🐤 In the driver's seat?

🏦 Markets: Another interest rate hike is expected this week, but it’s likely to be significantly smaller than those we saw throughout much of 2022. The Federal Reserve will be meeting on Wednesday and is expected to raise the cost of borrowing by another quarter point.

Along with the anticipation of the upcoming Fed news, the latest Big Tech earnings reports put a damper on investor enthusiasm.

The Nasdaq Composite was Monday’s biggest loser, shedding about 2% to start the week. The S&P 500 was down 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.8%.

🏈 Sibling rivalry: The Eagles and Chiefs will square off for Super Bowl LVII and at least one spectator will have a hard time rooting for either team. That’s because Donna Kelce will become the first woman in NFL history to see two sons play on opposite teams in the big game. Jason will be taking the field in an Eagles uniform while Travis will be playing for the Chiefs. Their proud mama is excited to see both of them pursue a championship for the second time in their respective careers — but she admits it’s a pretty strange situation. She explained: “It’s your hopes and dreams coming true, but it’s your worst fears. Somebody is going to go home a loser, and neither one of them lose very well.”

💸 Wanna bet? Each year, Super Bowl bets abound as casual viewers and hardcore gamblers hope to make a profit off of the outcome of the game. This year, however, those who watch just for the ads can get involved in the action by taking part in a joint venture between Molson Coors and DraftKings. For Molson Coors, next month's game will represent the first time it’s been able to advertise during the Super Bowl in more than 30 years due to an agreement signed in 1989. As part of its celebratory return, the beer company that makes Coors Light and Miller Lite is asking fans to predict what will be in its comeback ad. The total prize for “The High Stakes Beer Ad” is $500,000, which will be split between those who accurately guess its contents.

🚘 Model behavior: A pair of automakers have been targeted by a social media trend that has led to rampant vehicle thefts in recent months. Certain models produced by Kia and Hyundai are inherently vulnerable to such crimes — and insurance companies are starting to take notice. According to State Farm and Progressive, certain vehicles from the model years between 2015 and 2019 will no longer be eligible for coverage due to the spike in thefts. In some U.S. cities, the number of Kias and Hyundais stolen has tripled over the course of the past two years. Experts say it is because many of them do not include an anti-theft device known as an immobilizer, which became standard after the 2019 model year and resulted in a steep decline in stolen vehicles.

✨ Honored guests: Each year’s State of the Union address includes a number of special attendees invited by members of Congress — and a couple of individuals stand out on the guest list ahead of President Joe Biden’s speech on Feb. 7. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) invited the parents of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who died days after he was brutally beaten by a group of cops in Memphis, to join him for the address. He said he offered the invitation in part to highlight the “culture of policing, which … has now contributed to countless deaths.” Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) also made headlines for her invited guest. Brandon Tsay is credited with saving untold lives when he disarmed a suspected gunman who killed 11 and left at least nine others injured in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California earlier this month. Hours after Chu offered the invitation, however, Biden himself contacted him and asked him to be a special guest at the presidential address. The lawmaker joked: “I can’t believe you turned me down for the president.”

Throughout the pandemic and related supply chain interruptions, consumers saw the cost of new and used vehicles skyrocket. Although those costs have begun to moderate in recent months, many of the motorists who went into debt to purchase an automobile are now stuck in loan agreements that they can no longer afford.

A variety of causes

As you might imagine, the sluggish economy is to blame for some of this increase in late payments and repossessions. Several industries have seen widespread layoffs recently, which has resulted in acute financial difficulties for those who have lost their jobs.

Another factor is rising interest rates, which the Federal Reserve has authorized in an effort to bring down the inflation rate. This increases the cost of borrowing regardless of a vehicle’s purchase price.

Some people are even voluntarily missing their payments. Being underwater, or owing more on a car than it is worth, is a bad place to be — and it has led some borrowers to simply surrender their vehicles rather than continue to sink money into a losing investment.

It’s all about perspective

While struggling consumers are clearly bearing the brunt of the current economic trends, some people are in niche industries that profit from that pain. Mike Aghyarian, who operates an auto yard in Texas, has seen the number of auto seizures jump from about 500 per month during the pandemic to as many as 1,900 per month now.

As of December, there were nearly 27% more people who were at least two months behind on a car note than there were a year earlier. Financial analyst Greg McBride encourages those in such a situation to contact the lender, who “may have loan modification or other arrangements that could be worked out so you can keep the vehicle.”

TikTok has gotten some negative press recently as U.S. politicians and pundits warn of the potential security risks associated with the social media app’s ties to China. Nevertheless, it has proven to be an invaluable tool for a generation of entrepreneurs and influencers — including one 20-year-old who used the app to help her dad’s fledgling business.

A brief history

It started as a passion project for Jeff Foulk, who had an idea to create a GPS-based app specifically for boaters. He called his creation Argo Navigation and spent countless hours working on it to provide all of the features he wanted it to have and remove any bugs that could impair its functionality. 

“Captain Jeff” is also the proud father of 20-year-old Megan, who agreed to join him on a trip to a boat show about a year ago. While there, she noticed that many of the attendees were bypassing her dad’s booth and leaving without one of his informative brochures.

Inspiration strikes

Like others in her generation, Megan’s first thought was to capture the situation on her phone and post it to TikTok. Her choice in background music — Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” — set the mood for a rather gloomy reception of her father’s painstakingly crafted boating app.

She captioned the video: “Help blow up my dad’s boating app. He’s worked so hard on it and just wants people to try it out.”

Her audience responded, sharing the video with an exponentially larger group of users who downloaded the app en masse and sent Argo Navigation to the top of relevant lists on smartphone app stores.

Captain Jeff wasn’t even on TikTok, but now he sees the power of the platform when combined with the support of his daughter.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better,” he declared.

Although there have been some great advances in medicine over the past several decades, many people who rely on such treatments find it increasingly difficult to afford their prescriptions.

Some of the world’s wealthiest businessmen and companies — most notably billionaire Mark Cuban and retail giant Amazon — are starting to take matters into their own hands.

Here’s the game plan

For Amazon’s part, a new service called RxPass just launched that promises to save consumers a ton of money on a wide variety of prescription drugs. Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company has been around for about a year and offers a similarly discounted selection of generic drugs.

So how do they do it? The primary factor is that neither option allows for insurance. The result is flat-rate pricing that is both transparent and often much cheaper than going through traditional channels.

Here are some stats that showcase the upside of these programs:

• Americans spend an average of $1,300 per year on prescription drugs.
• Cuban’s company offers one leukemia treatment for $47 per month, compared to the nearly $10,000 charged by other companies.
• Millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans can save a ton on certain medicines.

Not everyone is a fan

Although it might sound great on the surface, some people are less than impressed.

For starters, RxPass requires an Amazon Prime subscription and only includes a few dozen drugs. Although Cost Plus has more selection and doesn’t require additional fees, many people say the supposed bargain price isn’t that much of a deal.

Furthermore, consumers in certain states where the service is prohibited — as well as those on Medicare or Medicaid — won’t benefit at all.

In the end, it’s a good idea to do your own research to determine where you can get the best price.