If you have broad finance-based skills, but aren’t sure how to apply them to a career, then consider one or even all of the following five career routes.

Modern education has come a long way. For the most part, gone are the days in which a role or industry required a particular education or qualification. Micro-credentials, online courses, part-time courses and even self-taught skills are now being viewed by many organisations and institutions as legitimate forms of upskilling, worthy of getting at the very least an opportunity to interview for a role. 

But when you have a wide range of skills and have participated in a non-traditional form of pre-career education, it can be difficult to know which career avenues your skillset is suited to. With that in mind, SiliconRepublic.com has curated a list of five of the finance and financial infrastructure ecosystem’s most interesting career routes, for professionals and jobseekers alike.

Risk management and compliance

Perhaps unsurprisingly, jobs in risk management and compliance requiring finance skills are becoming increasingly necessary, in a landscape that is undergoing significant global turmoil.

Typically, a degree or specialist qualification is required, and the role might involve managing exposure to risk, analysing likely risks, and devising and implementing strategies to minimise or avoid them. The compliance aspect would involve ensuring that an organisation, institution or client is compliant with local, national and international frameworks and regulations.

Analytics

Financial analysts play a major role in the wider business sector, as they are largely responsible for offering in-depth analysis of the factors dictating the financial marketplace. They also guide financial decision-making in key areas, on behalf of organisations and clients.

Areas covered by a financial analyst include: identifying patterns to evaluate a company’s profitability; liquidity and solvency; investment research; modelling techniques to forecast future financial performance; risk assessment; and communicating findings to clients, among others. 

A bachelor’s degree in a related field such as finance, accounting or economics is typically a requirement; traits to prioritise can include a strong foundation in financial literacy, a key understanding of internal and external markets, a robust ethical framework, and an array of technical skills that enable research, data collection and presentation. 

Forensic accountant

It is the job of a forensic accountant to identify and confirm fraudulent activities, via their own accountancy and research skills. Professionals in this field should have significant interpersonal skills, as they often work hand-in-hand with lawyers, insurance personnel, large-scale organisations, law enforcement and individuals impacted by fraud.

An accountancy degree is required, and additional qualifications in areas such as risk assessment, forecast modelling and compliance would likely give you an edge in a job interview. It is an exciting role for someone looking to spice up their finance career and put their detective and problem-solving skills to the test. In this role, you can’t underestimate the importance of accuracy or persistence.  

Fintech engineer

Fintech engineers are professionals who blend their skills in finance and technology in order to create practical, functional and secure platforms that support financial transactions. Typically, a recruiter or employer might expect a qualification in computer science, software engineering or finance. Must-have skills include: programming across a wide range of languages; significant financial literacy; broad cybersecurity awareness; workflow automation; systems integration; and skills that enable you to work closely with different teams. 

Academic

One of the most important roles within the finance ecosystem – and one that can often be forgotten about when discussing careers in this area – is that played by academics in preparing the fintech and financial infrastructure innovators of the future. A route towards a career in this space is more traditional than others on this list and includes the need for a PhD in a finance-related field, as well as qualifications that encourage teaching and research skills. 

Educators are responsible for mentoring the next generation of experts. As a result, strong interpersonal skills are a must, as is a deep understanding of complex financial systems. Because most academics are involved in research of some kind, professionals in this space should know how to write grant proposals, which also demands knowledge of numerous regulatory and financial frameworks. Public speaking is a must-have skill, and academics must be able to write and present their work in a manner suitable for an academic peer review and wider public consumption. A career in this field, while complicated at points, would arguably never be dull. 

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The back-to-school laptop sales just don’t hit the same this year with price spikes and inventory shortages. You won’t typically find sales at Apple Stores, but there are some deals now for back-to-school shopping — beyond the always-available education discount.

In this week’s episode of One More Thing, embedded below, I explain all the fine print of Apple’s Back to School gift card promotion, which has been extended to Sept. 24. If you’re hoping to take advantage of it, be warned: Apple now requires validation through a portal called Unidays to prove you qualify for the student and educator discount. (Sorry, no more honor system for online shoppers.)

