favor of the requested injunctive relief,” according to Variety.More Entertainment:Disney weighs new free offering as consumers ditch paid streamingNetflix’s move to buy Letterboxd sends a key signal to investorsHollywood’s next streaming gamble stars an actor who isn’t humanShe also accepted, at least for now, the states’ claim that the combined company would control 27% of the market for distributing widely released films. Paramount’s answer, that Amazon and Apple have moved into moviemaking, did not persuade her.The judge agreed on the point that decides most merger fights, which is that closing is nearly impossible to reverse. Once the companies start cutting jobs and swapping competitively sensitive information, unwinding the combination later becomes a legal fiction.New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling a victory for everyone the merger would hurt and said she intends to keep fighting.Related: Paramount’s Warner deal has a new $650 million problemWhat the merger spread says about Paramount’s real oddsI ran the closing price against the deal terms, and the gap is the whole story. Warner Bros. Discovery finished its last full session before the ruling at $26.87, according to Zacks, then fell as much as 4% Monday afternoon. Call it roughly $25.80 against a contracted payout of $31 in cash, a discount of about 17% on a transaction Washington already blessed.Merger arbitrageurs do not leave that kind of money on the table when they think a deal closes on schedule. That spread is the market’s honest read on legal risk, and it widened for a reason.The prize explains the persistence. The deal would put two century-old studios, CBS, CNN, HBO Max and Paramount+ under David Ellison’s control, building a company sized to fight Netflix and Disney (DIS) directly.Not everyone reads the threat the same way. Needham told clients the state lawsuit would not derail the transaction, according to TipRanks. The Writers Guild of America filed its own challenge on July 14.How a ticking fee turns delay into leverage for the statesThe states do not need to win the case. They need waiting to cost something, and the merger agreement already did that work for them.For every calendar day the deal slips past September 30, Paramount owes Warner shareholders a ticking fee worth about $7 million.My arithmetic on that number is unforgiving. If the August 3 hearing produces a preliminary injunction that holds through a trial finishing near year end, the clock runs about three months past the deadline. That is roughly $630 million paid out for the privilege of waiting, against a stock that has already lost close to 30% this year.The states are working from the Clayton Antitrust Act, a law more than a century old that bars anticompetitive acquisitions, and they have a fresh template. Nexstar Media Group’s (NXST) $6.2 billion purchase of Tegna (TGNA) was frozen by a similar injunction, according to CNBC.How the deal reached this point:Paramount raised its bid to $31 a share in February and Netflix withdrew, calling the rival offer superior, according to Stocktwits.The Justice Department closed its review in June and required no changes to the transaction, according to Stocktwits.Paramount offered remedies in Brussels on July 1, pushing the European decision deadline to July 22, according to Deadline.Twelve states filed in Oakland federal court on July 13, according to CNBC.What Paramount and Warner investors should watch after August 3The August 3 hearing decides whether this pause becomes a hold. A preliminary injunction would keep the deal frozen until trial, which the states themselves expect to run for months.Two other clocks are ticking. The European Commission faces its July 22 deadline on Paramount’s proposed remedies, which reportedly include exiting its film distribution venture with Universal. In Britain, the culture secretary has said she is minded to intervene, calling the union “unprecedented,” according to Deadline.Here is what that 27% figure means away from the tickers. Fewer distributors means fewer buyers bidding on scripts and less leverage for theater owners negotiating their share of what you pay at the box office. Two streaming services becoming one means one less service fighting for the money leaving your account every month.Paramount can still win this. It has already beaten a rival bidder, a federal antitrust review and a shareholder vote.What it cannot do is win quickly, and the contract Ellison signed makes slow expensive. If you own either stock, the number that matters now is not the verdict. It is the calendar.Related: Paramount-WBD deal faces legal hurdle, delays

Ready to retire overseas but not sure where to start? In this episode, Kathleen Peddicord—founder and publisher of Live and Invest Overseas—breaks down why retiring abroad is becoming mainstream and gives you a practical framework to choose the right country based on your real priorities.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkWell, we’re gonna welcome back to the program, Kathleen Peddicord. She is the founder and publisher of Live and Invest Overseas.And she’s back with a new book, Where to Retire Overseas. Kathy, it’s great to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasHello, it’s great to be back speaking with you again.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkIt’s a pleasure, the pleasure is all ours. And you have had a fabulous journey. Before we get into the book, let’s talk a little bit about your background.You, I think you kind of are bi, you live in multiple countries.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasI don’t know what the correct terminology is.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkMaybe I’m bi-continental, I don’t know. Bi-continental, that’s what you are. That’s what I was thinking.So tell us, set us up with your journey just real quick, and then we can kind of get into the book. Cause you do some amazing things.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasWell, thank you for that. So I left Baltimore, Maryland, where I grew up.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkAnd I grew up there too.