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Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved mNEXSPIKE® (mRNA-1283), a new vaccine against COVID-19, for use in all adults 65 and older, as well as individuals aged 12-64 years with at least one or more underlying risk factor as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"The FDA approval of our third product, mNEXSPIKE, adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19," said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. "COVID-19 remains a serious public health threat, with more than 47,000...

Rumors are swirling around ActBlue, a key fundraising platform for the Democrats, which has repeatedly given money to progressive politicians and far-left groups like Black Lives Matter. Critics, including lawmakers and investigative journalists, have noticed suspicious financial activity that may indicate a vast network of fraud. For context, the House Administration Committee recently uncovered evidence that illegal donations from China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela might have been laundered to Democratic campaigns through ActBlue. In response, the committee sent a letter to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones to begin an investigation. In any case, Walter Curt, a prominent investigative journalist, took to...

As a nation, we have literally been in the process of committing financial suicide for decades. Sadly, some people have responded to the new administration’s efforts to get debt levels under control by committing acts of extreme violence. Our society is deeply addicted to debt and that must stop. The 7 economic charts that you are about to see are incredibly shocking. If you know anyone that still does not believe that the United States is in the midst of a long-term economic decline, just show them these charts. Sometimes you can quote economic statistics to people until you are...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s Defense Ministry is offering new financial and other benefits that it hopes will attract men between ages 18 and 24 to military service, as its short-handed armed forces toil on the front line against Russia’s bigger army in the almost three-year war. Men in that age group are currently exempt from the country’s draft, which covers men between 25 and 60 years old. Last spring, Ukraine lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25, but that has failed to replenish ranks or replace battlefield losses. Also, some draft-age men have moved abroad, while desertions have...

Gun owners in Ohio won’t have to worry about firearm purchases being tracked by financial institutions or having to carry liability insurance. Senate Bill 58, one of a series of bills signed into law late Wednesday by Gov. Mike DeWine, received backing from pro-gun organizations like the National Rifle Association and Buckeye Firearms. But the Ohio Mayors Alliance and the Ohio Municipal League both opposed it. Known as the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, the new law stops government entities from keeping a list of privately owned firearms or firearm owners and prohibits banks and other financial institutions from assigning...

American credit card defaults have risen to the highest levels since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as consumers grapple with years of high inflation. Credit card lenders wrote off $46 billion in delinquent loan balances in the first three quarters of 2024, a 50 percent increase from the same period last year. These forms of write-offs are are viewed as a highly monitored measure of loan distress. This is the highest level since 2010, according to industry data gathered by BankRegData. Mark Zandi, the head of Moody’s Analytics, said, “High-income households are fine, but the bottom third of...

After two Manhattan Contrarian posts in the last month on the subject of anti-money laundering (AML) regulation (here from November 24 and here from December 9), the topic is suddenly in the news. On November 26, Marc Andreessen appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, with an extensive discussion of the debanking of the crypto industry, and that appearance got some notice. The Wall Street Journal ran two op-eds on the subject of AML on Monday (December 16): “Debanking and the Return of Operation Choke Point” by Allysia Finley, and “Businesses Get a Reprieve from a Draconian Law” by Caleb Kruckenberg...

A recent study found there is a stark difference in what Gen Z and Boomers think about financial success. In its study published on Friday, Empower said, “Is there a secret to financial success? Most Americans (52%) say ‘yes’ — and the average salary considered successful is $270,000 per year, and $5.3 million in overall net worth.” For Gen Z, financial success looks like an annual salary of $587,797, while Boomers think it is $99,874.

It will come as no surprise to the regulars around here that I have soured to the point where I can barely pucker up to the work being done by our corporate, national media these days. My love affair with the profession I gave most of my life to has ended in hurt and disappointment. Our national press too often presents as incompetent fools who are more interested in being led around by the nose than they are in sniffing out stories, including the biggest one of our lives. Our democracy is under attack RIGHT NOW in America, but I...

Instead of quoting a historical figure like Adam Smith, Daniel Kahneman or John Maynard Keynes, legendary investor Warren Buffett believes the most consequential words on modern economics came from a surprising source: former U.S. President George W. Bush. At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, Bush said: “If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down!” Buffett deemed this quip “the 10 most important words in the history of economics,” he told billionaire Dan Gilbert during an interview at the Detroit Homecoming event at the College for Creative Studies in 2014. Here’s why Buffett believes these words had...

