FCA Eyes Massive Auto Loan Payouts, Bukele Deepens Power Grab, Boeing Workers Strike

4th August, 2025

The UK’s financial regulator has outlined a redress scheme that could saddle auto lenders with up to £18 billion in liabilities. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele's ruling party approved sweeping constitutional changes to allow indefinite reelection, raising alarms about democratic backsliding. Meanwhile, thousands of Boeing defense workers have walked off the job, Ray Dalio cuts final ties with Bridgewater, and Trump’s firing of the U.S. labor data chief stirs fears of deepening politicization. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

• FCA proposes £9–18 billion motor finance redress scheme following UK Supreme Court ruling

  
  

• The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Sunday proposed a sweeping redress scheme that could see motor finance lenders pay between £9 billion and £18 billion ($12–24 billion) in compensation, following a recent Supreme Court ruling. The decision had initially eased investor fears over potential multibillion-pound liabilities tied to undisclosed commissions on car loans. But the FCA said an industry-wide scheme remains necessary, citing ongoing consumer harm.

  
  

  The regulator warned the total cost could exceed current estimates, with the mid-range of £9–18 billion seen as “more plausible.” Several banks, including Lloyds, Close Brothers, Barclays, Santander UK, and Bank of Ireland, have already provisioned nearly £2 billion for potential payouts. The proposed scheme would cover discretionary commission arrangements—where brokers could adjust loan interest rates without proper disclosure—and potentially some non-discretionary models. The FCA plans to consult by October, with compensation expected to begin in 2026.

  
  

  Lenders must now reassess liabilities, bolster provisions where needed, and update markets. The scheme could apply to agreements dating back to 2007. Compensation may accrue simple annual interest at 3%, though the opt-in or opt-out mechanism remains undecided. “Any redress scheme must be fair to consumers who lost out and ensure the integrity of the market,” the FCA said. Reuters

  
  
  
  

• El Salvador’s Congress approves indefinite presidential reelection, extends term length to six years

  
  

• El Salvador's Legislative Assembly passed sweeping constitutional amendments Thursday that will allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend the length of presidential terms from five to six years—moves widely seen as consolidating President Nayib Bukele’s power. Backed by Bukele’s ruling New Ideas party, the vote passed with a supermajority: 57 lawmakers in favor, only three opposed. The amendments, introduced by lawmaker Ana Figueroa, also eliminate runoff elections and propose aligning presidential and congressional terms by ending Bukele’s current term in 2027 rather than 2029—opening the door to an earlier reelection bid.

  
  

  The changes follow a years-long erosion of democratic checks in El Salvador. In 2021, a Bukele-aligned Congress ousted the constitutional court justices who had barred consecutive presidential terms, paving the way for his 2024 reelection despite an explicit constitutional ban. Critics have warned for years that Bukele's rising popularity, bolstered by his crackdown on gang violence, has come at the cost of institutional independence and human rights. Most recently, his government has faced scrutiny over arrests of opposition lawyers and the forced relocation of a prominent rights group. Despite such concerns, Bukele remains popular and has built ties with the Trump administration, offering to house foreign deportees and promote hardline security policy in the region.

  
  

  Assembly Vice President Suecy Callejas defended the changes, stating that “power has returned to the only place that it truly belongs … to the Salvadoran people.” But opponents like Marcela Villatoro of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) warned that indefinite reelection poses serious threats to democracy. “You don’t realize what indefinite reelection brings,” Villatoro told lawmakers. “It brings an accumulation of power, weakens democracy, and fuels corruption and nepotism.” Despite the criticism, Bukele’s popularity has inspired copycats in Latin America, even as international watchdogs continue to sound the alarm.  CNN

  
  
  
  

• 3,200 Boeing workers strike after rejecting defense contract offer

  
  

• More than 3,200 union workers at Boeing’s defense facilities in St. Louis and Illinois walked off the job Monday after rejecting a second contract proposal. The deal would have raised average wages by 40%, offered a $5,000 signing bonus, and included improved leave benefits.

