This September is a good time for people with debt to think about getting professional help. With inflation high and borrowing costs possibly rising again, waiting to manage debt could cost more in interest and make paying off debt harder.
Key Facts
Managing debt has become harder due to inflation and economic uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve will meet mid-September and might raise interest rates again.
Credit card interest rates average around 22.15%, which is very high.
When interest rates rise, credit card payments get more expensive.
Debt relief options include debt consolidation (combining debts into one payment) and debt settlement (negotiating to reduce the amount owed).
Debt settlement can sometimes save 30% to 50% of the total balance.
Taking action now may help avoid higher costs if interest rates increase.
Waiting to handle debt might lead to paying more interest and slower progress on paying down balances.
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Prediction market Kalshi has banned former Representative George Santos for life after finding he manipulated contract prices by making public statements tied to his bets. The platform also penalized three political candidates for betting on their own races, which breaks Kalshi’s rules about insider trading.
Key Facts
Kalshi issued a lifetime ban against former Rep. George Santos for manipulating contract prices.
Santos made public statements about attending the State of the Union then bet on related contracts.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined Santos $17,500 and made him return earnings from these trades.
Three political candidates—Ben Midgley, Stephen Cloobeck, and Laurie Buckhout—were penalized for betting on their own political races.
Cloobeck lost access to Kalshi for three years and paid a $31,770 fine; Midgley and Buckhout also faced suspensions and smaller fines.
Kalshi considers betting on one’s own race as insider trading because these candidates influence the outcomes they bet on.
All three candidates cooperated with Kalshi’s investigation.
This is Kalshi’s first lifetime ban and continues efforts to stop insider trading on its prediction market platform.
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Kalshi, a betting platform, permanently banned former Congressman George Santos and fined him $71,356 for betting on whether he would attend President Trump's State of the Union address. Regulators said Santos bet against his own attendance and misled others to profit from the bets.
Key Facts
George Santos received a lifetime ban and $71,356 fine from Kalshi.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Santos of profiting by betting he would miss the State of the Union speech but then signaling he would attend to raise contract values.
Santos refused to fully cooperate with Kalshi's investigation, which led to the permanent ban.
Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after findings of fraud and lying.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and was sentenced to over seven years but served less than three months after President Trump commuted his sentence.
Santos had previously settled with the CFTC, paying over $35,000 and receiving a three-year trading ban.
Other politicians and figures were also banned and fined by Kalshi for betting on their own political campaigns.
Santos is currently working to rebuild his public image and finances through media appearances and online video shout-outs.
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Music publishers including Sony, EMI, and Warner Chappell have sued AI company Anthropic, accusing it of illegally downloading millions of copyrighted books and music to train its AI models. The publishers argue that Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement is too low and does not stop the company from continuing to use pirated music that harms songwriters. Internal messages from Anthropic staff show enthusiasm for using pirate libraries like Z-Library to get training data.
Key Facts
Anthropic paid $1.5 billion to settle claims of pirating over 7 million books to train its AI models.
Music publishers (Sony, EMI, Warner Chappell) allege Anthropic also pirated thousands of copyrighted musical works.
Publishers say Anthropic’s use of pirated music hurts songwriters competing with AI-generated songs.
Anthropic employees used BitTorrent to download files from pirate libraries like Library Genesis and Z-Library.
Anthropic co-founders Benjamin Mann and CEO Dario Amodei are named defendants, with Mann directly involved in torrenting.
Internal chats from Anthropic staff praised Z-Library and encouraged torrenting to get data quickly.
Publishers claim that although Anthropic denies training with pirated songs, further court investigation may prove otherwise.
Publishers want an injunction to stop Anthropic from using pirated works in AI training and generating imitation songs.
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A court ruled against Kalshi, a company that allows people to bet on outcomes of events, stopping it from preventing Nevada from regulating bets on sports events on its platform. Robert DeNault, the head of enforcement at Kalshi, discussed the ruling and its impact on the company.
Key Facts
Kalshi lets users place bets on the results of different events.
Nevada wants to regulate betting on sports events on Kalshi’s platform.
Kalshi tried to stop Nevada’s regulation through a court appeal.
