Weekend roundup: Wells Fargo and its auditor | The back-pain racket | Going back to the movies

• Updated on: 2017-08-19
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MarketWatch rounded up 10 of its most interesting topics over the past week.

Will more board-level heads roll at Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, +0.20% as fresh cases emerge of the bank’s abuse of deposit and loan customers? The scandals might also mean big trouble for KPMG, which has served as Wells Fargo’s external auditor for 85 years.

Chronic back pain is a very common problem, but there’s a $100 billion industry of devices and treatments that are, for the most part, ineffective, with some causing harm, according to Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, the author of “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery.” Jakobson explains in an interview with Emma Court that for many people, the pain results from a lack of exercise.

Netflix Inc. NFLX, +2.05%  has proven that a $10 monthly subscription price can revolutionize an industry. And now MoviePass is allowing you to view one movie a day at 33,000 theaters across the U.S., for the same monthly price. MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe explains the company’s business model in an interview with Trey Williams.

It’s conventional wisdom that nobody can beat or even compete with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.35% in internet retail, but Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, +0.01%  said its second-quarter online sales rose by 60% from a year earlier. The company has deep pockets and has made a long-term commitment to continue building its online services, as Tonya Garcia reports.

Have you reacted to the years of daily headlines saying the stock market is way overvalued? David Tepper, a very successful hedge-fund manager, says there’s no comparison (in a good way) between this market and outrageously high valuations of the dot-com bubble that ended in 2000.

The benchmark small-cap Russell 2000 index RUT, -0.01%   is actually trading much higher relative to earnings than you might think, Mark Hulbert explains.

Setting up a Roth IRA for your child as soon as he or she begins working can help build a large nest egg at a relatively young age, according to Liz Weston.

It’s been a good earnings season, with S&P 500 SPX, +0.13%   companies’ earnings per share up 10%, but a detailed look at the results shows strain on U.S. consumers. Meanwhile, the inability of President Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress to make progress on tax reform, health-care reform, regulatory relief or infrastructure spending are causing corporate managers to limit their spending on business expansion. This points to a stifling of wage growth, according to Tomi Kilgore and Ciara Linnane.

Also read: Pay attention to these economic warning signs

With another earnings season nearly complete, Jeff Reeves looks at five companies that appear to be on the rebound.

Crowdfunding isn’t just for raising money from donors. It also allows investors to be highly selective as they participate in individual real-estate projects. Charles Clinton explains how to get involved in this rapidly growing segment of the real-estate industry and the pros and cons of each approach.

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