Finance

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it was suing Capital One for “cheating” customers out of more than $2 billion in interest.
The agency said the banking giant used deceptive marketing to obscure differences in interest rates between two of its savings account options.
Capital One denied the allegations and said it widely advertised its high-yield savings account.

FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside a Capital One Bank in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 12, 2021. 
Andrew Kelly | Reuters

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday that it was suing Capital One for misleading consumers about their savings account interest rates and “cheating” them out of more than $2 billion in interest.
The agency said in a statement Capital One deceived holders of its “360 Savings” account by conflating it with its newer and higher-yield savings account option, the “360 Performance Savings” account. The bank allegedly failed to notify 360 Savings account holders of the newer option and marketed the two products similarly to lead customers to believe they were the same.

However, the interest rates of the two options were substantially different, according to the CFPB. Capital One increased the 360 Performance Savings interest rate from 0.4% in April 2022 to 4.35% in January 2024, while it lowered and then froze the 360 Savings rate at 0.3% between late 2019 and mid-2024, the agency said.
Despite its relatively low interest rate, the CFPB alleged, the 360 Savings account was advertised as a high-interest savings account. The bureau said Capital One aimed to keep 360 Savings users in the dark about the higher-yield option by replacing all references to the account with the similarly named 360 Performance Savings option on its website, excluding account holders from marketing campaigns advertising the higher-yield account and forbidding employees from notifying account holders about the 360 Performance Savings option.
“The CFPB is suing Capital One for cheating families out of billions of dollars on their savings accounts,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a news release. “Banks should not be baiting people with promises they can’t live up to.”
In a statement, Capital One denied the allegations and said it transparently marketed its 360 Performance Savings account.
“We are deeply disappointed to see the CFPB continue its recent pattern of filing eleventh hour lawsuits ahead of a change in administration. We strongly disagree with their claims and will vigorously defend ourselves in court,” the company said in a statement.
The bank added the 360 Performance Savings product was “marketed widely, including on national television, with the simplest and most transparent terms in the industry.”

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JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that Chief Operating Officer and President Daniel Pinto will step down from those roles in the coming months, setting off an executive shuffle with implications for succession planning for CEO Jamie Dimon.
Pinto, who has worked at JPMorgan and predecessor firms for more than four decades, will cease being COO and president in June and retire at the end of 2026, the bank said.
The company’s new COO is Jennifer Piepszak, the co-head of the commercial and investment bank who along with consumer banking chief Marianne Lake was widely seen as a top contender to succeed Dimon.
But as part of the announcement, the company took the unusual step of stating that Piepszak’s intention was to remain in a support role to the CEO, rather than vying for the top job.

Daniel Pinto, president and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase, speaks during the Semafor 2024 World Economy Summit in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2024.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that Chief Operating Officer and President Daniel Pinto will step down from those roles in the coming months, setting off an executive shuffle with implications for succession planning for CEO Jamie Dimon.
Pinto, who has worked at JPMorgan and predecessor firms for more than four decades, will cease being COO and president in June and retire at the end of 2026, the bank said.

The company’s new COO will be Jennifer Piepszak, the co-head of the commercial and investment bank, who along with consumer banking chief Marianne Lake was widely seen as a top contender to succeed Dimon.
In her new role, Piepszak will oversee the sprawling financial giant’s technology, operations, data and analytics functions, as well as its overseas operations.
But as part of the announcement, the company took the unusual step of stating that Piepszak’s intention was to remain in a support role to the CEO, rather than vying for the top job.
“Jenn has made clear her preference for a senior operating role working closely with Jamie and in support of the top leadership team, and does not want to be considered for the CEO position at this time,” spokesman Joe Evangelisti told CNBC. “She is deeply committed to the future of the company and our team and wants to help in any way she can.”
Last year, Dimon, 68, hinted that his CEO tenure could end within five years. That ignited speculation about who would take over at the largest and most profitable U.S. bank by assets.