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasThat’s right. Yeah, exactly. I remember that from when we last spoke.I left there at the age of 35 and moved to Waterford, Ireland and lived there for seven years, then to Paris and was based there for four years and then moved to Panama and was in Panama full-time for about 12 years. And then for the past several years, been dividing my time between Panama and Paris. So part of the year in Paris, because I just love it.For me, Paris is the world’s best place to be. If I could be anywhere, that’s where I would likely choose if I had to choose one place. And then Panama, because it makes so much sense for business especially, and we have a lot of investments there.So it is a very split world, you know, between if I, we talk always about considering the world map in the context of fun and profit. For me, if you’re going to have fun, go to Paris. That’s my kind of, that’s my idea of fun.If you want to make some money, go to Panama.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkThere you go. I mean that, and by the way, I know you’re from Baltimore as am I. Orioles, I don’t know if you’re still an Oriole fan, they’re just not doing too well.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasSo- I am a huge Oriole fan and I’m sorry to hear that.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, they’re just like five games under 500 days underperformed. Anyway, that’s another show. We’ll bring you back.We can talk about live and invest overseas while being an Oriole fan. That’s part two of this program.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasThat sounds very fun.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkSo, it seems like, as we kind of transition into our discussion about the new book, it seems like more and more Americans want to live overseas. I mean, this is not a new trend, but it is a newer trend, Kathy.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasIt is not a new idea, but it is finally not a crazy idea, is the way I would put it. It’s kind of becoming mainstream. And there was a poll, a survey taken last year that found that one out of every three Americans was interested in the idea of retiring overseas, but just didn’t know how to make it happen or get started.One out of every three, that’s ridiculous, right? That’s such a, you know, to me, mind boggling percentage of Americans, more than a third. But I understand it because in the context of everything going on in the world and in the United States right now, inflation, rising costs, healthcare, you know, a lot of concerns for the people for whom this idea is especially appealing and interesting, which is those nearing or in retirement.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkSo when you decided to write the book, I mean, obviously you had this plethora of experience living on multiple continents, multiple areas, building a very successful business. When you look at where to live, I mean, if I was kind of going through this process, look, I love America and you’re right, we face a lot of challenges. I look at the gas pump, it’s at 371 here in Charlotte, not really liking that.I enjoyed it when it was under three, not sure if we’ll get back to it anytime soon, but where do you kind of, how do you figure out? So if you’re taking Jeff Snyder through the process of where he wants to live overseas, I have a few ideas, but how do you start?Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasThat is the best question. You start by taking stock of your priorities and objectives. What is most important to you and what do you want your life to look like?And I suggest going very old school, take out a pad of paper and a pen and make lists. These are the things I want my life to include. These are things I never want to deal with again.And they can be anything from, I never want to shovel snow again to I absolutely want to be able to wake up steps from the beach every morning. That’s the most important thing to me. And then they can be more mundane kinds of things like I don’t want to live somewhere where I have to own a car.I want to be able to walk everywhere I need to go every day. Or they can be not as, not really fun, sexy topics, but critically important. Like I want to, I need to be somewhere where healthcare and health insurance are more affordable than where they are for me right now.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkSo I was going to ask you about that. I would think that as we age into retirement and retire can be a different, you know, it used to be age 65, but candidly, Kathy, it’s not that anymore. People are working longer and longer for a lot of reasons.Inflation is one of them. People maybe enjoy it or they’re transitioning in different roles. But that healthcare cost, it’s really going to go up.So you probably want to maybe prioritize that one. Yeah, you want to be able to hop around the city or not have a car, but healthcare is going to be important. You want to have access to good doctors or, sorry, go ahead.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasExactly. I don’t mean to cut you off, but that is such an important point. And I’m hearing every day more and more from readers, attendees at our conferences, et cetera, that this is a driving agenda.This is increasingly the priority agenda. And to put things in perspective, I spoke with a woman just a couple of weeks ago, an American from North Carolina who retired last year, moved to Tarragona, Spain. And she said that the deal breaker for her, because like everyone, you have doubts, you have concerns, maybe you’re afraid, it’s intimidating, can be overwhelming.You can feel stuck and get paralyzed and not know how to proceed. So she had considered all the factors, had made a plan, but then what really was the critical determining factor for her that, as she said, allowed her to muster the courage to make the move was when she realized that living in Tarragona, Spain, her cost of health insurance would be less for her annual premium than it was what she was paying monthly in North Carolina. So what she was paying per month in North Carolina was more than she was gonna spend per year living in Spain.And she said, I realized with that much budget change, so many other things didn’t matter. I was trying to calculate as she put it in the margins of 5% here, a few dollars there. She said, but that was just monumental.And then it made everything else much easier.