It’s also been hard to find any substantial sales on MacBooks outside of Apple stores. (Costco members get $10 off a MacBook Neo — a savings worth six hot dogs!) So it’s time to turn to a little-known corner of the Apple Store: Certified Refurbished Products.

Apple’s refurbished products can save you up to 15% from the list price. These are cleaned, tested and also include a one‑year warranty with accessories and cables repackaged in a brand‑new box. The MacBook Neo is sold refurbished and is listed at $599, which happens to be the same price you’d get with an education discount.

I mean it’s either that, or become president of my kid’s school PTA to get the educator discount. Buying refurbished seems like the better choice.

For more One More Thing, subscribe to our YouTube page to catch Bridget Carey breaking down the latest Apple news and issues every Friday.

Bridget Carey

Editor at Large

Bridget Carey is an award-winning consumer technology reporter and host of the weekly Apple show, “One More Thing.”

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For ‘particularly sensitive’ drones, such as those over 25kg, those with docking stations, or those with thermal imaging capabilities, the tariffs are 100%.

GLM-5.3 scores 84.5pc on CyberGym, ahead of Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol.

Chinese AI company Z.ai has unveiled its latest open-weights model – GLM-5.3 – whose performance, it says, rivals that of OpenAI and Anthropic newest frontier launches – marking the latest in the ever-escalating battle between US and Chinese companies for AI dominance.

The new model makes a significant leap in capability compared to its predecessor GLM-5.2, which launched just months ago in June.

GLM-5.3 is “much better” at complex coding and long-horizon tasks, Z.ai said, boasting a 50pc improvement from the older version in its in-house code benchmarks.

The company plans to release GLM-5.3’s weights in two weeks’ time, after wrapping up safety evaluation and hardening.

“[GLM-5.3] delivers markedly stronger agentic coding results than GLM-5.2 at every effort level while consuming fewer output tokens,” Z.ai said.

GLM-5.3 also proves significantly more capable at exploiting vulnerabilities, scoring 84.5pc on CyberGym, above Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol.

“We expected this to make the model better at finding and reasoning about vulnerabilities. What surprised us was how quickly the capability continued to develop as training scaled,” Z.ai said.

Despite its lofty claims about the new model, the Hong Kong-listed company’s shares slid nearly 4pc at market close today (14 August).

“This firm remains on a completely unsustainable commercial footing,” intelligence analyst Robert Lea told Bloomberg. “Rising agentic AI will drive Z.ai’s inference costs and losses higher.”

Chinese-made models are increasingly offering models at par with its American counterparts at cheaper prices, in spite of the heavy constraints around chip exports into the country. Last month, Z.ai completed the construction of a data centre where has installed at least 10,000 Chinese-made chips to help develop its GLM line of models.

Other frontier models from China, including Moonshot’s latest Kimi model, DeepSeek’s V4 models and Alibaba’s Qwen series, have all ranked high in benchmarks.

The Beijing-based start-up went public in January this year, raising funds at a market capitalisation of nearly $7bn.

Shares at the company surged 2,000pc in June following the launch of GLM-5.2, taking Z.ai’s valuation to $128bn. Though that has since fallen to $75bn.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

For 28 days, Keshav had a new item on his daily to-do list: masturbate for research purposes.

Both before and after self-pleasuring, he logged his mood, energy levels, cravings for various vices, and whether he was procrastinating.

Keshav was taking part in AI companion company Joi AI’s experiment assessing what happens if erotic self-stimulation becomes “an AI-guided wellness ritual.” Throughout July, 10 “masturbation consultants” were instructed to masturbate every day except Sundays, enlisting Joi AI’s sultry digital companions twice a week and using their own preferred methods the rest of the time. “It’s almost like you are chatting with a real person,” says Keshav, a single, 38-year-old Indonesian trader, who did not want to use his surname for professional reasons.

Joi AI invites users, for a fee, to chat and play with premade characters or to create their own companions, including with X-rated kinks such as blackmail fantasy, gangbangs, and emotional dependency, and capabilities and functions like squirting and roleplay.