With Piepszak apparently taking herself out of contention, that leaves Lake, as well as Troy Rohrbaugh, who is co-head of the Commercial & Investment Bank along with Doug Petno, as the likely top contenders to be JPMorgan’s next CEO. They lead the firm’s biggest businesses across Main Street and Wall Street banking.
Lake, Pinto, Piepszak, Petno and Rohrbaugh, as well as Mary Erdoes, head of the bank’s asset and wealth management division, report directly to Dimon.
Dimon lavished praise on his longtime No. 2, who started out at a predecessor firm to JPMorgan in 1983 as a currency trader in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Pinto rose through the ranks of Wall Street, eventually becoming sole head of the firm’s powerful corporate and investment bank in 2014, and then companywide COO in 2018.
“Daniel is a first-class person who I am proud to call a friend, and he has made a truly significant impact on our company for more than 40 years,” Dimon said in a statement.
“I can’t thank him enough for his partnership and outstanding stewardship as President and COO, and for building the best, most respected Corporate & Investment Bank in the world,” Dimon said.

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The health care sector claimed the highest share of top jobs for 2025, according to Indeed.
They accounted for six of the top 25 jobs: Veterinarian, physician, clinical psychologist, radiologist, registered nurse and director of clinical services.
An aging U.S. population, retirements among workers and low risk of A.I. replacement have led to high labor demand, experts said.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Digitalvision | Getty Images

The health sector holds many of the best job opportunities for workers in 2025, due to factors like high labor demand and pay, according to a new ranking from job search site Indeed.
Health care roles account for six of the top 25 jobs for 2025, according to Indeed: veterinarian (ranked No. 1), physician (No. 3), clinical psychologist (No. 8), radiologist (No. 14), registered nurse (No. 18) and director of clinical services (No. 22).

That’s the highest share of top jobs relative to other sectors, and the second year in a row health care dominated the list.
Indeed’s analysis looked at professions that met three criteria: a minimum salary of $75,000 per year, growth of at least 20% in postings on the site over the last three years and offerings of remote or hybrid roles for at least 5% of postings. The jobs are ranked by their share of postings on Indeed.

Health care has seen “extremely, extremely rapid” job growth, said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
“It is just relentless,” Pollak said. “It’s extremely robust and consistent, and we don’t see any slowdown at all.”
The U.S. economy added 902,000 health care and social assistance jobs in 2024 — more than double the closest competing segment, government, which added 480,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total employment in health care occupations is “projected to grow much faster than the average” for all U.S. jobs from 2023 to 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ample job opportunity in the sector stems from many factors, said Jennifer Herrity, a career expert at Indeed.
For example, an aging U.S. population increases the need for health care; retirements among workers in the health field have created shortages in some roles; and health care jobs are at a lower risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence than those in other industries like software developers and engineers, Herrity said.

‘Surprisingly high’ salaries, high barrier to entry

Strong labor demand has contributed to many health care jobs being “surprisingly high paying,” Pollak said.
For example, radiologists earn a median annual salary of about $385,000, the top-paying job on Indeed’s list. The typical physician earns $225,000 a year, the second-highest salary of the bunch.
“High salaries and a history of stability make health care a highly attractive field, albeit with a high barrier to entry, especially for roles like radiology, which require a minimum of 13 years of school,” Indeed wrote about its 2025 list.
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The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump may bring a shake-up to the health care sector, though.
For example, Trump and Republican allies may cut federal spending for Medicaid or allow Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire to raise money for other policy priorities like tax cuts, which could lower health care demand.

