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☆ 4 reasons Private College 529 Plan is a wise investment for your child's future
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Private College 529 Plan locks in today's tuition rates, saving big on future costs and giving flexibility with school choice. Both LaShanda and Ben have been saving for their children's higher education using Private College 529 Plan. Learn more about setting your child up for success with Private College 529 Plan. When you save with Private College 529 Plan, you purchase tuition at then-current rates for each college in the plan. This post was created by Insider Studios with Private College 529 Plan.

Persons: Ben S, Ben, LaShanda, Spelman, they're, prepaying, It's, Roth Organizations: Private, Private College, College Board, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Spelman College, Roth IRA, Insider Studios Locations: Arizona , Arkansas , Kansas , Maine, Minnesota , Missouri, Montana , Ohio, Pennsylvania

☆ How the Canadian mortgage model could help unfreeze the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewCopying the way mortgages work in countries such as Canada and the UK could help thaw the frozen US housing market, experts say. Prospective buyers are also balking at paying such high mortgage rates, especially when national home prices are near record levels, fueling an affordability crisis. AdvertisementOffering portable mortgages would enable hesitant sellers to keep their rock-bottom mortgage rates when they move, potentially boosting overall inventory and transaction volumes. She suggested the best fix for the frozen housing market will be if inflation cools, the Fed cuts interest rates, and mortgage rates fall to historical norms. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises that direct the mortgage market, would have to be on board to make mortgage portability a reality, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Persons: —, Julia Fonseca, Fonseca, Richard Martin, University of Georgia's Terry, Susan Wachter, Wachter, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Organizations: Service, Business, University of Illinois, University of Georgia's, University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, The Wharton School, Federal Reserve, Federal Housing Finance Agency, American Banker Locations: Canada, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, conservatorship

☆ Why checked bag fees are at record highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Checked bag fees are hitting record highs as airlines up the ante. So an airline can save $75 million in tax fees off its $1 billion revenue in domestic checked-bag fees. The introduction of bag fees was also a response to the rise of low-price carriers like Spirit in the United States and Ryanair in Europe. But airlines kept the bag fees in place and even raised them in an effort to make up for the lost revenue from change fees. Bag fees have been a political punching bag.

Persons: they’ve, Gary Leff, ”, Henry Harteveldt, Blaise Waguespack, Sen, Mary Landrieu, ” Leff, Pete Buttigieg, Leff, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Airlines, Department of Transportation, Delta SkyMiles American Express, Airlines ’, “ Airlines, Atmosphere Research, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, Ryanair, The Transportation Department Locations: New York, Denver, Dallas, Daytona Beach , Florida, United States, Europe

☆ In a letter to employees, AT&T CEO apologizes for widespread outage, says some customers will receive credits
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The CEO of AT&T on Sunday apologized for the widespread cellular outage that knocked out service for thousands of customers, saying some accounts will receive credits to compensate for the incident. "For the portion of consumer and small business customers most impacted by the outage, we are automatically applying an account credit to compensate them for the inconvenience they experienced," Chief Executive John Stankey wrote in a letter to employees. Early Thursday, tens of thousands of AT&T customers across the U.S. reported widespread service outages and were unable to use their phones without access to WiFi. Once the company realized there was an outage, it prioritized restoring service to first responders and reconnected remaining customers throughout the day. Stankey thanked staff for their efforts in handling customer complaints, communicating information about the outage and restoring service.

Persons: John Stankey, Stankey

☆ Why airlines are raising baggage fees — and charging you more at the airport
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

United Airlines , American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are among the carriers that have raised the price to check bags this year. Earlier this week, American Airlines raised its checked bag fees for the first time in more than five years and adopted the two-tiered strategy that United, JetBlue and several budget airlines already have. American Airlines previously charged $30 for either service. Why are airlines raising baggage fees? Airlines have argued that higher costs such as labor and fuel, their biggest expenses, mean they had to raise bag fees.

Persons: Scott Olson, Barry Biffle, Biffle Organizations: O'Hare International, Getty, Getty Images Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United, JetBlue, CNBC, Frontier, Transportation, Airlines Locations: Chicago, North America

☆ United Airlines raises checked bag fee $5, following American
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

United Airlines is raising the price to check bags, becoming the latest carrier this year to hike a fee that generated more than $5 billion for airlines in the first nine months of 2023 alone. A second checked bag will cost $50 at the airport, or $45 in advance, up $5 for both options. Earlier this week, American Airlines raised its fee to check a first bag on domestic flights to $35 if purchased in advance and $40 at the airport. A second checked bag will go up from $40 to $45. JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have also raised bag fees this year.

