Topic
Gas Prices
Why Your Card's 'Pending' Charge Is Never the Final Amount
A gas station can hold up to $175 on your card before you've filled the tank. A hotel can hold $200 a night before you've ordered room service. Here's why the placeholder outlasts the receipt.
Why Gas Prices Can Differ by $1 Between Stations a Block Apart
Taxes, refinery geography, wholesale contracts and thin margins all stack up before a gallon of gas reaches the pump, which is why identical-looking stations a block apart can charge wildly different prices.
Inflation Hit 4.2% in May, Lifting the 2027 Social Security Raise
May's Consumer Price Index rose 4.2% from a year earlier, the most since 2023. A gasoline surge drove it, and the squeeze lands first on fixed incomes.