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, I think you’re absolutely right. Just kind of from the outside looking in, you prioritize. And once you get your big priorities, everything else kind of falls into place.Let me ask you about money. Transitioning from here in the US, we use the dollar. Other countries may use the Euro.They may use another denomination of currency. How does that factor in to the decision-making of where to retire overseas?Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasIt’s a really important factor for someone, especially on a fixed retirement budget. If you are still earning income, if you have a steady investment income, you have more margin for error. But especially if you’re moving on a very fixed retirement budget, you don’t have margin for error.You need to do your sums very carefully. And you need to take into account that the currency can move in your favor, which means, yay, you just got a raise that year or that month, or it can move against you. And if your budget is too tight and the currency moves against you, well, then you can have a big problem.So we recommend a couple of things in that context. One, if you’re going to move to a place where the current local currency isn’t the US dollar, don’t cut it close. Don’t move somewhere where your budget is exactly, you’re going to be spending exactly what you have to spend.You do need some give in your budget because you need to allow for currency fluctuations. Two, set aside a kind of sinking fund, a fund of money that you can tap into if there’s a period of months or longer where the currency goes against you and you’ve figured a budget of, just to use easy numbers, $2,000 a month, and suddenly it’s 22 or 23 or $2,400 a month because the exchange rate moves that much. You need to have a little fund set aside to tap into.And then finally, one really big thing you can do, if you’re feeling pretty confident that this is the place you want to be long-term, go ahead and buy a place to live rather than renting because housing cost is the biggest part of any budget. So if you buy right now at whatever the exchange rate is when you make the move, then you’ve taken that housing cost off the table. And without that, to worry about, the rest of your budget can be much more easily managed in the context of currency changes.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkSo Kathy, with the healthcare decided, the currency or how to manage that, how do you, what about banking? I mean, a lot of Americans here bank with larger or regional banks. Do you have to, is it best practice to get a local bank or can you still bank at Bank of America, JP Morgan, Truist, all, you know, do they have branches overseas?Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasI’m assuming- So they don’t have branches overseas. So the bank you work with in the US is not going to be the bank you work with wherever you go. But we generally recommend keeping a bank account in the States and then also opening an account where you move.So you’ll need an account even just to pay local bills. You can, and then also if you’re collecting social security you can arrange to have your social security direct deposited into that bank account where you’re moving to. You could also just continue having your social security direct deposited into your account in the US and access it via cash withdrawals from an ATM.But the most efficient way is to have a local bank account, have your any monthly income deposited there and then operate, that’s your operating account. But it’s a good, it’s always good to have redundancies and backups. And there’s, if there’s no reason to get rid of your bank account in the US, it’s best just to keep it.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah. Yeah, I could see that. And I’m assuming the internet works in pretty much every country.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasIn today’s world, banking is so much easier than when I moved overseas. I made my first move almost 30 years ago. This was pre-internet, pre-online banking.Things were so much harder. So today I’m excited for people looking at this today because there’s so many challenges that someone 10 years ago even faced. This is easier all the time because right, banking online, banking today is mostly all online and you can do that from anywhere in the world.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkI should have asked you this question like second or first but let me kind of go back. If I decide to retire overseas, do I have to renounce my US citizenship or can I remain a US citizen, number one? And two, what about taxation?Do I still pay taxes to the United States and to the district that I’m in, the country that I’m in? How does that work?Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasYeah, great questions. First of all, no, you do not lose your US citizenship. You can’t lose your US citizenship by accident.It just can’t happen. You have to renounce it. It’s a process.It requires an FBI interview. It’s a whole big thing that isn’t going to happen accidentally. So you don’t have to worry about that.On the other hand, as long as you remain a US citizen, yes, you do have a tax obligation in the US but it’s not necessarily that you owe money, that you owe taxes. You have a filing obligation and you may or may not owe taxes in the US and it gets, it’s very personal and it can get a little complicated depending on where you earn your money and what kind of money it is, passive or active income. And again, where it comes from.You will have a tax situation to address wherever you move in the jurisdiction where you decide to move to. And then as an American, you will retain your US tax filing obligation. Who you actually owe tax payments to will depend on a lot of factors.As a retiree, you definitely should not end up paying more tax. You may pay the tax differently. You may pay some to the country where you’re moving that will then be offset against what you owe to the IRS.So you need two tax advisors. You need a good tax advisor in the US who has experience working with Americans, living, investing abroad, full or part-time. Someone who understands how to address this to your best benefit.US taxes allow for a lot of creative thinking. So you need someone who’s gonna be creative. And then you also need someone on the other end of the conversation in the place where you’re moving.