Persons: United Organizations: Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, CNBC PRO Locations: North America

☆ American Airlines is raising checked-luggage prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Checking a bag on American Airlines will now cost you more than at every other major US airline. That’s as much as a 33% increase from what it previously cost on American Airlines: $30 for both methods. Flights within and between the United States, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands are all affected by the price increase. American has also hiked the price of a second checked bag to $45 (up from $40.) The price increase comes at a time when airlines are battling rising fuel and labor costs.

Persons: didn’t Organizations: New, New York CNN, American Airlines, Flyers, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, of Transportation Statistics Locations: New York, That’s, United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America

☆ Venice entry fee: How to pay and what to do if you're staying in the city?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

So how do you register to pay the fee if you’re just coming for the day? And how do you register an exemption if you’re staying overnight? Click on pay the fee – you’ll then be taken to a landing page run by Venezia Unica, the city’s official tourism site. If you’re a tourist, you’ll likely be applying because you’re staying overnight. You enter your details and select the place you're staying.

Persons: we’ll, Stanley Tucci, CNN —, It’s, they’ll, you’re, you’ll, Venezia Unica, You’ll, you’ve, ”, Piazzale Roma, Comune, ” It’ll, “, you'll, Riva degli Schiavoni Organizations: CNN, intel, Piazzale Roma, Venezia, Comune, Venezia Santa Lucia, •, “, Venice, UNESCO Locations: Venice, Murano, City, Venezia Santa, Mestre

☆ Rental Cars: Know the Pitfalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Maximize your membershipsUse memberships at the retailer Costco or the organizations AAA or AARP to get a discount at specific companies. If you’re strictly joining Costco to rent cars, it may take a few rentals a year to recoup the $60 membership fee. Consider alternative companiesTuro and Getaround act like Airbnbs for rental cars: Owners offer their vehicles to rent through company websites or apps. Available in more than a dozen cities in the United States, the app- and internet-based rental company Kyte, which has no brick-and-mortar locations, will drop off and pick up its cars, which are competitively priced, wherever you specify, at no extra charge. The contactless and app-based UFO Drive rents E.V.s in more than 20 cities in the United States and Europe.

Persons: Hertz, Kyte Organizations: Costco, AAA, AARP, Avis Locations: United States, Britain, Canada, France, Australia, Europe

Rising interest rates have slammed the breaks on America's housing market, with home sales down 15.4% year-over-year in September, according to the National Association of Realtors. By controlling the financing, they can offer yesterday's mortgage rates, saving customers tens of thousands of dollars and moving inventory in the process. Tawn Kelley, president of financial services at homebuilder Taylor Morrison, told Insider that financing is an essential part of the home-selling puzzle. Then, there are forward commitments, another way to prepay interest rates that allows a homebuilder to pay down more of it. There are also float downs, which allow purchasers who lock in a mortgage price to reduce their interest rates if mortgage rates get smaller over the course of their mortgage lock.

Persons: Tawn Kelley, homebuilder Taylor Morrison, Kelley, Taylor Morrison, Devyn Bachman, John Burns, Taylor Morrison's, it's, they've, homebuyers, Kurt Carlton Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Census, Finance Locations: homebuying, homebuilding

Cutouts depicting images of oil operations are seen outside a building of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela January 28, 2019. U.S. sanctions that were in place on Venezuela since 2019 largely blocked state-run oil company PDVSA from exporting to its chosen markets. That changed last week, but Washington's six-month relaxation of the measures is too limited to spur new crude production. PDVSA also is in talks with Mercuria Energy and Sahara Energy on spot sales, the sources said. The Italian company and Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) have been in negotiations with PDVSA for months to expand gas output in Venezuela.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Trafigura, PDVSA, Pedro Tellechea, Tipco, Spain's, Eni, Maurel, prepay, Marianna Parraga, Laura Sanicola Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Global, PDVSA, Bermuda, Mercuria Energy, Sahara Energy, U.S ., Reliance Industries, Valero Energy, PBF Energy, Eni, Valero, Reliance, U.S . Treasury Department, Traders, Thomson Locations: Caracas, Venezuela, U.S, Venezuela's, Sahara, PDVSA's, Houston, Washington

☆ Mortgages will remain sky-high in 2024, pushing existing home sales to a 3-decade low, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mortgage rates will stay high through 2024, dipping to just under 7% at year-end, Goldman Sachs forecasts. This will keep homeowners off the market, and the housing turnover rate will fall to its lowest since the 1990s. Higher rates will also mean more moderate price growth, with a 1.3% year-on-year rise expected in 2024. AdvertisementAdvertisementThough housing starts are usually sensitive to mortgage rates themselves, Goldman has previously found that this relationship weakens if homeowner vacancy rates are low. The below-trend level will follow an estimated 3.4% price increase for 2023 — though the current rate is higher, Goldman expects prices to turn negative into the year-end.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, —, Goldman, multifamily, Barbara Corcoran Organizations: Service

☆ It’s official: The era of China’s global dominance is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

We've reached the end of an era for the Chinese economy. Unless dramatic action is taken, the future of China's economy is looking less like a young dynamo and more like an old, slow-moving blob. A faltering Chinese economy will suppress demand for commodities like oil seeds and grain, hitting US farmers especially hard. For the US economy, China as a workshop is much more important than China as a consumer. Now that China's economic supercycle is over, that may be the cycle we're about to witness.

