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Walmart-owned Sam’s Club said Wednesday it will raise its annual fees this fall, as the warehouse club’ s membership hovers at a record high and inflation-pinched shoppers seek deals on bulk items. Fees will increase to $50 from $45 for club members and to $110 from $100 for members of its higher-tier level, “Plus,” which includes some additional perks. The changes take effect on Oct. 17. It marks the first fee hike in nine years for the entry-level membership. Sam’s Club has not raised the price of the “Plus” membership since it debuted in 1999. That brings Sam’s closer in price to rival Costco, which charges $60 a year for its basic membership and $120 for its higher-tier “Gold” membership. Prices for key staples like clothing, electronics, groceries are easing Aug. 23, 2022 03:30 Sam’s Club is hiking annual fees as warehouse clubs benefit from budget-conscious customers. Shoppers turned to Costco, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club during the early months of the Covid pandemic to sto

U.S. airlines saw large increase in complaints first half of 2022

If you lodged a complaint to an airline about its performance this year, you are far from alone. New federal data show the number passenger complaints to U.S. carriers more than doubled in the first half of 2022, between January and June, compared with the first half of 2021 — with nearly six-times more complaints about flight problems like cancellations, delays, or missed connections. The new crush of complaints came as airlines dramatically increased capacity to meet surging demand. The data show airlines increased their total flight volume, or airline operations, by 25%. Still, the number of passenger complaints climbed well beyond that figure, rising from 6,827 in the first half of 2021 to 15,955 during the same period this year. The number of flight-problem-related complaints soared from 1,035 to 5,569. The same data show every major U.S. airline saw worse on-time arrival rates in the first six months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021. For the second year in a ro

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Okta, Nutanix, Five Below and more

In this article DIS PSTG OKTA NTNX MDB FIVE The inside of one of Five Below's existing locations. Five Below Check out the companies making headlines after hours. Pure Storage — The tech stock jumped 7% after the data storage developer surpassed profit and revenue expectations. Pure Storage also issued strong third-quarter and full-year revenue guidance. Okta — Shares dropped 10% despite the identity management company posting a beat on the top and bottom lines in its second-quarter results. Okta's third quarter and full-year revenue guidance was also in line with expectations. Nutanix — The cloud computing stock surged 21% after Nutanix exceeded expectations in its quarterly results and issued strong revenue guidance. MongoDB — Shares declined 8% after the document database company forecasted a wider-than-expected loss in its third -quarter guidance . Otherwise, MongoDB posted a profit and revenue beat in its most recent quarter. Five Below — Shares rose 4.4% despite the di

China is set to convene a historic meeting on Oct. 16. Here's what to expect

Chinese President Xi Jinping is widely expected to further consolidate his power at a twice-a-decade congress this fall. He is pictured here on July 1, 2022, at a swearing-in ceremony for Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images BEIJING — China's leaders are set to convene in Beijing on Oct. 16 for a major political meeting that's expected to consolidate President Xi Jinping's power and signal forthcoming economic policy. This year's gathering takes on additional significance as it's become a widely watched marker for when China may begin to ease its stringent zero-Covid policy. The Communist Party of China's top leaders are expected to propose that the party hold its 20th National Congress on Oct. 16 in Beijing, state media announced Tuesday. It's "the most important political event of the decade in China," Citi analysts wrote in a note last week. "The Congress is set to launch a new political economy cy

SEC Charges Advisory Firm and Executives with Devising an Elaborate Scheme to Defraud Clients out of More Than $75 Million

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two North Carolina-based executives, Gregory E. Lindberg and Christopher Herwig, and their Malta-based registered investment adviser, Standard Advisory Services Limited, for defrauding clients out of more than $75 million through undisclosed transactions that benefited themselves and their companies. According to the SEC’s complaint, from July 2017 through 2018, Lindberg and Herwig, through Standard Advisory, breached their fiduciary duties to their advisory clients by fraudulently causing them to engage in undisclosed related-party transactions that were not in the best interest of their clients. The SEC’s complaint further alleges that the defendants misappropriated more than $57 million in client funds and that Standard Advisory collected more than $21.4 million in advisory fees generated in connection with these schemes. In an attempt to conceal the fraud, Lindberg allegedly orchestrated the schemes through complex investment

Goldman Sachs to lift vaccination, Covid-19 requirements in most offices next month

