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Leading experts join Dutch minister Willemijn Aerdts in calling on energy and industrial firms to step up their cybersecurity investments as attacks escalate.

The New York Mets received a retirement update from a standout infielder who pursued a very different career path.

Tokenized shares in the mega-caps will first trade on Securitize’s Solana-based platform, with further plans to expand them to NYSE and OKXICE digital venues, the firm said.

As paper check usage continues to plummet, electronic checks (e-checks) have quietly become a workhorse of digital banking.

Powered by the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network, e-checks move billions of dollars annually for recurring bills, large purchases, and business payments.

While they offer steep cost savings over credit cards, they operate under fundamentally different rules than plastic. Knowing how e-checks work, and where their security gaps lie, is critical before linking your direct bank account.

What is an e-check?

An e-check is a digital payment drawn directly from a checking account through the ACH network. Instead of writing paper checks by hand, you provide your checking account number and bank routing number along with formal transaction authorization.

The merchant or payee processes this information electronically, pulling funds directly from your bank account. E-checks are commonly used for a number of regular payments including:

Mortgage payments

Monthly rent payments

Car loan repayments

Membership fees

Tax payments

Credit card payments

Utility payments

E-checks provide a more convenient way to pay versus a traditional paper check, but it’s important to consider both the benefits and potential risks of e-checks.

E-checks offer steep cost savings over credit cards, but operate under fundamentally different rules.Image source: Shutterstock

Key benefits of e-check payments

1. Lower processing fees

Credit card processing fees typically range between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction. E-checks, in contrast, carry flat processing fees (often under $1.00 per transaction) or low percentages near 0.5% to 1.5%.

For high-ticket purchases — such as rent, tuition, or wholesale vendor payments — e-checks offer buyers and sellers substantial savings.

2. Enhanced security over paper checks

Paper checks are inherently vulnerable. They pass through multiple hands in the mail and explicitly expose account details written on paper.

E-checks substitute physical handling with 256-bit data encryption, tokenization, and digital authentication protocols, significantly mitigating physical theft risks.

3. Seamless automation for recurring bills

E-checks allow consumers and businesses to set up automated recurring payments for subscriptions, insurance policies, or mortgage payments.

Because checking account routing numbers rarely change (unlike credit card expiration dates and reissued card numbers), recurring transactions experience fewer administrative disruptions.

Hidden risks and drawbacks of e-checks

1. Processing delays and bounced fees

Unlike credit or debit card transactions, which approve or decline instantaneously, e-checks can take one to five business days to clear the ACH network.

If funds are lacking when the transfer settles, the transaction bounces, triggering overdraft or returned-check fees from both your bank and the vendor.

2. Strict limits on transaction reversibility

Under Federal Reserve Regulation E, consumers have protection against unauthorized electronic bank transfers. However, dispute resolution for an e-check is often far more burdensome than a credit card chargeback.

If you encounter a merchant dispute over service quality or non-delivery, reversing an e-check is difficult once the funds clear.

3. Direct exposure of checking funds

When an e-check process is compromised, fraudsters gain direct access to cash in your primary bank account.

Unlike credit card fraud, where disputed charges freeze the lender’s money, e-check fraud temporarily drains actual liquid savings until your bank resolves the investigation.

E-checks vs. credit cards vs. wire transfers

FeatureE-Check (ACH)Credit CardWire TransferSettlement Speed1 to 5 Business DaysInstant ApprovalSame Day / MinutesAverage CostFlat Fee ($0.20 – $1.50)1.5% – 3.5% FeeHigh Fee ($15 – $50)Fraud ProtectionModerate (Reg E)Strong (Zero Liability)Very Low (Irreversible)Ideal Use CaseRecurring bills, large purchasesEveryday retail, travelReal estate, high-value urgent wire

The verdict: When should you use an e-check?

Use an e-check for: High-dollar routine bills (rent, tuition, tax obligations, vendor payables) where credit card processing surcharges would add significant cost. E-checks also offer a way to avoid additional debt or interest payments since funds are pulled directly from your checking account. 