The appeals court rejected Kalshi’s attempt to block the regulation.
Robert DeNault spoke about the ruling on CBS News.
The ruling means Nevada can oversee sports betting on Kalshi.
This case affects how event speculation is controlled online.
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Victoria Beckham's fashion and beauty company made its first operating profit of £7.3 million in 2025 after 18 years of losses. The brand grew especially well in fashion and skincare, helped by a Netflix documentary and a business restructure.
Key Facts
Victoria Beckham Holdings Ltd was founded in 2008 and made an operating profit for the first time in 2025.
The company earned a profit of £7.3 million in 2025.
A Netflix documentary about Victoria Beckham’s business helped increase sales.
The fashion division grew strongly, especially in denim and jersey products.
The beauty division, launched in 2019, performed well, led by the popular Foundation Drops product.
The company was once tens of millions in debt and was supported by investment from Victoria’s husband, Sir David Beckham.
In 2017, the business sold 30% of shares to NEO Investment Partners, who helped restructure and cut wasteful spending.
The company is now focused on profitable growth with an expanding international customer base.
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Sony has agreed to a $7.85 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit claiming it limited where customers could buy digital game vouchers, which allegedly raised prices on some PlayStation games. The lawsuit says Sony stopped retailers like GameStop from selling certain game codes after April 2019, reducing competition and causing higher prices.
Key Facts
The lawsuit is called Caccuri v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.
Before April 1, 2019, third-party retailers sold game-specific download vouchers for PlayStation games.
Sony ended this practice, which plaintiffs say reduced competition and led to higher game prices.
Sony denies breaking any laws but agreed to settle to avoid legal costs and uncertainty.
The $7.85 million settlement will compensate some U.S. PlayStation users who bought affected games between April 2019 and December 2023.
A court hearing on final approval of the settlement is set for October 15, 2024.
Only purchases of certain qualifying games, including titles like The Last of Us, Mass Effect Trilogy, and Resident Evil 4, may be eligible.
The settlement covers digital purchases from the PlayStation Store, not all PlayStation purchases.
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A debt collector can sell a court judgment for unpaid debt to another debt collector. The new owner of the judgment can continue to collect the debt using legal methods allowed by the court.
Key Facts
A court judgment for unpaid debt can remain valid for many years, allowing ongoing collection efforts.
The original creditor does not always handle the debt for its entire duration; debts often change hands.
When a judgment is sold, the new owner inherits the right to collect the remaining debt.
Legal steps, like filing an assignment of judgment, may be required for the new owner to enforce collection.
Federal rules require debt collectors to provide information about the debt, including the creditor’s name and amount owed.
Debtors can request more details or dispute the debt if information from the collector doesn’t match their records.
The time a judgment remains enforceable depends on state laws and is not automatically extended when the judgment is sold.
After a judgment is sold, debtors might be able to negotiate a payment plan or settle for less than the full amount.
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Pabst Brewing Company reported that 40,000 pounds of their beer were stolen from a distribution center in California. The company is offering a reward and asking for help to find the stolen beer, which was taken using fake documents.
Key Facts
40,000 pounds (about 18,144 kilograms) of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer were stolen.
The theft happened at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair, California.
The stolen beer was worth $25,000 and was meant to be sent to San Diego.
Police said this was the second theft from the same location on the same day.
Both thefts involved false or fraudulent paperwork.
Anheuser-Busch brews Pabst Blue Ribbon beer under contract.
Pabst Brewing Company set a deadline of 18 days and 44 minutes for the beer to be returned.
The company is offering an unspecified reward for information leading to the recovery of the beer.
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Thieves stole about 34,000 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old Milwaukee beer from a warehouse in southern California in two heists on the same day. Police are investigating if the thefts were connected, while the beer company turned the incidents into a social media campaign asking for the beer’s return.
Key Facts
The thefts happened on August 17 at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center near Los Angeles.
About $70,000 worth of beer was stolen in total.
The first heist involved $45,000 worth of beer meant for Tucson, Arizona.
The second heist used fake documents to pick up $25,000 worth of beer.
Roughly 34,000 cans, or more than 1,500 cases, of beer were taken.