Persons: We've, Xi Jinping, Lee Miller, it's, Xi's, —, Xu Jiayin, Charlene Chu, Chu, Chu —, Victor Shih, Shih, that's, they're, Jinping, Zhang, Miller, It's, they'll, Chinese Communist Party that's, Anne Stevenson, Yang, isn't, Stevenson, Linette Lopez Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Trust, Autonomous Research, Bloomberg, Autonomous, Century China Center, University of California, J Capital Research, Japan, Nike, Starbucks, Companies Locations: China, Beijing, Cities, Shanghai, It's, Shenyang, metropolises, Shenzhen, Europe, Wall, —, University of California San Diego, Middle Kingdom, Mexico, Vietnam, New York City, United States

☆ The Great China Boom is going bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Unless dramatic action is taken, the future of China's economy is looking less like a young dynamo and more like an old, slow-moving blob. AdvertisementAdvertisementChinese President Xi Jinping has shifted the country's priorities from economic growth to a "technology and national-security race with the US." A faltering Chinese economy will suppress demand for commodities like oil seeds and grain, hitting US farmers especially hard. For the US economy, China as a workshop is much more important than China as a consumer. Now that China's economic supercycle is over, that may be the cycle we're about to witness.

Persons: We've, Xi Jinping, Lee Miller, it's, Xi's, —, Xu Jiayin, Charlene Chu, Chu, Chu —, Victor Shih, Shih, that's, they're, Zhang, Beijing's largess, Miller, It's, they'll, Chinese Communist Party that's, Anne Stevenson, Yang, isn't, Stevenson, Linette Lopez Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Trust, Autonomous Research, Bloomberg, Autonomous, Century China Center, University of California, J Capital Research, Japan, Nike, Starbucks, WSJ, China, Companies Locations: China, Beijing, Cities, Shanghai, It's, Shenyang, metropolises, Shenzhen, Europe, Wall, —, University of California San Diego, Middle Kingdom, Mexico, Vietnam, New York City

☆ Oracle spends more than $100 million on Ampere chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 22 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) agreed to prepay $104.1 million for processor chips made by startup Ampere Computing, according to Oracle's proxy statement filed on Friday. Oracle also invested $400 million in Ampere through a convertible note in its fiscal 2023, the proxy said. Ampere builds custom server chips based on Arm technology that compete with designs produced by Intel (INTC.O) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), which use X86. Oracle has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Ampere since it was founded, according to filings. Amazon.com makes its own server chips that compete with Ampere, and Google makes its own artificial intelligence processors.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Oracle, Ampere, Ampere –, Max A, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Oracle Corporation, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Oracle Corp, Ampere, Intel, Devices, Oracle, Amazon.com, Google, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Ampere, San Francisco

☆ India's RR Kable files for IPO to raise up to $27.5 million -draft prospectus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, May 7 (Reuters) - Indian wire and cable maker RR Kabel Ltd., backed by private equity firm TPG, filed for an initial public offering on Sunday, seeking to raise up to $27.53 million, according to its draft prospectus filed to India's market regulator and seen by Reuters. RR Kabel, India's fifth largest branded wires and cable manufacturer, plans to use funds raised through the IPO to repay or prepay borrowings, in part or in full, from banks and financial institutions, according to the prospectus. TPG Asia VII SF Pte Ltd, a U.S.-based private equity firm, holds a 20.99% stake in RR Kabel and will sell some of its stake in the IPO, the prospectus shows. RR Kabel's business is primarily business-to-consumer sales of wires and cables products. ($1 = 81.7200 Indian rupees)Reporting by M. Sriram and Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Coinbase, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Roku & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Needham upgrades TransUnion to buy from hold Needham upgraded the stock after its earnings report Tuesday. Deutsche Bank reiterates Apple as buy Deutsche said it's standing by its buy rating heading into earnings next week. Bank of America downgrades Danaher to neutral from buy Bank of America downgraded the commercial products company after a "disappointing" earnings report. Bank of America reiterates General Motors as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating after the company's earnings on Tuesday. " Bank of America reiterates Roku as buy Bank of America said it's bullish heading into Roku earnings after the bell on Wednesday.