Avoid an e-check for: Transactions with unfamiliar online vendors, time-critical purchases requiring immediate delivery, or items where purchase protection and simple chargebacks are required.

Related: Bond ladders: how to build a stairway to stability

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Why we love this deal

Fall is the perfect time to try out a new hobby because we’re naturally inside more as the cold weather rolls in. Baking, reading, and crafting are popular pastimes for this cozy season, but learning to sew can be especially rewarding. Honing your sewing skills leads to so many possibilities. You can mend your favorite clothes if they ever get a hole, make custom curtains for the living room, or create costumes for the school play. Before achieving any of these feats, you need to learn the basics of the craft, and that starts with a sewing machine.

Learning to sew, like any new hobby, can be expensive, and you shouldn’t splurge on a high-end sewing machine until you’ve mastered the basics. The Bcooss Beginner’s Sewing Machine is a great starter machine, and it’s shockingly affordable during Walmart Deals. Originally priced at $80, you can now score the lightweight machine for just $35. Along with the machine itself, you’ll also get a 42-piece sewing accessory kit that has everything you need to get started, like bobbins, thread, a seam ripper, and a thimble.

Bcooss Beginner’s Sewing Machine, $35 (was $80) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at Walmart

Why do shoppers love it?

Smaller than a standard sewing machine, this lightweight selection has a built-in top handle, so you can carry it wherever you want to get to work. While it plugs in like a traditional unit, you can also opt for battery-powered operation if you’re not near an outlet for added convenience. There’s even a built-in LED light to help brighten up your workspace if you’re in a dark area. Despite its small frame, it has plenty of power to work with thicker materials, like denim or plush cotton. “This little bitty machine is an absolute beast,” wrote one shopper. They explained, “It has been reliably sewing through multiple layers with no issues.”

Related: Amazon’s $49 farmhouse quilt set has a silky-smooth microfiber shell

If you’ve never sewn before, this sewing machine offers user-friendly features for beginners. It has 12 stitching patterns, which you can easily select by rotating the front dial. The variety of stitches allows you to do all kinds of projects, whether quilting, crafting, or hemming pants. Threading the needle is often the hardest part of starting your project, and this machine has simple-to-follow guidelines printed directly on it for a helpful reminder. 

Details to know 

Dimensions: The sewing machine measures 10.8 inches long, 4.8 inches wide, and 10.2 inches tall. 

Weight: The portable sewing machine weighs 5.5 pounds.

Extras: The sewing machine comes with an accessory kit that includes bobbins, thread, needles, scissors, a threader, a tape measure, a seam ripper, buttons, and a thimble. 

The convenience of this machine isn’t limited to first-timers. Many reviewers indicated they had previous experience sewing and were still impressed with its performance. One reviewer raved, “Plugged in the power and gave it a go – works like a dream! Beats my old Singer from 20 years ago.”

Shop more deals

Fixdono Mini Sewing Machine, $20 (was $40) at Walmart

Singer 3337 Special Edition Blush Sewing Machine, $135 (was $180) at Walmart

Brother Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine, $225 (was $250) at Walmart

If you’ve been wanting to test out your sewing skills, the Bcooss Beginner’s Sewing Machine is a user-friendly machine that even beginners can appreciate. Add it to your cart while it’s still available for only $35.

There’s an agent arms race unfolding, supercharging the battle for your wallet

Bill Hench, of First Eagle, stepped away from the artificial-intelligence trade with small-capitalization bets on a recovery of the U.S. housing construction market.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, Alphabet (GOOGL) signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy (CEG) to support 890 megawatts of new nuclear output from upgrades to 11 existing reactors, according to the company’s announcement.

Seeking Alpha called it the largest uprate deal ever between a nuclear provider and a tech company.

Constellation shares jumped 12.2% on the news, Seeking Alpha reported. The price pop is the least interesting part. Google signed before the region’s data center power rules are final, and that timing tells the actual story here.

Read more: U.S. loaning $4.2 billion to energy firm with crashing stock

Uprates turn old reactors into new supply

An uprate swaps in newer, more efficient equipment so an already licensed, grid-connected reactor produces more electricity.