During five-minute video calls with the digitized characters, Keshav explains, his female companions opened and closed their nude legs to reveal their genitals and would “do blowjobs and handjobs” while talking dirty. He often rendered the scenes in airplane bathrooms because he has a mile-high-club kink.

Some of the companions were “quite pushy and extroverted,” whereas others were more reserved and required a degree of courtship before the relationship became sexual—even soliciting gifts like handbags and lipstick, which cost up to $5 in the platform’s internal currency.

After ejaculating, Keshav’s “energy levels [were] a little bit down, but focus was a little bit up,” he says.

Keshav and his nine fellow masturbation consultants will receive $2,000 each for the qualitative, in-house research project run by Joi AI, which is promoting a daily guided “jerk off with purpose” masturbation tool combining “sound [and] ritual” as part of its professed goal to “solve male loneliness.” Of the 10, six completed the study. The website costs a minimum of $3.99 a month to access, but users are likely to spend far more on the platform, with 10,000 “Joi neuron” coins costing $99.99 and private videos from companions costing 1,000 neurons.

Joi AI surveyed 2,500 adults before launching the study, finding that 75 percent masturbate to reduce stress and anxiety and that 43 percent self-pleasure before “a big event,” like a date, exam, or difficult conversation. The company sought to discover how masturbation affects sleep, stress, craving intensity, focus, and ease of arousal—and how masturbating with AI held up versus other methods.

“You get this boost of dopamine when you ejaculate,” says Julie Levin, head of brand and communications at Joi AI. “We wanted our consultants to track whether their cravings [for vices] are worse or better and how it affects their self-discipline.”

Preliminary analysis of 134 masturbation session reports, seen by WIRED, suggests that participants’ stress levels reduced by 25 percent and focus increased by 17 percent. The pre-research survey suggested that 37 percent of respondents are open to AI-guided masturbation or are already practicing it. In the masturbation experiment, AI-guided self-pleasure produced comparable satisfaction scores to the established methods. “The study found no significant differences between the methods; so there is no one best way to masturbate,” the company said in the report.

It also indicated that the study group’s self-reported cravings for nicotine, alcohol, junk food, and doomscrolling reduced by 44 percent after they had masturbated. “Masturbation may be the most accessible tool people have for managing addictions,” the report said—a claim that is not based in science.

“The fact that their unhealthy cravings decreased feels like a genuine breakthrough to me: What if this is an unexpected way to tackle addictions?” Levin says. “Masturbation is obviously way healthier than alcohol or nicotine.”

Keychron has built a 100-key macro pad for anyone who has ever looked at a keyboard and wished none of its buttons had jobs yet. The Keychron C100 8K costs $64.99 and presents a 10-by-10 grid with no letters, numbers, or commands assigned.

Four corner keys are reserved for lighting controls and can’t be remapped, leaving 96 programmable positions. That’s still nearly an entire full-size mechanical keyboard devoted to shortcuts, except nobody has decided what any of them should do.

How much can you program

The C100 8K supports QMK and the browser-based Keychron Launcher, letting owners assign individual commands or longer macros. Per-key RGB can separate the grid into visual groups, which may help when every transparent keycap otherwise looks identical.

Keychron also gives it an 8K polling rate, although that specification feels more useful on a competitive gaming keyboard than a giant shortcut board. The pre-lubed Apex Red switches are hot-swappable, so owners can replace them without soldering if 100 matching switches somehow aren’t enough customization.

Who needs 96 extra buttons

Most people absolutely don’t need this. The C100 8K makes more sense as an inexpensive substitute for a specialized control panel. A video editor could dedicate sections to common tools, while a flight-sim enthusiast could map cockpit controls without buying a purpose-built button box.

The blank design creates work for its owner. Without legends or tiny displays identifying each command, complicated layouts will require a strong memory, custom labels, or carefully organized RGB colors. A personalized console sounds wonderful until you forget which anonymous square mutes the microphone.