Conversely, mass deportations could exacerbate labor shortages and lead to higher pay. Immigrants accounted for 18% of health care workers in 2021, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Job seekers hoping to “cash in on high-paying and fast-growing jobs without a long-term investment in education” can perhaps look outside the health sector, in an occupation such as a sales representative, Indeed said. Many companies hiring sales reps may consider applicants with a high school diploma and the right mix of skills, it said. Sales reps make a $182,000 median annual salary, according to Indeed. More

Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna told CNBC on Tuesday that it’s agreed a major new distribution partnership with U.S. payments firm Stripe.
The deal will let Klarna offer its popular buy now, pay later plans to merchants using Stripe’s payment tools in 26 countries.
The new tie-up gives Klarna a big boost at a time when it’s gearing up for a hotly anticipated IPO in the U.S.

“Buy-now, pay-later” firm Klarna aims to return to profit by summer 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Klarna has agreed a major new distribution partnership with fellow fintech unicorn Stripe, in a bid to expand reach and add more merchants in the lead-up to its upcoming listing in the U.S.
Klarna’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) service will become available as a payment option for merchants using Stripe’s payment tools in 26 countries, the two companies told CNBC Tuesday.

This isn’t the first time Klarna and Stripe have partnered. In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic-fueled fintech craze, Stripe announced Klarna would offer its BNPL plans to the U.S. firm’s merchants.
BNPL plans are installment loans that allow a consumer to buy something online or in store and then pay off their debt, either at a later date or over a period of equal monthly installments. BNPL arrangements have become a popular way for people to spread the cost of everyday purchases.
The new tie-up with Stripe gives Klarna a big boost at a time when it’s gearing up for a hotly anticipated initial public offering. Klarna confidentially filed to IPO in the United States in November. The company could fetch a valuation of as much as $20 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report out last year.
Klarna makes money from the fees that retailers pay on each transaction processed through its platform. In return for giving Klarna visibility as a payment option in its checkout tools, Stripe will get a share of the money Klarna makes from a given transaction.
Klarna declined to disclose financial terms of its deal with Stripe.

“This is really significant for Klarna,” David Sykes, Klarna’s chief commercial officer, told CNBC, adding the company has already doubled the number of new merchants in the three months since it began implementing the new integration with Stripe in October.
“We added 100,000 new merchants in 2024 and we are already seeing that growth rate increase with this agreement.” he added.
Analysts recently valued Klarna, which was founded in 2005, in the $15 billion range. At its peak during the pandemic-led surge in fintech stocks, the company attracted a valuation of $46 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 back in 2021.
In 2022, Klarna took an 85% haircut in a fresh round of funding that valued the firm at $6.7 billion.
The deal also has the potential to drive incremental revenue gains for Stripe, too.
BNPL proponents tout these plans as a way to increase the overall level of transactions, as shoppers can buy more items during a shorter term window and then pay them off over a longer timeframe.
A study Stripe ran last year found businesses offering BNPL as a payment method generated up to 14% more revenue from increased conversion and higher average order values.
“We’ve seen BNPL volume grow 172% last year on Stripe, which is much faster than other mainstream payment methods,” Jeanne Grosser, chief business officer of Stripe, told CNBC, adding that the deal with Klarna was a “win-win” for both firms.
Stripe has long been speculated to be a near-term IPO candidate — for its part, though, the company says it’s in no rush. The company, also a victim of a slump in fintech valuations, slashed its valuation to $50 billion in 2023 from $95 billion in 2021. The company’s valuation reportedly rebounded to $70 billion, as part of a secondary share sale. More

China’s electric car market is headed for a sharp slowdown in 2025, according to analyst predictions, increasing pressure on companies trying to survive.
Strong sales volumes have enabled “strugglers and stragglers” to hang on despite falling margins, Yuqian Ding, head of China autos research at HSBC, said in a report last week.
China’s mix of subsidies and consumer purchase incentives have supported the rapid growth of new energy vehicles in recent years.

New electric vehicles destined for Belgium at a port in Taicang city in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on Jan. 11, 2025.
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s electric car market is headed for a sharp slowdown in 2025, according to analyst predictions, increasing pressure on companies trying to survive.
Sales of new energy vehicles, a category which includes battery-only and hybrid-powered cars, surged last year by 42% to nearly 11 million units, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Market leader BYD’s NEV sales skyrocketed — up by more than 40% last year to nearly 4.3 million units, far above its internal target of at least 20% growth from 2023.

