Author: Money Mechanics

Andrew LernerCourtesy of Oppenheimer Name: Andrew Lerner Firm: Oppenheimer Location: Boca Raton, FL Team Assets (Custodied): $1.6 billion Background: Andrew Lerner grew up in Gainesville, Florida, and began his college tennis career at Jacksonville University before transferring to Florida Atlantic University. He graduated in 2013 with a finance degree and an insurance minor. Together with his college roommate and best friend—now his managing partner—he launched a wealth management group shortly after college. What started as a friendship-driven venture has now grown into an 18-person team managing approximately 600 households. “We don’t have a one-size-fits-all niche,” Andrew says, “because every client’s…

Medical debt continues to burden millions of consumers, and the CFPB has made addressing this issue a central focus of our work. We have examined the various factors driving problematic medical debt collection and credit reporting practices. A key concern that has emerged from this research involves the policies and practices of non-profit hospitals.These institutions are required to have financial assistance policies (sometimes called “charity care”) to help patients in need in exchange for the hospital’s non-profit tax status. However, the CFPB continues to hear complaints from consumers about medical bills from non-profit hospitals that raise questions about whether these…

The stock market soared on Friday, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record closing high, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pointed to a possible rate cut at the central bank’s next policy meeting in his remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium. The “shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” Powell said, taking note of recent softness in the labor market. Source: Investing.com Despite Friday’s rally, Wall Street’s main indexes closed mixed for the week. The rose 1.5%, the gained 0.3%, while the tech-heavy shed 0.6%. The small-cap jumped 3.3%. More volatility could be in store in…

At the time of writing, President Trump is waffling about the possibility of joining Israel in its attacks on Iran. This adds yet another possible inflation risk story: crude oil prices could spike in response to snowballing conflicts in the Middle East.To recap, there are four main inflation risks lurking over the U.S. economy.A large tax cut could help fuel demand.Tariff wars are only in a ceasefire, and high tariff rates (particularly for Chinese goods) might resume after the ceasefires expire.A widening of the war might result in a crude oil spike.Widespread deportations are cutting off some industries from labourers,…

Before the CPI analysis, I always try to give some context for where we are in the ‘story’ about the evolution of inflation right now. It’s really difficult to do that, though, because of all of the massive policy changes that are happening – and often in opposite directions with respect to the effect on inflation. Here is the Baker, Bloom & Davis Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, which is derived by scraping news sources. Even strong supporters of President Trump’s have to admit that his Administration has been a whirlwind on economic policy (for many of them, of course, that’s…

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant expressed deep admiration for Elon Musk, often sharing how the billionaire served as a source of inspiration for him.What Happened: Bryant, renowned for his voracious appetite for knowledge, was always on the lookout for inspiration from the best in various fields. Musk, known for his innovative approach and relentless quest for solutions to complex problems, caught Bryant’s attention.Bryant once expressed his admiration for Musk, stating, “Elon Musk is a genius by all accounts. I asked him one time about how does he learn and the amount of research and amount of study that he does is unheard of but I’ll always say the most…

Personal income, in current dollars, increased in 2,814 counties, decreased in 295, and was unchanged in five counties in 2023, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income increased 6.0 percent in the metropolitan portion of the United States and 4.7 percent in the nonmetropolitan portion (table A). In metropolitan counties, the percent change in personal income ranged from 17.3 percent in Oldham County, TX, to −8.6 percent in Oliver County, ND. In nonmetropolitan counties, it ranged from 38.7 percent in Sherman County, TX, to −29.1 percent in Sheridan County, ND (BEA interactive data).…

Chen ZhaoChen Zhao is the head of economics research, where she produces research on the housing market for public and internal audiences. Previously, she was an executive director leading housing finance and financial markets research at the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Prior to joining JPMCI, Chen was an economics consultant at Analysis Group, Inc., where she worked on financial litigation cases and led teams conducting health economics and outcomes research on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. While in graduate school, Chen was with the Center for Economic Studies and the Social Economic and Housing Statistics Division at the US Census Bureau, where…

Joseph Maldonado and Kerry Wan/ZDNETThe Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold has finally arrived, and it isn’t taking on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 with a generational design leap. Instead, it competes by adding quality-of-life features — a couple of which are industry-firsts for a foldable phone. If you are ready to upgrade from a slab phone to a foldable one, now is the best time to do so. However, it can be confusing to make a decision when both Google and Samsung book-style foldables are so good this year.Also: Everything announced at Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and…

Kayvon SarmadiCourtesy of UBS Name: Kayvon Sarmadi Firm: UBS Wealth Management Location: Washington, D.C. Team Assets (Custodied): $974 million Background: Kayvon Sarmadi launched his career as a solo advisor at just 23 years old—an unusually young age in a post-financial crisis industry. “I had to beg the firm for an exception,” he says. “I didn’t want to be on a team—I wanted to do this myself.” Raised in Roanoke, Virginia, Sarmadi grew up in his family’s car dealership business, attending sales meetings as a kid and developing a strong foundation in sales and client service. He started trading stocks at…