What does $65 leave out

The C100 8K is wired-only, and its square plastic body measures nearly 7.75 inches along each side. It will claim a noticeable patch of desk space before the regular keyboard, mouse, and other accessories arrive.

Keychron’s official store currently lists the macro pad as backordered, with no firm shipping date. Anyone wanting wireless connectivity or a ready-made layout should look elsewhere. For people who already know exactly what they’d assign to 96 keys, however, $65 makes this wonderfully ridiculous control panel surprisingly easy to justify.

Following its CES 2026 preview in January, LG has officially launched the xboom Blast, a portable Bluetooth party speaker built for beach days, camping trips, backyard gatherings, and other places where a power outlet might be difficult to find.

The xboom Blast joins LG’s 2026 xboom by will.i.am lineup alongside the Stage 501, Mini, and Rock. Rather than simply functioning as a smaller version of the Stage 501, the Blast has a different mission: the Stage 501 emphasizes parties, live-performance-style use, and AI-powered karaoke, while the Blast trades some of that functionality for portability, weather resistance, and significantly longer battery life. LG says the Blast will begin rolling out in select global markets in August 2026, with additional markets to follow later in the year.

AI still plays a substantial role. The 2026 xboom lineup incorporates AI Sound, which analyzes content and adjusts EQ automatically, while the Blast and Stage 501 also support Space Calibration Pro to adapt playback to their surroundings. LG’s broader xboom by will.i.am platform also integrates FYI.RAiDiO, giving listeners access to ten AI Personas and DJs, two-way conversational interaction, real-time music curation, and location-aware personalization through the dedicated MY Button or FYI.RAiDiO app.

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Features, Design, and Key Specifications

The xboom Blast is designed to provide a music listening experience that complements beach days, camping trips, poolside gatherings, and backyard parties, combining powerful sound, long-lasting reliability, and intelligent audio technologies in a durable, portable design. The xboom Blast expands LG’s growing party speaker lineup with a model designed specifically for outdoor use.

Featuring a 99-watt swappable battery with up to 36 hours of battery life on a full charge and IP68-rated environmental protection, the LG xboom Blast combines powerful, reliable audio, portability, and durability to help users enjoy immersive sound across a wide range of outdoor environments.

Big Sound for Any Party, Indoors or Out

At the heart of the Blast is xboom Signature Sound, tuned by will.i.am. The xboom Blast fills large spaces with rich, immersive sound designed for parties and gatherings.

The xboom Blast combines two 5.25-inch neodymium woofers for deep bass with two 20-millimeter tweeters for crisp highs. Combined, the woofer and tweeter configuration is designed to provide a balanced, full-range audio listening experience. The woofers and tweeters are supplied by Danish audio brand Peerless.

Users can stream their favorite music wirelessly via Bluetooth or connect through USB-C for high-fidelity wired playback.

Intelligent Audio 

Outdoor environments and social gatherings present different acoustic conditions. To support the best possible listening experience, the xboom Blast provides several practical features.

• AI Sound analyzes music and other audio content in real time and automatically adjusts sound settings to optimize playback, minimizing the need for manual adjustments.
• Space Calibration Pro automatically adapts sound output based on the surrounding environment.
• Sound Field Enhance expands the perceived soundstage for a more immersive listening experience.
• AI Lighting synchronizes the speaker’s Dual Ring Lighting Effects with different genres, moods, and playlists to create a more engaging party atmosphere.
• Auracast enables multiple compatible speakers to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth, extending sound coverage for shared listening experiences at larger gatherings.

Easy Outdoor Portability

Inspired by duffel bags, the xboom Blast features a dual-fabric handle for easy portability and a vertical rope handle for upright placement. The vertical rope handle also supports vertical carrying, providing added flexibility when moving the speaker between outdoor locations such as the beach or a campsite.

The xboom Blast has been recognized with a 2026 Red Dot Design Award; the speaker combines practical portability with a unique visual identity inspired by outdoor lifestyles.

A durable fabric exterior and protective side bumpers provide added flexibility for horizontal or vertical placement when setting up the speaker in different spaces.

