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Walmart says retail giant and AI shopping assistant aren’t using personal information to set prices
Walmart is aiming to assuage customers’ fears about its new pricing technology as it rolls out digital price labels at its stores.
In a statement posted on the company’s website, Walmart Inc.’s CEO John Furner vowed that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer isn’t using personal information like income, shopping history or a customer’s willingness to pay to set prices, and it won’t be doing so in the future either.
“We don’t set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won’t,” Furner wrote Friday. “Whether you’re buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it’s never a reason to charge you more.”
The pledge from Walmart comes as concerns are mounting from some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers skeptical about the rollout of digital price labels by the discounter and other stores. Digital price labels are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at U.S. supermarkets and let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand.
Furner noted that Walmart is also holding its artificial intelligence shopping assistant Sparky to the same promise and won’t be using the bot to raise a customer’s price or hide lower-priced options that meet their needs.
Furner said such practices would violate the company’s “every day low prices” business model.
He also noted that prices can change: Walmart lowers them when it can pass savings along, or sometimes raises them because an item costs more to buy or to transport, he said.
Walmart said in March that 2,300 Walmart U.S. locations already use digital shelves, and it expects this technology to be chain-wide within the next year.
Walmart executives have repeatedly said it uses electronic shelf price tags to help the retailer change prices consistently and match what rings up at checkout. It also saves workers time and reduces labor costs by replacing paper tags.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission said that it’s putting companies on notice that the practice of personalizing pricing could violate consumer protection laws. The agency said it does not have the legal authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances, but it issued a new bulletin that warned companies that they must disclose to customers how the personal information is being used to set a price.
The U.S. may soon receive $600 million worth of Iranian oil that was seized earlier in the war
Three oil tankers linked to Iran have been gradually making their way toward the U.S. after being seized by naval forces when President Donald Trump first imposed a blockade on the regime.
The Tifani and Majestic X are now off the coast of Brazil after they were boarded in the Indian Ocean in April, according to Bloomberg. A third ship, known as the Lenore as well as the Davina, just cleared the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and is headed west into the Atlantic after being interdicted in the Indian Ocean in June.
All three tankers are very large crude carriers, which can each hold 2 million barrels of crude. Brent futures are currently trading at about $106 per barrel.
“Nearly six million barrels (valued at nearly $600M) of seized Iranian crude oil are quietly crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards the United States of America,” Tanker Trackers posted on X on Wednesday.
The U.S. initiated its naval blockade in April, targeting ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports. It also applied to Iran-linked vessels anywhere in the world, including the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
After a brief ceasefire lifted the blockade over the summer, Trump reimposed it weeks later as he pivot toward economic warfare and away from bombs.
Meanwhile, the legal channel the administration is using to seize the tankers and enforce forfeiture is known as prize law and has its roots in the Middle Ages.
Unlike civil seizure laws that require the U.S. government to identify a statutory violation and establish jurisdiction, prize law doesn’t require a captor to have a warrant or tie a vessel’s seizure to a violation of an existing statute.
Rather than law enforcement authorities like the Coast Guard having to seize a vessel under civil seizure laws, the Defense Department can seize an enemy vessel instead.
In the U.S., prize law appears in the Constitution, which outlines rules for capturing and confiscating enemy vessels during times of war in its Captures Clause. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln used the Prize Act of 1812 to blockade Confederate seaports. That law was most recently invoked during the Spanish-American War.
If the tankers carrying the Iranian oil do end up at a U.S. port, it would likely be along the Texas coast, which is home to top refiners and the Houston-based U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
The office, headed by Aaron Reitz, told Bloomberg it’s ready to represent the U.S. “in adjudicating prizes” brought to Texas through federal courts.
In a statement last month to Fortune’s Sasha Rogelberg, Reitz did not specify if the Justice Department will invoke the Prize Act of 1812, the Captures Clause, or another law.
“Our national security interests may require the United States military to seize vessels or cargo supporting the enemy during military conflict. If that happens, our federal courts must be ready to adjudicate the disposition of these captured vessels and cargo,” he said. “Prize law is an ancient body of maritime law—already codified in statute but which we are now reviving—that sets the rules for how seized maritime property is condemned, returned, or disposed of.”
Shielded Bitcoin : A Zcash Style Privacy Layer Without Changing BTC Transaction Rules
A New York cryptography research group has outlined a way to hide Bitcoin payment details on the base chain itself, without asking miners or node operators to adopt a protocol upgrade.
The design, called Shielded Bitcoin, comes from [alloc] init researchers Clara Shikhelman, Mikhail Komarov, and Aleksei Moskvin.
It borrows the encrypted-note model made familiar by Zcash, then parks that model on Bitcoin as it exists today.Bitcoin’s ledger is public by design.
Amounts, timing, and links between spends are visible, and wallets can often be tied to people or firms.
That transparency is a feature for auditability and a liability for treasuries, trading desks, and anyone who wants to move value without broadcasting a full financial trail.
Soft-fork proposals that would bake stronger privacy into consensus have not landed.
Shielded Bitcoin tries a different route: treat Bitcoin as a bulletin board that stores and orders encrypted bytes it cannot read.Inside the system, value lives in notes—small encrypted records that hold an amount and a way for the owner to claim it.
