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- Clark Biweekly 4 17 25
Clark Biweekly 4 17 25
Anthony Hazzard
April 17, 2025
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💵 Today’s Top Stories
 | “Luxury” and “air mattress” don’t usually go together, but this one’s 18 inches off the ground, includes a headboard and costs less than $70. Check out this beautiful 12-piece dinner set plus more. Read more. |
 | The average used car has fallen less than 1.5% in the last five months. But used EVs have fallen between 15 and 20% in the last six months, filling the list of used cars with the largest price decreases. Read more. |
 | Are you tired of constant price hikes, but Verizon’s coverage works well for you? Find out how you can get Verizon’s comprehensive cell service for as little as $10 a month. Read more. |
 | Investing is normally a long game where you can shrug off temporary losses. But what if you just retired or are about to retire? What do you do then to soften the blow of a market downturn? Read more. |
 | Taking full advantage of your credit card rewards can become a part-time job. But Clark teaches you how to get more out of your rewards without too much work. Read more. |
💻️ Tech Tip From Kim Komando
Ticket to scam: Boarding passes display your full legal name, ticket number and passenger name record. That six-digit code plus your last name gives anyone access to your booking info online (think email, phone number and address), and they can even change or cancel your flight. Do not post photos of your boarding passes on social! Join 575K people who get tech smart with my friend Kim Komando’s free newsletter, The Current.
🏦 Stock Market Volatility Enriches Big Banks
The month of April has been one of the most volatile for U.S. equities – ever.
April 4-10 featured four of the five and five of the 10 biggest Dow Jones Industrial Average intraday swings of all-time (2020 after the onset of COVID-19 dominates the list as well).
The winners in the midst of all of this tariff-related uncertainty? Well, for one, the big banks.
Goldman Sachs reported revenue Monday with profits up 17% and revenue up 10% year-over-year in Q1. And that’s not including the month of April.
The uncertainty has not been good for a core part of Goldman’s business – lucrative mergers and IPOs (initial public offerings), which have slowed to a crawl.
But its equities trading revenue rose 27% vs. Q1 of last year. JPMorgan Chase (+48%) and Morgan Stanley (+45%) reported even bigger increases.
It’s a good time to remind you that Clark almost always recommends forging ahead with a dollar-cost averaging strategy even in volatile times (rather than panic selling). He also strongly advises against investing through banks and insurance companies, which charge exorbitant fees in an era where cheap or free investment companies are plentiful.
📊 Stat of the Day
🚘️ 19.8%: The share of new auto loans with 84-month (seven-year) terms in Q1. That’s up from 15.8% year-over-year and 13.4% in 2019. Clark says never to take an auto loan longer than 42 months, and here’s why.
💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
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🎙️ Podcast
Consumer advocacy site Elliott.org recently published a wild customer-no service story on Expedia you have to hear to believe. Clark shares what happened and why you need to be careful with AI results. Also, Americans waste 53 pounds of food every year. That adds up to more than $300!
☎️ Need Money Help?
The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.
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