But looking ahead, HSBC analysts forecast only a 20% increase in China’s new energy vehicle sales this year, alongside heightened industry consolidation. They predict BYD unit sales growth of around 14%.
Strong sales volumes have enabled “strugglers and stragglers” to hang on despite falling margins, Yuqian Ding, head of China autos research at HSBC, said in a report last week. She pointed out that only BYD, Tesla and Li Auto made a profit in 2023.
“In our view, this situation is unsustainable and we expect the pace of industry consolidation to accelerate rapidly,” Ding said.

China’s mix of subsidies and consumer purchase incentives have supported the rapid growth of new energy vehicles in recent years.
Shenzhen-based laser display company Appotronics didn’t even have an autos business until it started making an in-car projector screen that began deliveries in China early last year. The company shipped more than 170,000 units last year.

But in a sign of a changing market, the company only expects similar volumes in 2025, Appotronics Chairman and CEO Li Yi told CNBC last week. He predicted the market wouldn’t pick back up until 2026.
“A lot of customers, the automakers, they’re not in a good financial state. They cut the R&D budget. That will definitely have a negative impact on this industry,” Li said, also noting overcapacity issues.
As automakers piled into China’s fast-growing electric car market, they began a price war in a bid to attract customers. Smartphone company Xiaomi launched its SU7 electric sedan last year at $4,000 less than Tesla’s Model 3, and with claims of a longer driving range.
“When BYD and Tesla cut prices, most rivals have little choice but to follow suit. This has clearly squeezed the overall profit pool in the auto industry, especially now that EVs have all the momentum,” HSBC’s Ding said, noting that BYD has a net profit margin of only 5%, less than the low teens for top automakers when the traditional fossil fuel car was at its peak.
NEV penetration of new cars sold had exceeded 50% by the second half of the year, association data showed.
Because of the high penetration rate, the growth rate of new NEV car sales will likely slow to 15% to 20% in 2025, according to Fitch Bohua analyst Wenyu Zhou and a team. They expect so-called smart features will increasingly become a major point of competition.
Automakers in China have increasingly turned to in-car entertainment features and driver-assist technology as ways to make their vehicles stand out.
While the electric car market moderates its growth, Appotronics plans to bring a 4K-resolution projector to cars in China this year, along with a screen that has better contrast and privacy features, Li said.
As for the longer term, the company intends to spend the next two to three years on developing new, laser-based uses for car headlights, Li said. He added the company is in talks with Tesla for a projector-type product in a next-generation vehicle, but could not say more because of a non-disclosure agreement. More

On November 25th the Elva, a tanker flagged in São Tomé and Príncipe, clandestinely picked up 2m barrels of Iranian crude off Malaysia’s coast. Sailing from there to north-east China, the vessel’s likely destination, usually takes two weeks at most. But not this time. On December 3rd, alleging the Elva had breached sanctions, America blacklisted the ship, exposing anyone dealing with it to punishment. Six weeks on it is still stranded less than 20km from where it collected its cargo. More

Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, believes bitcoin is in a speculative bubble after the cryptocurrency’s swift rally carried it above $100,000 following the November presidential election.
Asness said there are three uses for crypto that he has identified: speculation, use in war-torn countries and paying cyber ransom.

Cliff Asness.
Chris Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management, believes bitcoin is in a speculative bubble after the cryptocurrency’s swift rally carried it above $100,000 following the November presidential election.
“I’m on the bubble side, on net,” Asness said on CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Monday. “To move me off that, you really need not a price change, but a use case. That’s what could convince me to become maybe more of a crypto person when I find any use for it, aside from speculation and criminality.”