☆ Dollar bonds of India's Adani Ports rise as company starts debt buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) rose on Monday, after the company commenced a cash tender offer for a buyback of securities. On Monday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), part of the beleaguered Adani Group, said it has floated a tender of up to $130 million of 3.375% 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds. The company has engaged Barclays Bank, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank, PJSC, MUFG Securities Asia Singapore Branch, SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong) and StandardChartered Bank to serve as dealer managers for the offer. The dollar bonds of Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Electricity Mumbai were trading mixed. However, India's market regulator is looking into Hindenburg's allegations as well as the group's related party dealings following a Supreme Court directive.

☆ India's Adani Ports starts $130 mln buyback of debt securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 24 (Reuters) - India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), a group company of the beleaguered Adani Group, said on Monday it has started a buyback programme of certain debt securities to partly prepay near-term loans due in 2024. Adani Ports said in an exchange filing that it has floated a tender of up to $130 million in outstanding debt, as it tries to boost investor confidence after the group's shares were pummelled earlier this year by a U.S. short-seller's report. The Economic Times first reported on Monday, citing sources, that the Adani Group plans to buy back foreign currency bonds of various group companies, starting with a $650-million tranche at its ports unit. Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment on its buyback plans. Shares and bonds of Adani Group have regained some lost ground over the past month or so after it repaid some debt and attracted a $1.9 billion investment from boutique investment firm GQG Partners.

☆ Here's why travel to Europe is no longer a 'screaming, bargain-basement' deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Not all European countries use the euro — it's the official currency for 20 out of 27 European Union members. By the end of September, Americans could buy one euro with just 96 cents. "Europe for much of last year was a screaming, bargain-basement deal for Americans," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. International trips account for about 56% of search demand among U.S. travelers, up from 46% last year, according to travel app Hopper's Consumer Travel Index published in February. Foreign travel for Americans is still a bargain.

☆ Factbox: Key elements of Fed's new US bank funding program
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) will offer loans with maturities of up to a year to banks, savings associations, credit unions and other eligible depository institutions. Here are some key elements of the Fed's program:STRESS RELIEFThe Fed has raised rates from near zero a year ago to between 4.50-4.75% now to combat inflation that hit a 40-year high last year. The same collateral terms will also be available for loans drawn from the Fed's "discount window," its traditional lender-of-last-resort facility. Ordinarily, loan amounts were governed by the market value of the pledged collateral. In fact, the Fed loans are made with "recourse beyond the pledged collateral," which takes into account the fact that the collateral may be impaired.

The credit line from the sovereign wealth fund could be increased to $5 billion, the sources said, citing a memo that was circulated to participants as highlights of a three-day investor roadshow that ended on Wednesday. The identity of the sovereign wealth fund was not disclosed in the memo. A third person familiar with the matter said Adani's management told investors it was from the Middle East. The news comes a day after Adani management told bondholders that it expected to prepay or repay share-backed loans worth $690 million to $790 million by the end of March. Reporting by Xie Yu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Jason Neely and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Adani to repay up to $790 million share-backed loans by March, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Signage atop the Adani Group headquarters in Ahmedabad, India, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. India's Adani Group plans to prepay or repay share-backed loans worth $690 million to $790 million by March-end, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as the conglomerate seeks to burnish its credit profile after a short-seller attack. The group presented both plans to bondholders in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the people said. An Adani group spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told Bloomberg News the group is not looking to refinance debt or raise capital.

☆ India's Adani plans to repay up to $790 million share-backed loans by March - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group plans to prepay or repay share-backed loans worth between $690 million and $790 million by end of March this year, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as it seeks to burnish its credit profile after a short-seller attack. Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) also plans to refinance its 2024 bonds via a $800 million, three-year credit line, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Those plans were presented by the Adani management to the group's bondholders in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Adani has already held calls with bondholders earlier this month in attempts to assuage investor concerns, where group executives revealed refinancing plans at some of its units and also plans to completely pre-pay all loans against shares. Reporting by Xie Yu in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysts estimate that nearly $700 billion of mortgages – close to one-eighth China's outstanding total – have been prepaid since early last year, when banks started to lower borrowing rates. This threatens banks' profits on mortgages, which accounted for about 30% of outstanding loans at China's five biggest banks as of last June, according to their latest financial reports. The current disinterest in new home purchases contrasts sharply with the overheated property market of prior years, when authorities kept mortgage rates high to cool speculation. Towards the middle of last year, however, regulators began lowering benchmark mortgage rates to prop up property demand, after a liquidity crisis among developers sent home prices and sales into a downward spiral. "I decided to do so because I'm burdened with a mortgage rate that's too high," Wang said.

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