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, really good points. I could, I have so many questions so we’ll have to bring you back. But let me finish off with this one.Estate planning, medical directives, those are all important things here in the States. As you age, you wanna have a will, you wanna have the ability to transfer your inheritance to loved ones, beneficiaries, et cetera. Is that different depending on the jurisdiction that you ultimately reside in, the country you reside in?Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasIf you have assets in another country, so if you buy a home, for example, or if you own property or any other assets, you’ll want a will in that country too. But you still want your US will and your advanced directives and everything else that you would ordinarily have as an American just living in the States. And then in addition, you’ll want a will in the country where you haven’t, in countries, because if you’re, you may have assets in more than one country outside the United States.And then you need, again, someone with experience helping Americans manage all of this. So an estate planner who has experience across borders and can help make sure that you don’t have more than you need. We hear often from people, unfortunately, it’s often single older women who are left on their own trying to navigate this.And they speak to someone who says, oh, you should have a corporation. You need some kind of structure set up. That’s not necessarily the case.You don’t necessarily need any structures. You may, depending on what you’re doing, but you definitely will want a will to make sure that your house or your property goes to whomever you want it to go to. But you may not need anything beyond that.And so you, again, you wanna talk to someone with experience at this.Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement NetworkYeah, well, all these details and more folks are in the book, Where to Retire Overseas. I think we just touched on the very tip of it. And of course, I left out probably the most important part is the top 23 countries, but that’s the reason to buy the book.Kathy Petticoat, it’s great to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning. And we look forward to having you back on the program again, Thank you so much.Kathleen Peddicord, Live and Invest OverseasGreat to speak with you.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealNow that summer is here, we’re thinking of all the ways to upgrade our outdoor spaces. Patio sets are a favorite, as they’re the perfect spots to sit and gather with friends and family. But if you have more room to spare, or want an outdoor piece that’s sole purpose is for relaxation, consider adding an outdoor swing glider to your patio makeover shopping list.The Costway 3-Seater Patio Swing Glider is an adorable choice that offers not just style, but also comfort as it comes with a built-in canopy. It’s on sale for only $96 with a Walmart clearance deal. That’s a total of $83 in savings and 46% off its regular price of $179.Costway 3-Seater Patio Swing Glider with Canopy, $96 (was $179) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at WalmartWhy do shoppers love it?If you think an outdoor rocking chair is soothing, just wait until you experience the relaxation effect of a patio swing. On top of a gentle rocking motion that could lull anyone to sleep, this outdoor must-have features a soft cushion with thick foam padding and a removable Oxford fabric cover. The seat is 51 inches long with a backrest that’s 18 inches high, with more than enough space to fit up to three people or one person who wants to curl up and lounge or nap outside. Unlike some other patio swings, this glider comes with a built-in canopy that can protect you from the sun. It’s made of polyester that’s fade-resistant and drizzle-proof, keeping you safe from both the sun and light rain. Plus, it has a knob that can adjust the angle of the canopy.Complete with an A-shaped metal frame, this set is sturdy and durable. It’s made from powder-coated metal tubing that’s rustproof, and its spring hooks and non-slip foot pads make it extra secure. But as durable as it may be, it’s best to pair it with a furniture cover during harsher spring and summer rainy days to keep it in tip-top shape. The patio swing is available in seven colors. Our favorite has to be the green-and-white striped variation, as it’s a fun pattern that will pop in any outdoor space.Related: Walmart is selling a 3-piece rocking chair patio set for just $68Details to knowDimensions: 67.5 inches long by 43.5 inches wide by 60.5 inches high.Canopy dimensions: 64.5 inches long by 47 inches wide.Colors: Seven.Weight capacity: Up to 500 pounds.”This has become my favorite piece of outdoor furniture,” one reviewer said. “It’s comfortable and sturdy enough for my elderly mother to sit on it and get up from it without assistance.” They added that they like how the adjustable canopy ensures they’re protected from the sun, and they’re thinking about getting another one.Shop more dealsCostway Loveseat Patio Swing Glider with Canopy, $90 (was $129) at WalmartArlopu 3-Seater Porch Swing with Convertible Canopy, $180 (was $390) at WalmartGartoo 3-Seater Outdoor Patio Swing with Converting Canopy, $95 at WalmartThe Costway 3-Seater Patio Swing Glider with Canopy is a cute and stylish outdoor upgrade, but act fast before this clearance deal goes away.