Asness said there are three uses for crypto that he has identified: speculation, use in war-torn countries and paying cyber ransom.
Bitcoin rallied 120% in 2024 after a huge year-end pop on the back of President-elect Donald Trump’s election. Investors hoped Trump would usher in a golden age of crypto, including supportive deregulation of the industry and a national strategic bitcoin reserve. The digital coin has dipped 3% in the new year, last trading near $90,000.
“There’s no fundamental trend for crypto because I don’t know what the fundamentals are, but there is a price trend,” Asness said. “So I would guess most trend followers who have it in their universe are actually long.”

Stock chart icon

Bitcoin over the past year.

Although Asness is bearish on crypto, he noted that he would not bet against it due to its volatility.
“I wouldn’t short crypto only because shorting things with 100% annual volatility can be a little scary. I think we’ve all discovered what concentrated shorts can do to a portfolio,” he added.
Asness co-founded AQR in 1998 after a stint at Goldman Sachs. He and his partners established the quant-driven firm’s investment philosophy at the University of Chicago’s Ph.D. program, focusing on value and momentum strategies.

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Four states now levy an extra fee of $16 to $22.50 when consumers buy a new mattress or box spring. The fees help fund mattress recycling efforts.
Oregon launched its program Jan. 1. California and Connecticut raised their fees in 2025.
Other states are considering the programs, an example of “extended producer responsibility” laws to boost the circular economy.

Workers dismantling a mattress.
Thomas Lohnes | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Consumers in a handful of states are paying to help make the mattress industry more eco-friendly — and more states may follow suit?
Four states — California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island — now levy a flat fee on any mattress or box spring residents purchase online or in a brick-and-mortar shop.

The retail fees, which range from $16 to about $23, help finance state recycling programs that divert used mattresses from landfills — part of a growing policy initiative to boost the circular economy across common household items from plastic packaging to paper products and electronics.
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Americans discard about 15 million to 20 million mattresses each year — an average of 50,000 a day, according to the Mattress Recycling Council, a nonprofit formed by the bedding industry to operate state recycling programs.
Yet, more than 75% of a mattress is recyclable, according to MRC: its wood, steel, foams and fibers can be stripped, sold and reused.

Oregon implemented a recycling fee on Jan. 1. State residents who buy a new mattress or box spring pay an extra $22.50 per unit, reflected as a “stewardship assessment” on consumers’ receipts.

California and Connecticut raised their retail fees to $16 per unit at the beginning of 2025, up from $10.50 and $11.75, respectively. Rhode Island raised its per-unit fee to $20.50 last year.
The industry is also working with lawmakers in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York and Virginia to establish similar programs, according to MRC spokesperson Amanda Wall.

Recycling options are few but expanding

Douglas Sacha | Moment | Getty Images

There are currently few options for Americans who want to recycle a used mattress or box spring.
A directory compiled by the Mattress Recycling Council lists just 58 companies nationwide that recycle such products. Those in states that haven’t enacted recycling laws generally charge fees to consumers for drop-off and home pickup. (I recently paid $95 for such a service in New York City, for example.)
Oregon officials say their program will make it easy for consumers to recycle unwanted mattresses and reduce illegal dumping.
It aims to establish “new convenient locations in every county for residents to drop off their mattresses” and also create recycling sector jobs, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality website.

The state recycling efforts are examples of “extended producer responsibility” laws gaining traction in the U.S.
“With EPR, producers of products or packages become responsible for managing them when they become waste,” according to Reid Lifset, a resident fellow in industrial ecology at Yale University and editor of the Journal of Industrial Ecology. EPR programs provide a new source of funding to make the recycling system sustainable, Lifset said.
In the case of state mattress programs, retailers pass along the consumer fees to the Mattress Recycling Council to fund each state’s respective program, Wall said.
In Oregon, for example, more than half (about $12) of the $22.50 retail fee will fund program operational costs in 2025, with the remainder funding things like start-up costs, administration, and public education and advertising.
There are more than 300 mattress collection sites in states with recycling programs, according to MRC. The sites accept discarded mattresses at no cost. (They may charge for home pickup, however.)

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