2026 LG XBOOM Comparison

The Bottom Line 

The LG xboom Blast enters a very crowded portable party-speaker market, but it has more than flashing lights and a celebrity name going for it. Up to 36 hours of battery life, IP68 protection, a replaceable battery, 210W of output on battery power, USB-C audio, and automatic room and outdoor sound calibration give it a compelling combination of power, durability, and portability. What it lacks is the Stage 501’s karaoke focus and microphone-oriented features, which may matter to buyers who want their speaker to double as a portable PA system.

Its most obvious rival is the JBL Boombox 4, which offers IP68 protection, Auracast, USB-C lossless playback, a replaceable battery, and up to 34 hours of playback. The Sony ULT FIELD 7 adds karaoke and microphone support with up to 30 hours of battery life, while the less expensive Soundcore Boom 2 Plus counters with 140W output, IPX7 protection, 20-hour battery life, and support for linking more than 100 compatible speakers. LG has plenty of competition here, but the Blast brings enough of its own ideas to avoid looking like another Bluetooth boombox with lights stuck on the front.

Price & Availability

LG xboom Blast is available now for $499.99 at Amazon.

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The vinyl renaissance is still going strong, and there’s no shortage of ways to get your fix. Whether you’re after a budget turntable to get started, modern extras like USB and Bluetooth streaming, vintage style, or high performance playback, there’s a growing list of options to fit your needs and budget.

Then there are models like TEAC’s TN-400BT-X manual belt-drive turntable that aim to offer a taste of all of it at an attainable price point. Its retro-modern plinth looks sharp, especially in the Special Edition Turquoise Blue I reviewed, AKA the TN-400BT-X/TB (it also comes in Walnut), while touches like machined-aluminum switches, a solid built-in preamp, and Bluetooth support with the latest aptX codecs provide equal parts usability and versatility.

The TN-400BT-X combines retro-modern styling, a built-in phono preamp, USB output, and Bluetooth connectivity in a package designed for listeners who want more flexibility than a traditional entry-level turntable provides. It may not be the last turntable you ever buy, but it offers an appealing mix of style, convenience, and performance for the money.

Setup Is Fast, but There’s One Catch

Setting up a turntable can be as daunting as it is satisfying, like solving a puzzle you get to play with afterward. As the easiest turntable I’ve set up yet, the TN-400BT-X is more like a maze without any false paths. Pulling away the foam reveals a nearly fully assembled table, right down to the pre-attached dust cover.

The only real difficulty comes in adding the diecast aluminum platter, or rather the belt that drives it. For starters, the instructions don’t mention that the rubber belt is already wrapped around the platter’s bottom edge, so I spent longer than I care to admit looking for it among the accessories.

More notably, you’ve got to connect the belt to the drive motor with the platter attached, requiring you to slip your fingers nimbly through a hole at the platter’s edge and loop the flat belt around without twisting it. I got it after a few tries, but those with bigger fingers may find it a tougher chore.

One other part that gave me some trouble was locking the proper outlet attachment onto the power supply, which requires aligning it with a retractable hinge that feels like it’s going to snap. It didn’t, and I appreciate TEAC’s inclusion of multiple options to fit your region.

After that, simply follow the detailed instructions for attaching the cartridge and counterweight to the aluminum tonearm, remove the stylus cap, and you’re ready to spin.

Retro Style Meets Modern Function

The TN-400BT-X’s mix of minimalist design and chrome components looks quite good on your console, or, as my wife put it, “cute.” In the case of the Special Edition model, that’s due in no small part to the turquoise lacquer’s surfer-guitar vibe, which offers just the right mix of cheek and style without looking ostentatious.

As slick as it looks, I was surprised by how light the turntable feels compared to step-up models. That goes for both the MDF plinth and the S-shaped aluminum tonearm, which seems to float off the holder as you align the needle. Along with feeling a little chintzy, the lighter base can lead to audible thuds when you close the dust cover or accidentally tap the turntable while the stylus is in the groove.