The stolen beer included Pabst Blue Ribbon and non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee brands.
Pabst posted on Instagram asking the thieves to return the beer and called their request serious.
Montclair police are still investigating whether the thefts were connected.
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Thieves stole about $70,000 worth of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old Milwaukee beer from a warehouse in Montclair, California, in two thefts on the same day. The company used the incident as a social media promotion to ask for the beer's return, while police investigate if the thefts were connected.
Key Facts
Two separate thefts happened on August 17 at an Anheuser-Busch warehouse near Los Angeles.
About $45,000 worth of beer meant for Tucson, Arizona, was stolen first but never delivered.
An hour later, fake papers were used to take another $25,000 worth of beer.
The stolen beer included roughly 34,000 cans, over 1,500 cases in total.
The total weight of the stolen beer was about 40,000 pounds (18,145 kilograms).
Montclair police are investigating if the two thefts are linked.
Pabst Blue Ribbon posted on Instagram, asking for the beer to be returned and making a light-hearted comment about the theft.
The thefts happened at a distribution center operated by Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
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A home equity line of credit (HELOC) lets homeowners borrow money using their home’s value as collateral. In September, a $100,000 HELOC would cost about $960 to $1,218 per month depending on the repayment period and interest rate, which is variable and can change over time.
Key Facts
A HELOC is a revolving credit line secured by the value of a home.
Current average HELOC interest rate is around 8.09%.
Monthly payment for a $100,000 HELOC at 8.09% interest is about $1,218 for a 10-year repayment or $961 for a 15-year repayment.
Interest rates for HELOCs fluctuate monthly with market conditions, so payments can change.
February and April rates were lower (around 7.11% to 7.31%), resulting in lower monthly payments.
Borrowers should calculate potential costs at different interest rates to prepare for payment changes.
Fixed-rate home equity loans are an alternative if borrowers want more predictable payments.
HELOC interest rates are generally lower than personal loans and credit cards.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged for fewer financial rules to help small banks grow. He said these banks need more freedom to lend to families and small businesses. Bessent also highlighted that recent big bank failures show current rules may not be effective.
Key Facts
Bessent spoke at a G20 meeting with finance ministers and business leaders.
He argued that small banks face tougher rules than big banks, limiting their success.
Recent changes allow some small banks to hold less capital, freeing up money for loans.
Half of the nation’s small banks disappeared since the financial crisis, partly due to strict regulations.
The 2008 Dodd-Frank rules aimed to stop big bank failures but made it harder for small banks to grow.
The U.S. G20 leadership is involving private companies earlier in financial policymaking.
The Trump administration is working to reduce banking rules to encourage economic growth.
More new banks are applying to open under Trump’s policies, especially fintech and digital asset firms.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York cancelled a planned exhibition celebrating fashion designer John Galliano because of criticism about his past antisemitic remarks and conduct. Galliano expressed regret for his past actions and decided not to proceed with the exhibition to avoid causing pain to some communities.
Key Facts
The Met planned an exhibition called John Galliano: Horizons for May 2027.
Galliano was found guilty of making antisemitic and racist insults in 2011.
He was fired as Dior’s creative director after these incidents.
Galliano apologized and spoke about his recovery from addiction.
The exhibition would have been part of the Met Gala theme for 2027.
Some leaders and groups opposed honoring Galliano due to his past remarks.
Anna Wintour, co-chair of the Met Gala, supported Galliano’s decision to cancel.
The cancellation reflects concerns about rising antisemitism and sensitivity to affected communities.
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Kalshi has permanently banned George Santos from its trading platform after he did not cooperate with an investigation into suspicious trades. Santos was fined over $71,000 and previously agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a federal probe into his trades, which were related to his attendance at the 2026 State of the Union address.
Key Facts
George Santos was banned for life from Kalshi’s prediction market.
Kalshi’s compliance team was investigating trades that earned Santos about $18,000 in profits.
Santos did not cooperate with Kalshi’s investigation.
Kalshi fined Santos $71,356, as shown in a company filing.
Santos is a former representative of New York’s 3rd District and was expelled from Congress in 2023.
He faced charges for fraud and campaign finance violations.
