October 16, 2025 | Priced for Nothing but Blue Sky and Sunshine

The markets have climbed higher despite continuing concerns around the shutdown, tariffs and inflation. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have set records more than 30 times this year and other data suggest the economy is chugging at a steady clip. But for the majority of Americans, this economy is landing very differently right now, and it’s hardly good times. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports. Here is a direct video link

 

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Also, on topic, see Big Banks Cash in on Well-Heeled Borrowers:

Having available credit is a key way to keep spending, especially if wages, or the values of consumers’ assets such as stocks or homes, slow or stagnate.

For consumers who have them, there is also an incentive to spend via banks’ rewards cards. JPMorgan Chase recently raised the annual fee on its Sapphire Reserve credit card to $795, and added new benefits. Despite the higher fee, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told analysts this week that “this has already been the best year ever for new account acquisitions for our Sapphire portfolio.”

Wells Fargo has been rapidly growing in cards, with new card accounts up 9% through the first three quarters of the year from last year. The bank told analysts this week that it has been focused on tapping existing clients to expand its card relationships, including in wealth management.

“We are not fully meeting the lending, deposit and payment needs of our existing wealth clients,” Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf told analysts. Wells Fargo has a program called Premier, which integrates products across banking, lending and investing, and is aimed at clients with $250,000 or more in certain balances. Net investment inflows into Premier were up 47% in the first nine months of this year, the bank said.

If the economy was heading for a slowdown, big banks might not be able to avoid it. But they also won’t necessarily be the first indicator of trouble.

howestreet October 16th, 2025

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