Otherwise, the table does a good job of resisting skips and pitch fluctuations from scratched, warped, or otherwise imperfect records, and components like the machined-aluminum control dials for playback and record speed feel sharp and sturdy. Speaking of speeds, you’re getting the big three: 33 ⅓, 45, and 78 RPM, which my fancier Orbit Theory reference turntable lacks.

At the TN-400BT-X’s backside is a power/standby key and a switch for the built-in phono preamplifier, which includes a “hi-fi quality” NJM8080 op-amp chip. Hidden below the table’s right flank is a Bluetooth key, which requires a long hold for initial pairing and a tap for subsequent connections. Bluetooth support includes aptX and aptX Adaptive for high-quality streaming with compatible headphones and speakers.

There’s no auto-stop or return, something I would have liked to see in a Bluetooth-ready table at this price point. That means you’ll need to keep track of your records from afar when streaming, especially if you’re using Bluetooth to tap into a multi-room system like Sonos.

Listening

I had the pleasure of auditioning the TN-400BT-X with KEF’s new LS LUXE speakers (review to come), which served as a potent magnifying glass for investigating the table’s interpretation of my catalog. From the first drop in the groove, I was impressed by the deck’s balanced and relatively energetic performance, which was more than enough for a satisfying listening experience with KEF’s latest high-end system.

Starting with my usual entry point, Brubeck’s Take Five, the TEAC provided a smooth touch to Dave’s rapid piano runs, offering enough sparkle to properly represent the higher keys without harshness or sibilance. There was good warmth and definition in the buoyant bass lines and string rattles, along with sweet yet lyrical resonance in Paul Desmond’s sax runs.

Desmond’s breathier lines in songs like “Strange Meadow Lark” don’t have the presence or almost visceral quality you’ll get with higher-end options like the DP-500BT, and I was hoping for more from Joe Morello’s tactile brushwork in the left channel. But moving through the record, it was clear that the turntable’s included Audio-Technica AT95E cartridge remains a ringer at its $60 price point, as it has been for decades.

The same goes for TEAC’s built-in pre-amp, which stood up well to my outboard Rolls VP29 in A/B comparisons. The Rolls offers higher gain and a touch more presence, but it’s also sharper on brighter recordings, and I found myself generally preferring the turntable’s built-in phono stage.

I was still worried my Japanese Beatles pressings might present too much brightness at the instrumental attack, but between TEAC’s restrained treble and KEF’s effortless clarity, there was enough detail to go around without getting aggressive. I heard plenty of textural grit and psychedelic groove in instruments like horns and overdriven guitars, while vocals had solid pop without becoming sibilant.

Bouncing to my reference Orbit Theory put a bit of a damper on the experience, as that table tends to do with most options at its price or below. Everything sounded fuller, richer, more detailed, and more intimate, as if a veil had been lifted. That said, the Theory costs nearly twice as much and doesn’t offer the TEAC’s Bluetooth chops.

Bluetooth Streaming

Going wireless added yet another layer of separation between the speakers and the music. Even so, as mentioned in my DP-500BT review, I’ve come around to the appeal of wireless vinyl, especially as an entry point for a multi-room sound system that can spread your tunes throughout the house. Moreover, if you’ve got a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones with aptX support, you’ll be treated to a refreshingly clean and intimate listening experience.

Connecting my Bowers & Wilkins PX8 S2 headphones, I was pleased to discover plenty of detail in my midrange copy of the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty. Swapping between the wired Luxe speakers and the headphones, the latter barely skipped a beat, showcasing sparkling cymbal work, excellent instrumental separation, especially in the vocals and the album’s rich harmonies, and good dynamic expression between the softer and more keyed-up moments.

The record still sounds more lively and open when played through the wired system, but there’s something to be said for the more intimate presentation you get from a pair of premium ANC Bluetooth headphones.

The Bottom Line

TEAC’s TN-400BT-X turntable is a fine mix of style and substance, especially if you can grab the Special Edition model while available. At $630, you’re paying a premium for both its design and Bluetooth support over similarly appointed wired-only tables from brands like Pro-Ject and U-Turn, but if you’re looking for a deck that balances sound quality, playback options, and fun in equal measure, TEAC’s table walks the line well.