Those notes never appear in readable form on chain.
When Alice pays Bob, she creates an encrypted note only Bob can open, then publishes a transfer as ordinary Bitcoin data.
The payload includes the encrypted outputs, a one-time serial number (a nullifier) for each note she is spending, and a compact zero-knowledge proof.
The proof asserts that the spent notes exist, that she is authorized to spend them, and that incoming and outgoing amounts balance—without revealing which notes or how much they contain.
Independent indexer software watches the chain, checks each proof, and rejects reused nullifiers.
Anyone can rerun the same checks from published history.
No indexer, miner, or observer can spend another user’s notes.
Spending authority stays with the user’s spending key.
Separate viewing keys can detect incoming payments or recover outgoing history, which allows selective disclosure to an accountant or counterparty without handing over the ability to move funds.
What remains public is limited but real.
Outsiders can see that a shielded transfer happened, when it happened, how many notes were consumed and created, the fee, and the carrier Bitcoin transaction.
They cannot see amounts, the shielded sender and recipient, or which prior notes were spent.
The team is clear that a recognizable wallet paying the publication fee can still leak who posted the envelope.
The authors contrast the design with CoinJoin, PayJoin, and Silent Payments, which still leave amounts and much of the transaction graph visible, and with Zcash itself, which runs its own chain.
They also distinguish it from client-side-validation systems that keep proofs off-chain and risk loss of private data.
Shielded Bitcoin publishes enough on Bitcoin that a wallet can later reconstruct state from its keys and the public history.Important work remains unfinished.
Peg-in and peg-out—moving ordinary bitcoin into the private pool and back out—are reserved for a companion paper based on the group’s PIPEs research, which uses witness encryption so that no operator ever holds user funds. The current paper does not claim that entry and exit will be private.
Other caveats include a trusted setup for the Groth16 proofs used in the reference profile, a larger on-chain footprint (on the order of four times a typical payment), and the usual anonymity-set limits: unusual amounts, timing, and thin usage can still shrink privacy.
The proposal is research, not a live product. If it holds up under review, it would let users keep bitcoin’s settlement and security while moving value with far less public metadata—without a soft fork, federation, or bridge operator.
Philadelphia Fed chief signals more tightening as inflation stays sticky
The broader economy, she argued, offers the Fed room to act. The unemployment rate sits at 4.1%, a level she described as consistent with maximum employment.
Real consumption grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in the second quarter of 2026, and the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s GDPNow model was pointing to above-4% growth in the third quarter.
The labor market has broadened, with total job gains averaging 74,000 per month over the summer.
Meanwhile, another Fed rate hike before the end of 2026 is a “reasonable” expectation, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Thursday, though he declined to say whether it will come in October.
Other officials have said similar things. Fed Governor Michael Barr said Wednesday that “further policy adjustments are likely to be needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion.”
Business Management Course details | BBA | BBM | BBS | BMS
Welcome to our short tutorial on business management courses! In this video, we’ll provide an overview of the undergraduate programs available in the field of business management, including BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration), BBM (Bachelor of Business Management), BBS (Bachelor of Business Studies), and BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies).
source
New Senate Bill Would Give First-Time Homebuyers $5 For Every $1 They Save
Key Points
- A $5 match for every $1 saved: Sen. Jeff Merkley’s Homeownership Promise Act would give first-time homebuyers up to $50,000 from HUD on top of $10,000 they save themselves, for as much as $60,000 at closing.
- Limits on who and what qualifies: Buyers must be 18 or older, have never owned a home and finish HUD-approved housing counseling. The home can’t cost more than the area’s median single-family price, and the bill sets no income limit.
- Still a long shot: The bill has two Democratic sponsors and no dollar figure or cost estimate. It needs Republican support to move in the Senate before the 119th Congress ends in January 2027.
Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced the Homeownership Promise Act (PDF File) on September 23, 2026, a bill that would have the federal government match first-time homebuyers’ down payment savings at a 5-to-1 rate. A saver who puts away the $10,000 maximum would receive up to $50,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for a combined $60,000 at closing. Sen. Ron Wyden is the lone cosponsor, according to Merkley’s announcement.
The new Homeownership Promise Accounts would function as savings accounts with a large federal grant paid out on purchase day. The concept resembles the match Foyer offers on home down payment savings and the $1,000 federal Saver’s Match coming to retirement accounts in 2027, but at a far larger multiple.
The bill defines an “eligible family” as one or two first-time buyers, so a couple buying together would share one account and one $60,000 cap rather than each opening their own (another marriage penalty).
Would you like to save this?
Why It Matters
The typical first-time buyer is now 40 years old, the oldest on record, and first-time buyers accounted for just 21% of purchases (a historic low) according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Merkley’s stated goal is a credible path to a modest home by age 30. Younger buyers carrying student loan debt face a second squeeze, since student loan payments count against your debt-to-income ratio when a lender figures out how much mortgage you can qualify for.