In this article GS Pavlo Gonchar | LightRocket | Getty Images Goldman Sachs will lift all its Covid-19 requirements in most offices beginning Sept. 6 in an effort to incentivize its employees to return to the office more than two years into the pandemic. According to a memo sent Tuesday and obtained by CNBC, the bank will no longer require its workers to be vaccinated to enter its offices or to test and wear face coverings. The policy applies to most offices with the exception of those in Lima and New York City. Unvaccinated employees in New York City will still need an approved religious or medical exemption to enter the bank's office spaces, according to the memo. The news from Goldman Sachs comes as companies across the world grapple with how to balance Covid-19 restrictions and the desire to bring workers back in person more than two years after lockdowns began . It should be noted that the memo didn't specifically require workers to come into the office. Instead, it enco

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Chewy, HP, CrowdStrike and more

In this article CRWD HPQ CHWY PVH Chewy CEO Sumit Singh (C) rings the opening bell to commence the day's trading for the Chewy Inc. IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), June 14, 2019. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Check out the companies making headlines after the bell : Chewy — Chewy shares slumped 8% after hours as the company missed Wall Street's revenue estimates for the recent quarter and shared a disappointing forecast for the current period and full year. The online pet retailer also shared a surprise earnings beat of 5 cents a share. PVH — Shares of the apparel company and owner of Calvin Klein slipped more than 3% in extended trading after revenue for the recent quarter fell short of Wall Street's estimates. PVH also said it's cutting 10% of its workforce in global offices and shared a weak outlook ahead. HP — The laptop maker's stock fell nearly 3% in extended trading after the company reported disappointing revenue. Analysts had expected it to earn $1

Fewer Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck as inflation begins to ease

Consumers who have been squeezed by higher prices may be experiencing a little relief. Fewer adults now say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report. As of July, 59% of Americans said they lived paycheck to paycheck, down from 61% in June but still higher than a year ago, when the number of adults who felt stretched too thin was 54%. Lower-income workers have been the hardest hit by price spikes this year, particularly for food and other staples, since those expenses account for a bigger share of the budget, studies show. Roughly three-quarters of consumers annually earning less than $50,000 and 63% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck in July, based on LendingClub’s numbers. Even though top earners have also been struggling to make ends meet, wealthier Americans feel less financially strained, the report found. Of those earning $200,000 or more, roughly 30% reported living paycheck to paycheck, down from

Mortgage rates will fall to 4.5% in 2023? That's the estimate from Fannie Mae. Here’s what that means for homebuyers

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Mortgage rates are projected to decline next year — but that doesn't mean prospective homebuyers should necessarily delay a purchase for the prospect of lower financing costs. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage will fall to an average 4.5% in 2023, according to a recent housing forecast published by Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored lender. That dynamic would offer relief to would-be homebuyers who've seen mortgage rates balloon this year. The Federal Reserve started increasing its benchmark interest rate in March to tame stubbornly high inflation, which has resulted in higher borrowing costs for consumers — who may feel a sense of whiplash from 2020, when rates bottomed out near historically low levels. More from Personal Finance: 13 states may tax student loan forgiveness Fewer Americans living paycheck to paycheck as inflation starts to ease How to figure out if you qualify for student loan forgiveness Average rates are expe

Fed rate hikes won't bring down inflation as long as government spending stays high, paper says

John C. Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Lael Brainard, vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, walk in Teton National Park where financial leaders from around the world gathered for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium outside Jackson, Wyoming, August 26, 2022. Jim Urquhart | Reuters Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell proclaimed Friday that the central bank has an "unconditional" responsibility for inflation and expressed confidence that it will "get the job done." But a paper released at the same Jackson Hole, Wyoming summit where Powell spoke suggests that the Fed can't do the job itself and actually could make matters worse with aggressive interest rate increases. In the current case, inflation is being driven largely by fiscal spending in response to the Covid crisis, and simply raising interest rates won't be enough to bring

Democrats question company over 'shoot now, pay later' gun sales

In recent years, more retailers have turned to "buy now, pay later" financing to help customers pay for goods and services. Buy now, pay later, or BNPL, programs, which are typically offered interest-free, allow customers to pay for products in installments. The programs have proven especially popular with younger shoppers who can't or don't want to use credit cards to pay for their items. Now, one BNPL firm has drawn the attention of Democrats for making it easier for consumers to use the payment plans to buy guns and ammunition. On Monday, 18 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Credova Financial LLC, based in Bozeman, Montana, to express concern that its purchasing programs could worsen America’s gun violence problem. Lawmakers representing large cities, including New York, Boston and Houston, were among those who signed the letter. “We are concerned that the ease with which buyers can acquire guns through BNPL will result in more guns and increased gun violenc

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Electronic Arts, Gap, Ulta Beauty and more