JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon candidly told Bloomberg Business on Monday that banks like his have little choice but to settle with regulators over alleged violations and pay the exorbitant fines. “It’s impossible for a bank to fight the U.S. government,” Dimon says. “What you’re trying to do is minimize the damage to your company as best you can. The alternative would be to go to court—fight in five or six different courts—be dragged through the mud for years and you’ll still end up paying that kind of money.” He added that banks like his can’t afford to take on indictments of a certain sorts. The damage to the company in those circumstances could be so much that go into see regulators saying, “we’d like to settle, please listen to us.”
Vanguard, Fidelity Just Made a Bundle on Weight Watchers
Oprah Winfrey wasn't the only big winner after Weight Watchers' stock doubled on news that she took a 10 percent stake in the company. While Winfrey, who is worth more than $3 billion, made $60 million in just one day, private investment firm Atral, which holds 29.4 million shares - about half of the company's stock - made $186 million. Funds from Fidelity, with 6.1 million shares, and Vanguard, with 1.8 million, are also among the top owners of Weight Watchers stock, so investors there made $38.5 million, and $11.4 million, just by being happy bystanders of the firm's Oprah-sized investment.
Generation Z Poised to Reshape Banking
If new statistics from a TD Bank study are any indication, the next generation will change the banking landscape. The study of 1,500 Americans outlined some key differences in the banking needs of "Generation Z," or consumers aged 17-20 years old. A total of 41 percent of these budding financial consumers consider their bank's mobile app as "essential," while 22 percent of other respondents in the survey feel the same way. Sticking with the mobile revolution, over half use their mobile banking app to check their accounts balances, as compared to 21 percent of other consumers. “The findings about Gen Z in this study validate the growing significance of the mobile channel, and suggest that it will become increasingly valuable to consumers and remain a top priority for banks,” said Ryan Bailey, a spokesperson for TD Bank.
For the first time ever, consumers are spending more at restaurants than grocery stores, according to the Commerce Department. Additionally, J.P. Morgan found in an October survey that its customers were shifting freed-up money from lower gas prices towards restaurants more than groceries. But pre-retirees should be careful about getting too comfortable with continuing this trend in retirement. According to BlackRock, pre-retirees in their mid-50s would need to have saved $64,500 last year to afford going out once a week to a nice restaurant. And that estimate is on the rise. BlackRock says this year, the same retirees would have to save $74,000 to afford their weekly restaurant fix.