If you’ve got some budget flexibility and prefer a more refined approach, Denon’s DP-500BT is a worthy upgrade. Its higher build quality does a better job of suppressing handling noise when changing records, and its more understated design contrasts nicely with the TEAC’s eye-catching Turquoise Blue finish. Otherwise, the TN-400BT-X’s good looks and versatile performance make it worth considering.

Pros:

• Fast and mostly simple setup
• Balanced, full, and clear performance
• Fun and stylish design
• Solid skip and pitch fluctuation resistance
• Bluetooth with aptX sounds excellent

Cons:

• Plinth and tonearm feel a little chintzy
• Substantial noise when bumping the plinth during playback
• You’re paying a premium for the style and versatility
• Attaching the belt is a pain

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Performance

★★★★★★★★★★ Usability

★★★★★★★★★★ Build Quality

★★★★★★★★★★ Value

Where to Buy

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The Federal Trade Commission recently announced deals with two auto dealers, along with the former general manager of a third, promising not to enforce—or even help enforce—their court-ordered obligations to maintain fair lending programs and not engage in unlawful credit discrimination.

The Northern District of Illinois, which presided over one case, says it was never given the opportunity to evaluate one of the new agreements, and Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes, whose office was a coplaintiff in another of the affected cases, calls the move “outrageous.”

The FTC is doing away with the obligations because the defendants didn’t explicitly instruct its salespeople to treat Black and Latino borrowers differently. Previously, the FTC accused all three of charging people of color more in discretionary markups and add-on fees on average compared to white borrowers. (Disclosure: The author of this article previously worked for the FTC but did not participate in any of the matters mentioned in this article.) In one case, involving a car dealership chain called Passport, the FTC alleged that a financial institution had sent the chain multiple letters notifying it that there were disparities in the markup rates it charged Black borrowers. Attorneys for Passport declined to comment on the agreement.

The FTC and Arizona previously accused Coulter Motor Company and Gregory DePaola, a former general manager at the Phoenix-area auto dealer, of charging Latino customers more in interest and for add-on products, in violation of the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act, among other charges.

DePaola, who did not respond to a request for comment, signed one of the new agreements. Coulter and an attorney that represented both Coulter and DePaola in the 2024 settlement did not respond to requests for comment.

“The FTC and the Attorney General’s Office partnered on this case to ensure Arizonans can purchase cars without being misled or charged more because of their ethnicity,” says Mayes. “I find it appalling that the FTC would backtrack on the settlement and treat its state partners this way, not to mention essentially greenlight discrimination against Arizonans.”

The FTC said in a press release that its past accusations against the defendants were “based on statistical analyses designed to show disparate-impact liability” and that the agency was not going to enforce those types of claims anymore. Disparate-impact discrimination is when a seemingly neutral policy or practice causes disproportionate harm to a protected group, even if that wasn’t the original intent. It stands in contrast to disparate-treatment discrimination, which involves policy intentionally meant to discriminate against a group of people.

“It’s actually a really hard theory where you have to identify a specific policy, prove that it caused a disparity, and then the hardest thing of all is you have to prove that that policy doesn’t serve a legitimate purpose,” says Aaron Rieke, the chief legal engineer at a legal startup called Privlex and a former FTC attorney adviser.

Logan Koepke, a senior project director at Upturn, a nonprofit that researches technology’s impact on civil rights, says that disparate-impact analysis is more important than ever, because AI and other automated decisionmaking systems, which can sometimes take unintended actions, are being used more often to make important decisions like loan eligibility.

Last year, the Trump administration directed the FTC and other agencies to review all past orders and take “appropriate action” in an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” The administration has said that disparate-impact liability “undermines our national values.”

The agreements, which were voted on by the commission in early August but went into effect over half a year prior, in November, are highly unusual. Though the FTC typically has to prioritize some enforcement efforts over others due to resource constraints, by signing and voting out the agreements they essentially delete two sections from each of the orders and potentially make it difficult for future administrations to undo that.