For the first time in the program’s history, Medicare is covering weight-loss drugs, and the price tag looks almost too good to pass up.Beginning July 1, eligible Part D enrollees can access medications including Wegovy, Foundayo, and the Zepbound KwikPen for a flat $50 monthly copay through a temporary federal demonstration called the Medicare GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) Bridge.That is a massive discount compared to the retail price of these drugs, which can exceed $1,000 per month without insurance coverage. It arrives at a moment when roughly 56% of GLP-1 users say affordability is a significant challenge, a poll from KFF, the health policy research organization, found.But this is not traditional Part D coverage, and the distinction creates financial consequences that could blindside enrollees who assume the program works like every other Medicare prescription benefit they have used.How the GLP-1 Bridge $50 copay falls outside Part D’s safety netThe GLP-1 Bridge operates entirely outside the Part D benefit structure, and that separation has three practical effects that enrollees need to understand before filling a prescription.The $50 monthly copay does not count toward the Part D deductible or the $2,100 annual out-of-pocket spending cap for 2026, which rises to $2,400 in 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirmed.Enrollees who receive the Low-Income Subsidy, also known as Extra Help, cannot apply that cost-sharing assistance to Bridge program copays, a KFF analysis noted.The copay is not eligible for the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets beneficiaries spread out-of-pocket drug costs throughout the calendar year.”Not only do the costs not count toward your out-of-pocket cap, your deductible or anything like that, if there is a problem, you also need to go to Medicare. You do not go to your plan,” Leigh Purvis, prescription drug policy principal at AARP’s Public Policy Institute, said.For a beneficiary who stays on the medication for the full 18-month demonstration, total out-of-pocket spending on the Bridge copay alone would reach $900, the American Action Forum calculated.Why low-income seniors face steepest barrier to GLP-1 accessThe Extra Help exclusion carries outsized consequences because the program’s target population skews toward older adults living on fixed incomes who rely on prescription cost-sharing subsidies.About one in four Medicare beneficiaries had an income below $24,600 in 2024, KFF reported, and Low-Income Subsidy enrollees pay no more than $5.10 for a generic prescription and $12.65 for a brand-name prescription in 2026.More Medicare/Medicaid:IRMAA hits retirees two years after property saleNew Medicare GLP-1 pilot program could lower drug costsMedicare’s 2033 funding crisis: What retirees should do right nowA recurring $50 monthly charge on top of existing prescription spending represents a meaningful burden for that group, and because it sits outside Part D’s benefit architecture, it does not bring them closer to the annual cap that shields against catastrophic drug costs.Rachel Schmidt, a research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, told CNBC that the $50 monthly copay for GLP-1s “will not count toward a patient’s Part D deductible, or the $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drug costs.” For a beneficiary on the medication for a single calendar year of the demonstration, that amounts to $600 in out-of-pocket spending that does not count toward Part D’s catastrophic coverage protections.

