Good morning. The institutions built to keep your money safe and your lights on aren't doing the job. Today's stories make that very hard to ignore.
On the money today:
The Treasury secretary called an emergency meeting with the heads of America's biggest banks. The threat wasn't rates or Iran
Sen. Fetterman pushed to ban lawmakers from trading stocks. His family just bought into a company that got $6.1B from his own committee
A West Virginia woman's electric bill is more than her entire monthly income — and she's far from alone
Let’s get into it.
Last week, Scott Bessent and Fed Chair Jerome Powell pulled the CEOs of Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo into an unannounced meeting in Washington. The subject was an AI model so powerful it found a security flaw that had gone undetected for 27 years — and regulators are worried about what happens when something like it falls into the wrong hands. These banks hold trillions in deposits and manage retirement accounts for hundreds of millions of Americans.
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Fetterman has said it himself — letting members of Congress trade stocks opens the door to corruption. So why does a recent disclosure show his family buying into a chipmaker regulated by his own committee? And he's far from alone. At least nine senators have bought or sold stock in companies tied to their committee work.
Trump promised to cut electricity bills in half. In West Virginia — a state sitting on top of some of the richest energy reserves in the country — bills have done the opposite. Thousands of residents are posting screenshots of their monthly charges online in disbelief, some topping mortgages and rent. AI data centers, aging coal infrastructure and a war in Iran are all adding fuel to the fire. This is what's driving it and what it could mean for your own bill.
MONEY IQ
What's the penalty for a member of Congress who violates the STOCK Act?
ALSO MAKING THE ROUNDS TODAY
STOCKS: Buffett bought 5 million UnitedHealth shares while it tanked — a $13 billion Medicare boost just sent it soaring
PARENTING: She's 50, supporting two kids and aging parents while paying all the bills — the quiet crisis hitting sandwich generation Americans
TOP STORIES: Costco's top-selling product in Japan baffled executives — until they watched shoppers open the bottle and sniff
HEALTH INSURANCE: Medicare just announced 5 major changes to coverage for 2027 — what Americans must know before things 'fundamentally' shift
MONEY IQ ANSWER
A) $200. The penalty for breaking the STOCK Act — the law meant to stop members of Congress from trading on insider information — is $200. That's less than most parking tickets. Critics say it's why violations keep happening.
That's it for today! Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's newsletter to help us improve the Moneywise experience for you.
See you soon with another quick roundup of the financial news that matters.
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