Free Republic

WASHINGTON - As part of a forthcoming package of proposed tax cuts, the White House is considering ways to incentivize U.S. households to invest in the stock market, according to four senior administration officials familiar with the discussions. The proposal, one of many new tax cuts under consideration, would see a portion of household income treated as tax-free for the purposes of investing outside a traditional 401(k). Under one scenario, a household earning up to $200,000 could invest $10,000 tax-free, although officials noted these numbers are fluid. "Nothing's ruled out," said one senior administration official. "Nothing's been ruled in, either."...

Business School's Shih expects disruptions for nations trading with China and for manufacturers dependent on it for components for electronics, consumer products, and pharmaceuticals Coronavirus likely now ‘gathering steam’ Coronavirus cases hit 17,400 and are likely to surge The rapid development of China’s coronavirus crisis coincided with the annual idling of much of the country’s economic activity due to the Lunar New Year break, which typically runs for a week or two. Global economists have been watching the post-holiday economic restart closely. Delayed a week to allow public health officials to get a better handle on the contagion, experts are...

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 30, 2020 The former chief of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) has pleaded guilty for his role in connection with the Stanford International Bank (SIB) Ponzi scheme.Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas made the announcement.Leroy King, 74, of Dickerson Bay, Antigua, was the last remaining defendant in the SIB scheme. Today, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of obstruction of...

Climate crusaders are failing to persuade voters to limit fossil fuels, but they’re turning to coercion by other means. They’re having some success with U.S. banks and insurers that are caving to pressure to divest from carbon energy. The Hartford insurance group last month announced it will no longer insure or invest in companies that generate more than 25% of their revenues from coal mining or more than 25% of their energy from coal. It will also black-list companies that generate more than a quarter of their revenues from drilling in Canada’s Alberta oil sands. “As an insurer and asset...

I rise, your Honor, in defense of the 60/40 portfolio.I do so to counter the growing consensus that the standard asset allocation of 60% equities and 40% bonds is “dead.” Just last week, CNBC anchor Becky Quick added her voice to this chorus, saying that “you’re never going to make enough money if you have 40% of your money in bonds.” Earlier this fall, Bank of America declared the “end” of the 60/40 portfolio.To be sure, no one is denying that the 60/40 portfolio has a stellar long-term track record. Consider its performance since 1926, according to calculations I made...

Rocketman: Vatican funded explicit film of Elton John’s life The biographical film about Sir Elton John, which contains a gay sex scene, was partly financed by an investment fund backed by the Vatican, an Italian newspaper has reported.The use of money donated by Roman Catholics to help to fund Rocketman emerged during a Vatican inquiry into where the cash, which is officially used for good works, has been invested.Researchers were looking into the Vatican secretariat of state’s backing of Centurion Global Fund, the Malta-based company that invested €1 million in the film’s production, Corriere della Sera reported

U.S.-based open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds reportedly own nearly a third of the stock in America’s two publicly traded gun companies, even as Main Street investors are avoiding such shares. The only two remaining gun-company stocks in the U.S. are Sturm Ruger (RGR) and American Outdoor Brands Corp. (AOBC), owner of gun maker Smith & Wesson. Funds hold about 30% of the two companies’ combined shares, according to data compiled in late October for the Wall Street Journal by fund tracker Morningstar Inc. There are some 201 funds invested in one or both of the companies, mostly small-cap funds,...

Bill Walton recently welcomed Star Parker and Winsome Sears to his video podcast for a discussion of why so many black Americans continue to vote for the failed liberal agenda. Here is a transcript of their conversation, edited mostly only for style and clarity. Bill Walton: Welcome to “The Bill Walton Show.” Race just seems to dominate so much of our political debate in the United States. Today, I want to explore and learn about the past, present, and future state of black America. Who has the better policy answers, conservatives or liberals or libertarians? What’s been the impact of...

This is how the WeWork story ends—for now. The high-flying office-sharing startup, which introduced itself to the world as “a community company” with a mission to “to elevate the world’s consciousness,” is paying its founder, Adam Neumann, more than $1 billion to go away. Meanwhile, the company is so cash-poor that it cannot afford to pay the severances of the 4,000 workers it intends to cut. WeWork’s free fall from a projected valuation of nearly $50 billion to just $5 billion will likely be taught in business school, immortalized in best-selling books, and debated among analysts for years. But one...

The race to the zero-bound is on. That’s not an interest-rate policy development, but an investing fee trend. Charles Schwab Corp SCHW, -2.41% on Tuesday said it would no longer charge a commission on trades of U.S. and Canada-listed stocks, exchange-traded funds, and options, starting October 7. That’s just the latest volley in the incredible shrinking broker fee war. Behemoth asset managers like Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab have spent the past few years leapfrogging each other to offer lower and lower commissions. That’s thanks in part to the rise in popularity of ETFs, funds that in most cases passively follow...