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries face higher barriers as new GLP-1 copays increase costs without counting toward annual out-of-pocket limits.SimpleImages/Getty Images

Eligibility requirements narrow pool of potential GLP-1 Bridge enrolleesNot every Medicare enrollee seeking a GLP-1 prescription for weight management can participate, and the clinical criteria limit eligibility to specific health profiles. Enrollees must be in an eligible Part D plan and meet one of three body mass index thresholds paired with specific clinical conditions, CMS confirmed.Beneficiaries with a BMI of 35 or higher qualify without additional clinical requirements, while those with a BMI of 30 or higher must also have chronic kidney disease at stage 3a or above, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or uncontrolled hypertension despite treatment with two medications.Juliette Cubanski, director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, says Medicare’s short-term initiative faces an uncertain future, CNBC reported.It’s good news that Medicare is rolling out this program, but it is temporary, so it’s really not clear at this point what happens after the end of the 18-month program duration.A third tier covers enrollees with a BMI of 27 or higher who have a diagnosis of prediabetes, a previous heart attack or stroke, or symptomatic peripheral artery disease.CMS specifically disqualifies beneficiaries diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or noncirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and also excludes anyone already filling a GLP-1 prescription under their Part D plan in 2026.How to navigate GLP-1 Bridge enrollment and avoid common pitfallsThe Bridge program requires a prior authorization from the prescribing provider, and CMS is targeting a 72-hour turnaround for initial decisions, a CMS official confirmed during a recent webinar for pharmacists.CMS guidance for beneficiaries emphasizes three practical checks before filling a Bridge prescription. Beneficiaries should confirm the Part D plan type is eligible, that the provider writes the prescription specifically for weight management rather than for a condition already covered under Part D, and that the pharmacy submits the claim to the Bridge central processor rather than to the beneficiary’s regular Part D plan.Beneficiaries should know that the copay does not accrue toward Part D’s out-of-pocket cap or deductible.”Fortunately, once the prescriber completes prior authorization for the drug, the program uses routine pharmacy processes,” said Lisa Schwartz, senior director of professional affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association. “We would encourage patients to try to have a little extra patience with their provider and the pharmacy the first month or so.”If a Bridge prior authorization is denied, CMS says there is no formal Bridge appeals process, though the prescriber can resubmit with corrected or additional documentation, and beneficiaries can call 1-800-MEDICARE for help.Related: Can Medicare Help You Get GLP-1s? Requirements You Need to Know

The U.S. national debt just broke a record that stood since World War II. Interest payments alone now cost more than the entire defense budget. Not the wars. Not the weapons. The whole thing. And the debt keeps growing every year because Washington keeps spending more than it takes in and nobody in either party has figured out how to stop it.Elon Musk has been going on podcasts with a solution. On Nikhil Kamath’s show in late 2025 and on the Dwarkesh Patel podcast in February 2026, he said the same thing both times. It involves robots and a three-year timeline. Whether you find that reassuring or alarming probably says something about how you feel about Elon Musk generally.What Elon Musk said about AI, robotics, and U.S. debt crisis”That’s pretty much the only thing that’s going to solve for the US debt crisis,” Musk said on Fox Business, talking about AI and robotics.He went harder than that on the Dwarkesh Patel podcast in February 2026. “We are 1,000% going to go bankrupt as a country and fail as a country,” he said. “Without AI and robots, nothing else will solve the national debt.”Related: Elon Musk pulls no punches with AI rivals as Grok 4.5 debutsThe timeline part is where it gets interesting: “In three years or less, my guess is goods and services output will exceed the rate of inflation.” His thinking is that enough AI-driven output creates deflation, which makes the debt load easier to carry as the economy grows. More stuff, cheaper prices, more productive workers.He also sketched out something he calls “universal high income.” A world where robots do so much of the work that people reach “the point where working is optional,” maybe within 20 years. No scarcity. No need to work to survive. Just abundance.Why America’s national debt crisis is already at a historic levelThe debt crossed $39 trillion in March 2026, according to 24/7 Wall St. That’s more than double what it was 10 years ago. Debt held by the public is heading toward the record set in 1946, right after the war, when wartime borrowing pushed it past 106% of the entire U.S. economy.Back then, the country grew its way out of it. Strong postwar growth, some inflation, and a period of relative spending restraint brought the ratio down over a couple of decades. That playbook isn’t obviously available right now. The deficits are baked in. Entitlement costs keep climbing. And the interest on the existing debt keeps adding up.Those interest payments now cost more than the whole defense budget. Every single year, before Congress argues about a single program, that bill is already due. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget called it a wake-up call back in 2024. Nobody really woke up.

