Social Security, a cornerstone of American retirement security since 1935, is facing renewed scrutiny amid concerns about its long-term solvency. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the program, he did so under a pay-as-you-go model. This suggests that current retirees and other beneficiaries mainly get benefits financed by the payroll...
Steering your ship through the taxing waters of retirement planning means that you might find yourself considering the benefits and drawbacks of many different investment vehicles. At the heart of this debate is the pre-tax Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Experts caution against falling for the short-term tax savings allure—this is...
Meanwhile, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been making the case for including private assets in retirement plans. With good reasons, he thinks the combination of public and private markets has proven to be a “fabulous investment” for most institutions. At the same time, major asset managers and plan providers are...
This "bucket approach" is an investment strategy for retirement that aims to shelter retirees’ portfolios from the risk of a stock market crash. This strategy follows the idea of splitting a portfolio into clearly-defined buckets, with each going to work on something different. Amy Arnott, a portfolio strategist with Morningstar...
Retirees who will turn 73 this year have an important deadline coming up to avoid a costly tax penalty. The first required minimum distribution (RMD) year must be taken by April 1 of the year after they turn 73. Failing to meet this deadline could result in a costly 25%...
Since that initial effort, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has been pretty busy adding 80 organizations to its “entity list.” Over half of these folks are based in China. This move prevents US firms from shipping technologies to these groups without government licenses. The...
Ellen Pompeo, star of the long-running medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," revealed the pivotal role Shonda Rhimes played in securing her $20 million-a-year contract. Pompeo discussed her journey to achieving financial independence and advocating for other women in a recent appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. The actress emphasized the...
23andMe, the California-based personal genomics company, has today made a formal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. This decision deepens uncertainty about the long-term fate of its extensive genetic database. The company has faced recent and unprecedented scrutiny by the public for its data privacy practices. Now, as part of the...
This company, GameStop, has in part chosen to park some of their corporate cash reserves into Bitcoin. This decision is made all the more surprising given the company recently announced a staggering net income of $131.3 million for their fourth quarter. The board’s vote of unanimous confidence authorized the entire...
GameStop announced its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to purchase bitcoin using the company's corporate cash reserves. This move, similar to MicroStrategy's well-known bitcoin investment strategy, comes as investors celebrate GameStop's positive fourth-quarter results. The announcement triggered a rapid spike in the company’s stock. It surged over...
The Conference Board’s measure of consumer expectations for the future—which is especially important right now—took a 19-point plunge. This sudden decline led to widespread fears of an impending recession. The measure, a critical driver of the Consumer Confidence Index, sunk 9.6 points to an all-time low of 65.2. This is...
Former President Donald Trump had very publicly supported National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. This backing followed the news over the weekend when it was revealed that Waltz helped facilitate a major security breach. Waltz allegedly invited a reporter into a Signal chat room where high level officials were hashing out...
The majority of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) predict a recession to arrive in the second half of 2025. This tidbit is from the most recent CNBC CFO Council Survey. The survey points to increasing worries over economic dampening effects, increased inflation, and the chilling effects of current policy on business...