A recent survey by Intuit found that U.S. high school students want to learn about personal finance in schools but that many lack access to such courses at school, while parents may be reluctant to teach their children about financial literacy. Intuit's Financial Education survey found that 85% of U.S. high school students said they're interested in learning about financial topics at school and that 95% of those who currently receive a financial curriculum find it helpful. "Ultimately, what we learned is that 81% of students said they really try to discuss financial topics with their parents, but parents typically...

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – As millions of Americans head to their local gas station or store to purchase a new pack of Marlboro’s or Newport’s, they may soon see that their favorite type of cigarettes are no longer available for purchase. According to an announcement made by the Food & Drug Administration back in 2022, the agency had begun planning to “propose product standards to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and prohibit all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars,” due to “menthol being a flavor additive with a minty taste and aroma that reduces the irritation...

Trump-supporting truck drivers are reportedly boycotting New York City after a Manhattan judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $355 million because of his business practices. Friday’s decision follows a New York jury’s decision last month to award left-wing writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages in her defamation suit against Trump. The two decisions have outraged conservatives, including many truckers. Chicago Ray, a trucker with over 244,000 followers on X, said on Friday that he was hearing that truckers were planning to boycott deliveries to the Big Apple starting on Monday. “I don’t know how far across...

Capital One Financial is set to acquire Discover Financial Services , according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The deal could be announced Tuesday, the outlet said, citing sources. The merger of the two companies, who are among the largest credit card issuers in the U.S., would expand Capital One’s credit-card offerings. The news comes on the back of a Bloomberg News report on Monday that Capital One was considering an acquisition. Shares of Discover are down 1.7% lower for the year, putting the company at a $27.63 billion market cap. Capital One has a market cap of...

This is insane, the US State Dept forced all Ukrainians to tie their financial assets to their smartphones by developing the DIIA “State-In-Smartphone” app for Ukraine, and now Ukrainians who try not to die will have all their assets seized...

CV NEWS FEED // An agency of the federal government “flagged” Bible purchases as an indication of “extremism” in communications with banks following the events of January 6, 2021. “We now know the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP,’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, wrote on X. “What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.” Jordan serves as the chairman of both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal...

Former Biden associate Eric Schwerin told lawmakers that he was 'not aware' of then-Vice President Joe Biden's role in his son's foreign dealings despite meeting with him 'multiple' times and providing financial advice when he worked with Hunter Biden. Schwerin, a close business associate of Hunter's at his investment firm Rosemont Seneca, was brought in Tuesday under a subpoena by Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. He specifically faced questions about the then-Vice President's use of pseudonyms to discuss personal and business activities. Schwerin was included on at least 54 direct emails with Joe between 2009 and 2017,...

The Democratic Socialists of America, affiliated with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other liberal leaders, is facing severe financial trouble, with the organization’s leaders calling for massive budget cuts and layoffs. The seven-figure deficit comes after the DSA, which leads anti-Israel protests across the country, did not publicly condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. “The current deficit will force us to make 7-figure budget cuts. This will require us to make painful decisions that will impact all levels of the organization. … Given our current financial state, we do not believe we can have a healthy, democratic, and effective...

The financial landscape is fraught with warning signs as retail investors remain fully invested in stocks, and cautionary voices like market prophet Gary Shilling raise alarms about the precarious nature of the current market conditions. Recent data from the monthly AAII asset allocation report for December reveals that investors are heavily committed to stocks, with cash on the sidelines dwindling to below-average levels. This heightened exposure comes as Shilling, a seasoned forecaster, issues stark warnings about the ‘everything rally,’ urging investors to divest from stocks and cryptocurrencies.

A major trend among mainstream media outlets and pundits in 2023 was them attempting to convince Americans the economy has been doing well under President Biden. A majority of Americans consistently tell pollsters that they believe the economy is doing poorly, however, leading to a disconnect of sorts as conditions on the ground don't appear to match with positive economic data like low unemployment and a booming stock market. Several of these outlets have even gone so far as to claim that Americans’ dour outlook on the issue is due to them not seeing things clearly, and clinging to bad...