In July, Santos paid $35,000 to settle a federal investigation into his trades on Kalshi.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also banned him from trading for three years.
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George Santos, a former congressman, received a lifetime ban from the prediction market platform Kalshi. The ban came after he was fined over $71,000 related to a case where he made trades about his own attendance at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.
Key Facts
Kalshi permanently banned George Santos from its platform.
Santos was fined $71,356 after a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) case.
The case involved Santos trading contracts predicting he would miss the State of the Union event.
Regulators said Santos posted messages suggesting he would attend while trading on missing it.
Santos had previously paid over $35,000 in a settlement to avoid a lengthy legal fight.
Kalshi said the ban was also due to Santos not cooperating in their internal review.
Santos responded by mocking Kalshi on social media and plans to appeal to the CFTC.
Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 and pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art canceled its planned exhibition honoring fashion designer John Galliano after controversy about his past racist and antisemitic behavior. Although Galliano has returned to the fashion world and worked with notable brands, the museum chose not to grant him a major cultural honor at this time.
Key Facts
The Met was scheduled to hold a John Galliano retrospective exhibit in May 2027.
Galliano was convicted in 2011 for making antisemitic and racist remarks.
After his conviction, Galliano went to rehab, apologized, and resumed work in fashion.
He has spent a decade at Maison Margiela and recently partnered with Zara.
The Met planned the exhibition to show both Galliano’s achievements and his past misconduct.
New York City officials and others criticized the museum’s decision to honor him.
The Met eventually canceled the exhibit, signaling limits to public forgiveness.
The cancellation reflects a distinction between commercial success and full cultural acceptance.
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Nara Organics recalled its baby formula in the U.S. after a botulism outbreak linked to American dairy suppliers. The company will resume selling the formula using European dairy sources and stricter safety testing following FDA and CDC investigations.
Key Facts
Nara Organics recalled its Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula in June due to possible botulism contamination.
Four children in Pennsylvania, California, and Washington became sick and were hospitalized during the outbreak.
The FDA and CDC investigated the outbreak and declared it over after linking the illness to milk supplied by U.S. dairy sources.
Nara Organics stopped using American dairy suppliers in April 2025 and will use dairy from the European Union going forward.
The company will apply more thorough testing for botulism bacteria in future products.
The recalled formula had best-by dates ending in 2027 and was sold in major stores like Target and online.
FDA advises consumers to throw away any recalled formula and clean all feeding equipment carefully.
Nara Organics said it plans to bring its formula back to the U.S. market with improved safety measures.
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Putting $150,000 into a 1-year certificate of deposit (CD) can earn about 4.2% to 4.3% interest over the next year. This means savers could make between $6,300 and $6,450 in interest while keeping their original money safe.
Key Facts
A 1-year CD offers fixed interest rates currently between 4.20% and 4.30%.
Depositing $150,000 at 4.20% would earn $6,300 after one year.
At 4.25%, the same deposit would earn $6,375, and at 4.30%, $6,450.
These rates have increased from about 4.10% earlier in May.
There is a chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again in September, which might increase CD rates.
Early withdrawal from a CD may cause penalties, making it important to plan to keep the money in until maturity.
CDs provide a fixed rate of return, which can be safer compared to variable interest savings accounts or investments.
Many online platforms allow easy comparison of CD rates and terms.
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A debt judgment can limit a creditor’s ability to collect money after it expires, but the process varies by state and type of judgment. Creditors may renew judgments before they expire to extend their power to collect, and expired judgments do not always erase the debt itself.
Key Facts
Total household debt in the U.S. reached $18.8 trillion in the second quarter of this year.
A debt judgment stays enforceable for years and can affect borrowers long after the original debt was due.
When a debt judgment expires, creditors usually lose the right to collect through court actions like wage garnishment or bank levies.
The length of time a judgment is enforceable depends on state law and the type of judgment; some last 10 years or more.
Creditors can often renew judgments before they expire to keep collecting, following state rules and deadlines.
Renewed judgments may include added interest and collection costs, increasing the amount owed.
Expiration of a judgment doesn’t always remove the debt obligation or clear liens on property.
Borrowers should check court records and state laws to understand if a judgment is still active or has been renewed.
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