Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.
Credit card rewards getting culled
Who can't relate to the pang of frustration from buying something nice and then noticing it's been significantly marked down not long after? You haven't been ripped off just because that laptop or pair of designer jeans is discounted by $78 five weeks later, but the feeling of buyer's remorse is similar.
For many years, credit-card companies like Chase and Citi have offered protection from this consumer headache as one of a handful of complimentary, insurance-like benefits: If you pay with their card, they'll refund you the difference, up to several hundred dollars, if you spot a lower price in following months.
And for many years few people ever took advantage of it. Between monitoring prices, cobbling together the necessary evidence and paperwork, filing the claim, following up, and waiting to eventually collect a check in the mail while your kids grow older and your hair starts to gray, who had the time?
Using price protection was a laborious task to all but the savvy, determined shopper, the type who listens to personal-finance guru Suze Orman while clipping coupons and cataloging receipts.
"Back in the day, when this was first offered and customers had to do the legwork, they didn't bother," an executive at one major card issuer said.
Then, the bots arrived.
Discord at Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank may eliminate as many as 10,000 jobs as part of a larger cost-cutting initiative at the German lender, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The cuts could hit 1 out of every 10 employees and may extend into 2019, the report said.
Separately, Deutsche Bank is looking at cutting back in several equities markets around the globe, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Shares of Deutsche Bank sank to an 18-month low on the heels of the reports.
Shakeup at IEX
There's been an executive shakeup at upstart stock exchange IEX as it continues to try to lure a listing from one of its rivals.
IEX has hired former Bank of America Merrill Lynch banker Dan Cummings as Head of Corporate Advisory, which includes IEX's listings business. He replaces Sara Furber, a former Morgan Stanley executive who is taking on the CFO role.
The company, which said it would have its listings business up and running in early 2018, has not been able to attract a company to list. That's despite the firm giving companies big incentives to list shares on the venue.
Bitcoin mania
Bitcoin may be down close to 40% since the beginning of the year, but that doesn't mean developers with expertise in the technology powering the crypto aren't making money hand-over-fist. Companies are willing to pay a lot to lure crypto talent. Some are even offering new hires $1 million dollar signing bonuses, according to Dave Schwartz, the chief cryptographer at Ripple, who told the Wall Street Journal pay packages "have gotten insane."
In markets news
- Signs are mounting that the economy is headed for a recession - and Bernstein highlights an investment strategy that could help fend off the downturn
- An inside look at how the market's most feared short seller decides which stocks to target