Musk has made predictions before that seemed ridiculous and then partially came trueChartchai/Getty Images

Why Musk’s AI and robotics solution to the debt crisis is a very long betThe idea isn’t completely far-fetched. Countries have reduced large debt loads before, and it almost always happens through growth rather than cutting. The economy gets bigger, revenues go up, and the debt shrinks as a percentage of a larger pie. That’s the WWII story. Musk is betting AI does the same thing, faster.The timing is the uncomfortable part. The debt is real right now. Interest payments are going out right now. The federal government doesn’t get to defer its borrowing costs until Optimus robots are running the factories. If AI productivity arrives in three years the way Musk predicts, it matters. If it takes 15, the debt keeps growing in the meantime and the math gets harder every year.More Elon Musk:Elon Musk’s startling claim to SpaceX investorsElon Musk says he was wrong about AnthropicElon Musk pulls no punches with AI rivals as Grok 4.5 debutsAnd even if he’s right about AI, there’s a distribution problem he doesn’t really get into. If most of the gains flow to the people who own the AI systems, wages might not rise enough to lift tax revenues. Corporate profits climb. Asset prices climb. But the income tax base that funds most of what the government spends stays weak. The debt doesn’t improve the way he’s describing even if the technology works exactly as advertised.What Musk’s debt and AI prediction means for markets and U.S. economyHigh debt levels push interest rates up, squeeze the government’s ability to respond to crises, and make borrowing more expensive for everyone, including businesses and homeowners. The longer the debt runs at this pace, the more those pressures build.Musk has made predictions before that seemed ridiculous and then partially came true. People wrote off SpaceX. They wrote off Tesla. Reusable rockets are routine now. EVs are everywhere. So it’s not like his track record justifies instant dismissal.But getting AI to solve a structural fiscal problem built up over decades, in three years, is a much bigger ask than building a rocket or making a better car. The debt doesn’t pause while the technology develops. That’s the gap between what Musk is describing and what the numbers are actually doing right now.Related: Elon Musk’s startling claim to SpaceX investors

Choosing the right credit card has become increasingly difficult. With hundreds of options offering different rewards, fees, and eligibility requirements, consumers often struggle to identify the card that best matches their financial needs.What most consumers don’t see is how affiliate commissions can influence which cards sit at the top. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau flagged this problem in a February 2024 circular on digital steering, then launched its own unbiased comparison tool that December.The average credit card interest rate on accounts assessed interest stood at 22.15% in May 2026, according to Federal Reserve G.19 data, and total U.S. credit card debt has topped $1.2 trillion, the New York Fed revealed.As borrowing costs and consumer debt continue to rise, evaluating the fairness and transparency of credit card recommendation systems has become increasingly important.What the CFPB flagged, and later withdrew, about credit card comparison steeringThe CFPB circular examined what regulators described as “preferencing and steering” by platforms positioned between consumers and financial products.When a comparison website places one credit card above another, the positioning may reflect the affiliate commission earned per approved application rather than objective suitability. Those commissions vary across issuer affiliate programs but can be up to $200 or more per approved application, creating a direct financial incentive for comparison platforms to feature higher-paying issuers prominently.More Personal Finance:AI money advice carries risks most users overlookEstate plans for unmarried couples: Protect your partner, your wishesEstate planning for solo agers: How to protect yourself”The CFPB is working to ensure that digital advertisements for financial products are not disguised as unbiased and objective advice,” then-CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the bureau’s Feb. 29, 2024, announcement.However, in May 2025, the CFPB, under new leadership, rescinded the circular, along with 66 other guidance documents, calling them an “unfair regulatory burden.”The bureau also retired its Explore Credit Cards comparison tool, stating it no longer had timely source data to support it. The rollback leaves consumers with fewer federal guardrails against biased rankings at a time when credit card affiliate commissions continue to climb.Credit card affiliate revenue creates a structural ranking conflictThe pattern becomes clear in the revenue disclosures of the publicly traded comparison sites.LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), one of the sector’s largest platforms, reported $1.12 billion in total revenue for 2025, with $253.4 million coming from its Consumer segment, which includes credit cards, personal loans, and other credit products matched to network partners.The company’s filings describe a business built on match fees and lead-generation payments from the financial institutions whose products appear on its site.The CFPB’s 2025 Consumer Credit Card Market Report, released in December, found that the average annual percentage rate on general-purpose credit cards reached 25.2% in 2024, the highest level since at least 2015.That figure, drawn from issuer disclosures for general-purpose cards specifically, sits above the Federal Reserve’s 22.30% November 2025 average, which covers all revolving accounts. When a comparison site steers a cardholder toward an issuer offering a higher affiliate commission rather than a lower annual percentage rate (APR), the resulting interest costs compound over the years.