  
  

  Boeing said it was prepared for the strike, with contingency plans to deploy non-union staff. District 837 of the Machinists Union said the offer failed to reflect the value of workers who build key military aircraft including the F-15, F/A-18, T-7 trainer, and MQ-25 drone. CEO Kelly Ortberg downplayed disruption concerns, citing the company’s ability to manage a prior seven-week strike in its commercial jet division. Boeing is currently ramping up production for the newly contracted F-47A fighter jet. Reuters

• Trump fires U.S. labor statistics chief after weak jobs report, escalating politicization fears

  
  

• President Donald Trump has dismissed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer just hours after a government report revealed sharply lower job growth than expected—prompting alarm in Washington over the growing politicization of economic data. The BLS report, released Friday morning, showed the U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, far below forecasts. The agency also revised May and June numbers downward by more than 200,000 jobs combined. McEntarfer was terminated shortly after the release. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump called the jobs report “rigged,” accused McEntarfer of manipulating data for political purposes, and vowed to replace her with someone “much more competent.” He provided no evidence to support his claims. “We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” he wrote, later adding that the numbers were designed to make Republicans “look bad.” McEntarfer, a respected economist with two decades in public service, was nominated by President Biden and confirmed with broad bipartisan support in January. On X, she called leading the BLS “the honor of my life” and defended the agency’s independence.

  
  

  Former officials across both parties condemned the firing. “President Trump is once again destroying the credibility of our government by firing expert and nonpartisan officials because he does not like the facts,” said Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. The BLS, part of the Labor Department, has long been considered the gold standard for objective economic data. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed that Deputy Commissioner Bill Wiatrowski will step in as acting chief. Vice President JD Vance, who voted to confirm McEntarfer, said through a spokesperson that he supports the president’s decision.

  
  

  The incident has revived concerns over data manipulation in politically volatile regimes. “Nobody is faking numbers,” said former Labor chief of staff Daniel Koh. “Revisions happen all the time.” Even Trump has celebrated jobs data when favorable—posting “GREAT JOBS NUMBERS” in June and touting April’s report as proof of a rebounding economy. The firing also follows Trump’s renewed attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who he recently said should be “put out to pasture.” The escalating tensions between the White House and traditionally nonpartisan institutions are prompting questions about the future of trusted economic reporting under Trump’s second term. NBC

• Bridgewater Founder Dalio Sells His Remaining Stake in Firm

  
  

• Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has fully divested from the hedge fund he launched nearly five decades ago and stepped down from the firm’s board, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move caps a years-long leadership transition at the $92.1 billion fund and hands full control to the next generation.

  
  

  The firm has reportedly brought in new majority stakeholders, including Brunei’s sovereign wealth fund and senior internal leaders. “Ray has always described the transition as a ‘dream come true,’ and we’re excited to have made it a reality together,” Bridgewater co-CEO Nir Bar Dea and co-chair Mike McGavick wrote in a client letter viewed by Investopedia.  Dalio began stepping back in 2017 when he relinquished the CEO role, followed by exits as co-chief investment officer in 2020 and chair in 2021. In a celebratory LinkedIn post on Bridgewater’s 50th anniversary, Dalio wrote: “It’s like seeing my kids strong and healthy without me — much better than being a 76-year-old parent still taking care of them.”

  
  

  Bridgewater has delivered double-digit returns in 2025, with its flagship Pure Alpha fund up 17% — well ahead of the S&P 500’s 6% gain. Brunei Investment Agency now holds a minority stake in the firm after redeeming capital from Bridgewater-managed funds, according to Reuters. The firm’s current largest individual partner is co-CIO Bob Prince, with the majority of equity held by employees — a rare, full-circle transition in an industry often defined by founder-led investment giants. Bloomberg

Minor Headlines

• Wells Fargo to name CEO Charlie Scharf as chairman, approves $30M retention award — Reuters

  
  

• Tim Cook surpasses Steve Jobs as Apple’s longest-serving CEO —  Macrumors

  
  

• Central banks slow gold buying as post-rally demand cools —  Bloomberg

  
  

• Mastercard denies pressuring gaming platforms; Valve tells a different story — TechCrunch 

  
  

• Apple may be building its own AI-powered ‘answer engine’ — TechCrunch 

  
  

• Delta Air assures U.S. lawmakers it won’t use AI to personalize fares — Reuters

  
  

• UnitedHealth names Wayne S. DeVeydt as new CFO, effective Sept. 2025 —  Yahoo.Finance 

  
  

• Italian regulator fines Shein €1M over greenwashing claims — Reuters