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The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to start regulating “buy-now, pay-later” (BNPL) companies like Klarna and Affirm Holdings due to worries their fast-growing financing products are harming consumers, the agency said on Thursday. The watchdog, which does not currently oversee BNPL companies or products, will issue guidance or a rule to align sector standards with those of credit card companies, it said. The agency also said it would implement appropriate supervisory examinations. The development will be a blow for the sector, which is already under pressure due to rising funding costs and lower American consumer spending during soaring inflation. It also marks a major offensive for CFPB director Rohit Chopra, who has pledged to scrutinize tech-driven companies as they increasingly encroach on the traditional financial sector. “In the U.S., we have generally had a separation between banking and commerce, but as big tech-style business practices are adopted in th...

National tourism revenue for the long weekend ended Monday reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion), only 60.6% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Pictured here are visitors to the Nantong Intercontinental Green Expo Park in Jiangsu province on Sept. 11, 2022. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — China's tourism sector ended yet another public holiday with revenue well below what it was before the pandemic hit. National tourism revenue for the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival reached 28.68 billion yuan ($4.16 billion) — just 60.6% of the 2019 pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said late Monday. The figure also marked a 22.8% decline from last year. Tourist trips of 73.4 million were nearly 17% below last year's figure, and had only recovered to 72.6% of 2019 levels, the ministry said. The tourism figures dropped more than they did during the last public holiday in early June, pointed out ...