Affiliate commissions can shape credit card rankings, potentially favoring higher-paying issuers over lower-interest options and increasing borrowers’ long-term costs.Ekaterina Demidova/Getty Images

Why the regulatory withdrawal does not erase the underlying concernThe CFPB withdrew Circular 2024-01 on May 12, 2025, as part of a sweeping rollback of 67 guidance documents under Acting Director Russell Vought, Federal Register filings showed.The underlying federal consumer protection law that the circular interpreted remains unchanged, and state attorneys general retain separate authority to pursue deceptive comparison-shopping practices under state consumer protection statutes. Many of the withdrawn documents retained their legal foundation under existing statutory frameworks, even after the guidance itself was rescinded.Americans collectively owed $1.252 trillion in credit card debt at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to the New York Fed’s most recent Household Debt and Credit report, making the integrity of comparison tools a material consumer concern.What independence in credit card ratings actually requiresDisclosure alone does not resolve the steering problem the CFPB identified. A footer noting that a publisher “may earn a commission” tells the reader nothing about whether commission size influenced the order of the list they just read.Consumer advocates argued when the circular was first issued that the harm reaches beyond a poorly matched card recommendation and shows up directly in the interest rates cardholders pay. Adam Rust, director of Financial Services at the Consumer Federation of America, said in a Feb. 29, 2024, statement that lead-generation payments from banks to comparison sites function as “invisible hands that guide consumers into higher-priced credit cards.”Rust argued that the cost of those payments does not stay with the platforms. Banks, he said, recover the expense of advertising on digital shopping sites by charging cardholders higher interest rates, so the fee structure that decides which card appears at the top of a comparison table is ultimately paid by the person who applies for it.He pointed to the pattern the CFPB’s own research had already identified: top-10 lists on comparison sites tend to feature big-bank cards, even though credit unions and smaller banks routinely offer lower APRs to borrowers with the same credit profile.That economic critique explains why the ranking matters. A separate question is what a comparison site would have to change structurally to avoid the problem in the first place.Konstantin Ulanov, founder of the ratings platform IndexFair and co-founder of iGaming affiliate network UFFILIATES, has worked in affiliate businesses since 2008. His platform currently rates gambling operators rather than credit card issuers, but the underlying design question of where money can and cannot influence a published rating is not sector-specific. In an interview, he described the range of ways influence can enter a comparison ranking without a visible edit to the final score.Paid placement is obvious…. Less obvious forms include partner-first updates, private score previews, paid correction queues, or a commercial link that rewards the publisher when a reader chooses a specific brand.Meaningful independence, in his view, has to be defined by what commercial arrangements are prevented from touching, not by the presence of a disclosure at the bottom of a page. “Independence should describe what money is prevented from changing, not pretend that an analytical business has no commercial activity,” he said. “Disclosure is the beginning of an independence system, not the end of one.”Rust and Ulanov describe several constraints for comparison sites: publishing methodology, ring-fencing editorial from affiliate operations, disclosing paid relationships by name, and treating disclosure as a floor rather than a shield. Whether credit card comparison sites are willing to accept those constraints remains an open question the rescinded CFPB guidance would have pressed.How consumers can evaluate credit card comparison sitesThen-CFPB Director Chopra urged consumers, before relying on rankings, to examine whether comparison platforms disclose their affiliate relationships in a meaningful and accessible way.Cross-referencing comparison site recommendations against at least one card issuer’s website can help reveal whether a platform’s top picks genuinely match available options, the bureau’s guidance indicated.The formal regulatory guidance may have been withdrawn, but the financial incentive structure it described remains intact across the comparison site industry.With credit card debt at record levels and average annual percentage rates at new highs, consumers who rely on biased comparison tools risk compounding an expensive borrowing environment by choosing products that serve the platform’s revenue, rather than their own financial interests.Related: New data reveal 10 U.S. cities with worst credit card delinquency