The dollar amounts show why a 5-to-1 match is the right fit. The median existing-home price was $429,100 in August 2026, and NAR reports first-time buyers put down a median 10%, or about $42,900 at that price. A maxed-out $60,000 account would cover that with room to spare, equal to roughly 14% of the median home.
Building the same balance alone in a high-yield savings account would take most young households years longer.
The Details
Here’s how the accounts would work:
- Eligibility: One or two first-time homebuyers age 18 or older who have never owned a principal residence and have completed a HUD-approved housing counseling program.
- Home price cap: The purchase price, excluding closing costs, can’t exceed the median single-family price for the area as determined by HUD.
- Income limits: None appear in the bill text (this is rare).
- Where accounts live: Any participating Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which must pay interest comparable to its unrestricted savings accounts. Many CDFIs are credit unions.
- Contribution caps: $10,000 combined from personal, employer, and nonprofit sources, plus up to $50,000 in federal matching funds.
- What gets matched: The bill ties the 5x grant to personal contributions only. Employer and nonprofit money counts toward the $10,000 cap but, as written, doesn’t draw its own match. A worker whose employer chips in $4,000 could personally save $6,000 and collect $30,000 in federal funds.
- Emergency access: Savers can withdraw their own contributions at any time, for any reason, in any amount. The summary adds that matching grants would pay out only after the full contribution balance is restored.
- Payout timing: HUD’s grant executes at the closing settlement, and up to two eligible families can apply their accounts to the same purchase.
How This Connects
Congress has floated several first-time buyer proposals this year. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced in August would let savers pull up to $35,000 tax-free from a 529 plan for a first home, provided the account has been open at least 15 years.
Current law already permits a $10,000 penalty-free IRA withdrawal for a first home purchase, though that option requires having retirement savings to tap in the first place.
Merkley’s approach stands apart because it adds new federal dollars rather than unlocking tax breaks on money families already saved, putting it closer to the $1,000 Trump Account deposit for newborns than to a deduction.
Housing has been a long-running focus for Merkley, who ran Portland Habitat for Humanity before entering the Senate. His office credits him with the predatory mortgage ban in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and with the hedge fund single-family home purchase ban in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which recently became law.
What’s Next
The bill is still just a proposal. It only has on cosigner and there’s no indication the Republican-controlled committee will even consider it. Without consideration, the proposal would expire when the 119th Congress ends in January 2027.
Until then, buyers can estimate how much house they can afford using savings they control today.
Editor: Colin Graves
The post New Senate Bill Would Give First-Time Homebuyers $5 For Every $1 They Save appeared first on The College Investor.
Butler National Corp director Joseph Daly buys $16,400 in shares
Butler National Corp director Joseph Daly buys $16,400 in shares
Costco Costs More Than $920 a Share. Here’s Why I’d Still Buy One.
It’s not just Costco‘s (COST +2.93%) packaged merchandise trading in large sizes. The leading warehouse club operator also has a bulk-size price. Costco closed at $922.77 on Friday. Don’t let the large price dissuade you.
You would need to shell out more than $92,000 to buy a round lot of Costco, but don’t let the steep potential cover charge dissuade you. Your broker may offer fractional shares, but even if that’s not the case, a single share for a little more than $920 could set you up nicely for the years ahead.
Image source: Getty Images.
A real deal
Here’s the deal. Costco stock may seem pricey, but it’s actually trading 2% lower than it was a year ago. This is opportunity knocking, even if you’re not a card-carrying member of the warehouse club chain. Costco is still growing.
Revenue has increased 10% over the past year, while the bottom line has risen even faster. Its latest quarterly update — announced late last week — was another earnings beat, even if you back out some coffer-padding tariff refunds.
Today’s Change
(2.93%) $26.29
Current Price
$922.77
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$409BMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.
Day’s Range
$883.10 – $925.14
52wk Range
$844.06 – $1096.50
Volume
4.6M
Avg Vol
2.2M
Gross Margin
13.41%
Dividend Yield
0.60%
Costco has traditionally been a low-beta stock, holding up well during market setbacks given its somewhat recession-resistant value proposition. Beyond the dividend that it has increased for 22 consecutive years, it should also announce a larger special distribution later this year.
Add it all up, and Costco is a quality stock worth owning. Your next $1,000 to invest can be put to work on buying 100 shares or more of a speculative stock trading in the single digits, but a single share of Costco could be the better investment.
Rick Munarriz has positions in Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Hilton Honors Could Be Adding a New “Black Diamond” Elite Tier
Hilton Honors Adding “Black Diamond” Elite Status?
Hilton Honors might have another elite tier in the works. “Black Diamond” has reportedly appeared in internal Hilton training materials, positioned above the recently launched Diamond Reserve tier.
The reported hierarchy, first shared by Loyalty Lobby, shows Black Diamond at the very top, followed by The Honors Society, then Diamond Reserve, Lifetime Diamond and Diamond.
There aren’t many details beyond that. Hilton hasn’t officially announced Black Diamond, and we don’t know the qualification requirements, benefits, or whether it would even be a publicly attainable status.
The Honors Society tier isn’t entirely a secret anymore. Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta was asked about the rumored invite-only status earlier this year. He didn’t confirm it, but suggested there could eventually be something beyond Diamond Reserve.