The discussion is in its preliminary stages and nothing has been decided, CNBC’s source says. There’s also no time frame for their implementation, the source adds. Restricting investments in Chinese entities would be meant to protect U.S. investors from excessive risk due to lack of regulatory supervision, the source says... The deliberations come as the U.S. looks for additional levers of influence in trade talks, which resume on Oct. 10 in Washington... Bloomberg News first reported earlier on Friday that Trump administration officials are considering ways to limit U.S. investors’ portfolio flows into China, including delisting Chinese companies from American...

The price of bitcoin tumbled Monday after President Trump Opens a New Window. tweeted Thursday that he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies and criticized Facebook’s Opens a New Window. Libra digital currency that’s set to launch next year. Bitcoin price briefly hit below $10,000 just after midnight Monday, a two-week low for the leading digital coin, Coindesk’s data Opens a New Window. showed. The cryptocurrency appeared to rebound slightly to bring it past $10,000 as of Monday morning. It’s unclear what caused the sudden price drop, but it comes just days after Trump took to Twitter to slam cryptocurrencies....

Miami’s South Beach is on the outs. Once famous for its art deco architecture and nightlife, it is gaining a reputation for crowds and wild partying. High-end buyers aren’t impressed, say real-estate agents. Miami Beach gets about 12 million visitors a year, nearly double the number 10 years ago, said Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales. A slew of new hotels on Miami Beach is attracting the masses, he said. And, as other spring break destinations work to stem the flow of student partyers, Miami Beach has become their “it” destination. The crowds bring traffic and litter, said Ceci Velasco,...

I don't know if this kind of question is allowed on Free Republic, but given that we have lots of people who have created wealth for themselves on here, I am wondering about something. I came into $2000 unexpectedly and thought I would use it to learn how to invest in the stock market as an independent investor. Thankfully, if it went away tomorrow I would be fine. I opened up an account on a low-cost online brokerage. This brokerage has investment ratings--- A, B, C, D, etc. I am wondering if these have any value or are they bupkus?...

I'm surprised that there has been no (or little) comment about Biden's suggestion to eliminate the "stepped-up basis" on capital gains at the death of the investor. What gives?

Baby Boomers are retiring. Most are now starting to take their pensions and Social Security. The more fortunate are beginning to dip into their IRAs and 401Ks. As we reach this milestone, our views tend to harden. We are growing less tolerant. Some may call it cranky. We don’t buy a lot of the nonsense that is shoved down our throats by so many of the so called experts on television. We frequently find ourselves yelling back at them. We are even less tolerant of all the politically correct BS. As our circulation slows, we look forward to spending more time in...

“I came out of Penn and I was signed to a one-year, $1.2 million contract,” said the 27-year-old Copeland. However, following a severe injury, “I probably really only saw maybe $25,000 to $35,000 of those dollars before being released by the team.” Since then, Copeland says he’s learned to live on less. In fact, he said, he spends only about 10% to 15% of his income. “I’m not too flashy; I don’t need a lot.” “I realized that I have it backwards,” he said of his early days in the league. “I need to be maximizing every single day I...

When Investing Seems to go down a Black Hole (Part 2). Lately the market has been weird. The S&P went down 3% on some bad news last Friday and it still hasn't recovered yet. And my investments in our 403B seem to be going down a black hole. Even though we are investing 24% it still seems like we can't get over the high water mark of last October. Is it time to make changes or even think of bailing out? Well let's first take stock rather than do the worst thing and make financial decisions based on emotions. 1)...

McLean talks with MarketWatch about the only two stocks he owns, the meaning of ‘American Pie,’ and why he’s never had an assistant. In 1971, Don McLean released the album “American Pie,” and the title song became one of the most famous — and successful — ever made. It came out at a time of major political and social upheaval in America, and captured a feeling of loss. The song runs for over eight minutes, and is No. 5 on the list of best songs of the 20th century. Now 73, McLean talked with MarketWatch about his most famous song,...

Uber and Lyft, the two ride-hailing giants, both are planning initial public offerings of their stock. And both of them are doing something interesting: offering their most valuable drivers cash bonuses that can be exchanged for equity at the IPO price — giving them the opportunity to buy in on the same terms as the big Wall Street players. This is an excellent idea, and one that should be encouraged. As the Wall Street Journal reports: Comments It is typically hard for an ordinary investor to buy a company’s stock at its IPO price before it begins trading on an...