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What if you could finance costly purchases like auto repairs, dental work or contact lenses? That’s the idea Los Angeles-based lending startup Sunbit is banking on.

The company, which has raised $355 million in new debt financing, is targeting brick-and-mortar merchants like car dealership mechanics and dentist offices because it’s a $7 trillion market (as of 2023), and there’s less competition for payment options. Plus, these businesses have loyal customers. “It’s non-discretionary, repeatable business. I call it non-Amazonable,” says cofounder and CEO Arad Levertov.

Sunbit’s loans carry an average interest rate of 20%, a few percentage points below the average credit card interest rate. Still, the consumer lending business isn’t without risk.

Then-President Donald Trump waits to address the crowd during the debut event for the Dreamliner 787-10 at Boeing's South Carolina facilities on February 17, 2017 in North Charleston, South Carolina.

If voters return former President Donald Trump to the White House in tomorrow’s election, embattled plane maker Boeing could face a slew of new problems. Trump has promised to enact sweeping tariffs on imports that would ignite trade wars, which could raise costs and derail overseas sales for Boeing, while the defense budget and arms exports could be threatened.

An outlier poll in Iowa showed Trump lost his lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, and Harris is ahead 47%-44% in the typically red state, according to revered pollster J. Ann Selzer. The poll found politically independent voters, women and older voters are the driving force behind Harris’ rise in Iowa, which could be a bellwether for the rest of the country.

The U.S. labor market grew by much less than expected in October, adding just 12,000 jobs, the last major economic update before Tuesday’s election revealed. It was the weakest month for job growth since December 2020, but several events may have temporarily weighed down the size of the American labor force, including severe weather events like Hurricane Milton and worker strikes, according to two Bank of America economists.

Adam Back, cofounder and CEO of bitcoin technology firm Blockstream, is well-known for having communications with Satoshi Nakamoto before the pseudonymous bitcoin creator wrote his seminal white paper in 2008. In an interview with Forbes, Back says many of the initial regulatory risks around Bitcoin have receded as financial institutions have an interest in expanding and keeping ETFs that........

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