Seeking Alpha noted that the 890 MW addition is roughly equal to building a large new reactor. The difference is speed, since an uprate skips the site hunt and the grid connection queue.

Constellation will back the work with more than $4.3 billion in new investment. Google also signed a separate long-term deal for 2,700 MW from Constellation’s existing plants, Reuters reported, so roughly three-quarters of the 3,590 MW package pays for reactors already running.

For shareholders, that is locked-in revenue on today’s fleet, not just future growth.

Six days earlier, Constellation signed a 20-year deal with Amazon (AMZN) to support expanding its Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland, Reuters reported.

Two hyperscaler deals in a single week suggest uprates have become a product Constellation can sell on repeat.

Constellation will invest more than $4.3 billion to add 890 MW of nuclear output at 11 existing reactors under a 20-year power deal with Google.KE ZHUANG / Getty Images

Google is buying its way around a grid rule fight

PJM Interconnection, the grid in question, has proposed that data centers on its 13-state system either bring their own power or face remote shutoffs during peak demand, according to Reuters. Google and Constellation said their agreement answers that proposal.

Constellation laid the groundwork months ago. In first-quarter materials filed with the SEC on Monday, May 11, 2026, the company argued that direct contracting lets large customers “contract for desired products quickly” and control their own cost allocation.

The same filing said Constellation had submitted 5,000 MW of new capacity to PJM, with nuclear uprates on the list.

KeyBanc analyst Sophie Karp sees the deal as proof that the strategy works. Constellation’s growth opportunity is “driven by its ability to strike commercial deals, not by political debates and outcomes,” she wrote in a note cited by Seeking Alpha.

Karp called it “high-quality, low-risk growth,” while conceding that market reforms remain “an overhang on the sector.”

Constellation stock still trades far below its record

Constellation sells electricity from a fleet anchored by nuclear plants. That makes its stock one of the most direct public bets on AI-driven power demand and among the most exposed to swings in grid policy.

Shares closed at $300.40 on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, after touching $309.80 intraday, according to StockAnalysis. Volume reached about 13.2 million shares, roughly three and a half times the 20-day average, the site’s data show.

Even so, the stock sits about 27% below its all-time high of $412.70, set on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, StockAnalysis confirmed. That record doubles as the 52-week high, while the 52-week low of $228.63 came on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, leaving shares about 31% above that trough.

Buyers near the all-time low of roughly $40 in early 2022, after the Exelon spinoff, remain up more than sevenfold, the site’s price history shows.

Wall Street remains constructive. Of 22 analysts tracked by StockAnalysis, 19 rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, and three rate it a Hold, with no Sells.

Their average price target of $341.53 implies about 14% upside, the site shows, well short of the 2025 peak. Scotiabank trimmed its target to $355 from $441 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, while keeping a Buy rating, according to StockAnalysis.

Bulls are pricing in a recovery, not a return to peak valuations.

More Energy Stocks:

JPMorgan strongly recommends buying tumbling energy leader

Wolfe Research sees nearly 100% upside in crashing energy stock

Morgan Stanley spots 3 game-changing Bloom Energy opportunities

Existing reactors are becoming the grid’s scarcest asset

The rally spread fast. Talen Energy (TLN) rose 12.4% and Vistra (VST) gained 10.7%, according to Seeking Alpha. Fuel supplier Centrus Energy (LEU) added 8.8%, the outlet reported. That makes sense, since uprated reactors burn more fuel.

The bigger shift is that tech companies now finance grid capacity directly instead of waiting for regulators to settle who pays. PJM’s final bring-your-own-power rule will show whether these private deals become the default route for data center supply.

Constellation’s next earnings report, expected on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, should reveal how many uprate megawatts it still has to sell. America’s next big source of new power may be plants that already exist.

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Hurricane Isaias has formed and is making the turn towards the U.S. Here is the latest information on the storm, potential impacts on gas prices and a bit of history too.

The Chicago Cubs’ Swiss Army Knife left the organization shortly after a very disappointing playoff exit.