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By CORA LEWIS and LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The vast majority of U.S. adults are at least somewhat stressed about the cost of groceries, a new poll finds, as prices continue to rise and concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs remain widespread.

About half of all Americans say the cost of groceries is a “major” source of stress in their life right now, while 33% say it’s a “minor” source of stress, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only 14% say it’s not a source of stress, underscoring the pervasive anxiety most Americans continue to feel about the cost of everyday essentials.

Other financial stressors — like the cost of housing or the amount of money in their bank accounts — are also broadly felt, but they weigh more heavily on younger Americans, who are less likely than older adults to have significant savings or own property.

The survey also found that about 4 in 10 Americans under age 45 say they’ve used what are known as “buy now, pay later” services when spending on entertainment or restaurant meals or when paying for essentials like groceries or medical care. read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

Tesla is awarding CEO Elon Musk 96 million shares of restricted stock valued at approximately $29 billion, just six months after a judge ordered the company to revoke his massive pay package.

The electric vehicle maker said in a regulatory filing on Monday that Musk must first pay Tesla $23.34 per share of restricted stock that vests, which is equal to the exercise price per share of the 2018 pay package that was awarded to the company’s CEO.

In December Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick reaffirmed her earlier ruling that Tesla must revoke Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. She found that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent.

At the time McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys, who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion. The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million. read more

By Katie Kelton, CCC, Bankrate.com

When it comes to back-to-school shopping, some of us might think fondly of new backpacks and the scent of fresh pencils. But Bankrate’s 2025 Back-to-School Shopping Survey shows others might simply see dollar signs.

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Stubborn inflation continues to change how nearly 1 in 3 back-to-school shoppers (30%) shop, but that percentage has trended down in recent years, perhaps indicating Americans have become more accustomed to paying higher prices.

Ronda Sunderhaus, Bankrate senior account manager in Charlotte, North Carolina, has lengthy back-to-school shopping lists for her three kids. In addition to school supplies, they buy several new outfits, backpacks and lunch boxes — “Those never seem to last when you pack lunch every day of the week,” she says. read more

By Jessica Fu, The Seattle Times

The draw of retiring overseas can be tempting, especially in the face of stubbornly high costs of living throughout the country.

But before you go, experts recommend thorough research and planning. Retiring abroad comes with complications, including lifestyle changes, immigration hurdles and disruptions to health care coverage.

Here are a few critical considerations, according to people who help Americans move abroad.

Map out a long-term plan

Evaluate what moving abroad would mean for your entire life, not just the cost of daily living.

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“You need to think about what’s important to you,” said Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, a magazine about retiring overseas. “What kind of access you’ll have to health care and what the lifestyle is going to be like.” read more

A Hillsborough County circuit judge has ordered state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to stop sending claims disputes to arbitrators employed by the state.

Circuit Judge Melissa Mary Polo said that the plaintiff, Martin A. Alvarez, a Hillsborough resident, demonstrated a “substantial likelihood of success” in his claim that Citizens’ practice of ordering cases to be decided by the Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) violates policyholders’ constitutional rights to fair trials.

Citizens obtained approval in 2022 from the Office of Insurance Regulation, and later from the Florida Legislature, to add a provision to all new and renewing policies that allowed the company to divert claims disputes from the court and into binding arbitration.

Last year, Citizens’ Board of Governors approved paying DOAH $19.3 million to administer the program through 2027.

Policyholders who wanted Citizens coverage were not allowed to refuse the provision.

Since 2024, Citizens moved more than 1,300 claims to the DOAH courts. Prior to July 10, the company prevailed in 47 of 51 cases that advanced to a final hearing. read more