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☆ The top 4 sports and sports tech VCs are ready to open their checkbooks. Here's what they're looking for.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Courtside Ventures in January closed a $100 million fund, its biggest yet. KB Partners late last year closed a $127 million fund, also its biggest yet. If you're not in one of those lanes, don't bother reaching out, even though the firm has the new $100 million fund to dole out. Parikh expects fewer investments in media companies out of the new fund, but more investments in gaming. It's doling out the money through two accelerator programs and an investment fund.

☆ Romance Scams Are Booming — Especially on Facebook and Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eve Upton-Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Americans lost $1.3 billion to romance scams last year — an 164% increase from 2019 — and $3.3 billion in total since the start of the pandemic. According to the FTC report, the most popular way scammers reached out to their victims last year was through Instagram (29%) and Facebook (28%). And as these schemes get more widespread and more complex, the number of people falling for romance scams keeps growing. Confluence of crypto and romanceIf loneliness was the reason "why" for the soaring number of romance scams, then crypto is the "how." 1 payment method for romance scams last year was cryptocurrency.

☆ Warren Buffett might help rescue the banks again - but he'll probably make less money this time around
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett has spoken to the White House about investing in US regional banks, reports say. The famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO has reportedly spoken to senior White House officials about potentially investing in US regional lenders. The billionaire's backing might help to quell fears of more bank failures, and shore up faith in the financial system. Buffett might seek to reach similar deals with struggling regional banks today. In other words, Buffett might not be the only savior available, limiting his ability to extract the best terms possible for Berkshire.

☆ Why our brains are hard-wired for bank runs like those that toppled SVB, Signature
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Rebecca Noble | AFP | Getty ImagesCustomer fear became a self-fulfilling prophecyOur brains are hard-wired for a bank run. Last week, bank customers saw their peers run for the exits; sensing danger, that herd mentality meant they also rushed to withdraw their cash. More from Personal Finance:What small businesses should look for when choosing a bankWhat Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank failures mean for consumers and investorsWhat to know about FDIC insuranceWhy the bank run on SVB seemed 'rational' for someThere are firewalls against this kind of behavior. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, backstops bank customers' savings up to $250,000. "If you don't rationally understand the way the market interprets signals, you can make a mistake like Silicon Valley Bank," Shefrin said.

☆ T-Mobile to buy Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile in a $1.35 billion deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

T-Mobile announced Wednesday that it’s buying budget wireless provider Mint Mobile in a larger deal for up to $1.35 billion. “I never dreamt I’d own a wireless company and I certainly never dreamt I’d sell it to T-Mobile,” Reynolds wrote on Twitter Wednesday. Mint Mobile was created in 2016 with the goal of delivering an “affordable, premium wireless” service direct to consumers, according to its website. In his 2019 statement, Reynolds said he was “excited to champion a more practical approach to the most essential technology.”T-Mobile hopes to boost its own prepaid services with the acquisition of Mint Mobile. “Over the long-term, we’ll also benefit from applying the marketing formula Mint has become famous for across more parts of T-Mobile.” wrote Sievert.

[1/2] European Central Bank and SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) logos are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. SVB, which does business as Silicon Valley Bank, was not immediately available for comment. "Silicon Valley Bank is shedding light on vulnerabilities across the US banking sector, primarily in the bond holdings that many large institutions hold," said Karl Schamotta, Chief Market Strategist at Corpay. “The current liquidity run on Silicon Valley Bank is having a knock-on effect on the wider banking system," said Rick Seehra, Prudential Lead at Bovill. But banking experts said SVB's issues were unique and the worries about the broader sector were not warranted.

The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 6.6% on Thursday and was set to open lower again on Friday. The crisis at SVG was feeding growing investor concerns that banks will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money. In an unusual step, Commerzbank, one of Germany's largest banks, issued a statement, playing down any threat from SVB, saying it did not see "a corresponding risk for us". "The market is treating this as a potential contagion risk," said Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING in London. A spike in interest rates has led to a sell-off in bonds, leaving banks exposed to potential losses on the securities they hold.

☆ An investing expert who says 'cash is king' right now explains how investors should stockpile so they're ready to jump on new opportunities following the economic downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Investing expert Lauren Simmons recommends avoiding the stock market right now. Today's financial climate is unusual: the stock market continues to be volatile and inflation has been out of control. Those "less conservative vehicles" currently include the stock market, she noted: "The stock market is still very volatile. Rather than investing in the stock market right now, she advises stockpiling cash. (The savings account interest rates offered at major banks like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are around 0.01%.)

☆ Here's how much Americans have in their retirement accounts — and what it means for you
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Elizabeth Gravier | Jason Stauffer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Fidelity Investment's latest analysis of its retirement accounts reveals Americans have, on average, six-figure balances in their IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, the average balances in an IRA, 401(k) and 403(b) were (respectively) $104,000, $103,900 and $92,683. Betterment Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. For example, Betterment doesn't require clients to maintain a minimum investment account balance, but there is a ACH deposit minimum of $10. Wealthfront Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected.

☆ Looking for higher yields? These short-term bond ETFs come out on top
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Treasury yields are taking markets by storm. Investors with those preferences have also been flocking to short-term Treasury exchange-traded funds with durations of one to three years. Some examples include Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index ETF and the Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF. Top-rated, short-term bond ETFs But there's another corner of the short-term bond market with yields that could go even higher. CNBC Pro screened for top-rated, ultra-short term bond funds using Morningstar data.

☆ There are whispers on Capitol Hill of a rare bipartisan effort to overhaul Social Security as the program is set to go broke in less than 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A group of senators is considering a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to prevent Social Security insolvency, Semafor reported. A SWF is a government-backed investment fund, and its profits would be used to pay Social Security benefits. In this case, such investments would be used to fund Social Security payments. The goal is, members of the group told Semafor, for Social Security to be solvent for 75 more years, at least. "Although the final framework is still taking shape, there are no cuts for Americans currently receiving Social Security benefits in our plan.

☆ Goldman Sachs executives to rally investors in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] A Goldman Sachs sign is seen above their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 19, 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoNEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) Chief Executive David Solomon and top executives will give investors an update on their strategy on Tuesday. DAN DEES, CO-HEAD OF GLOBAL BANKING & MARKETS, 52Dan Dees is the co-head of Goldman's global banking and markets division. JULIAN SALISBURY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF ASSET AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT, 51Julian Salisbury is chief investment officer of Goldman's asset and wealth management unit. KIM POSNETT, CO-HEAD OF ONE GOLDMAN SACHS, 45Kim Posnett is co-head of One Goldman Sachs, the company's program to unify its approach to clients across divisions.

☆ Europe's venture capital firms are facing a painful 2023 as some struggle to prove returns to LPs in bid to raise fresh capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some of Europe's venture capital firms are struggling to show returns on their investments. Europe's venture capital sector has enjoyed a booming run in recent years. Now, the dramatically changed economic landscape has left not only the startups facing a scarcity of available capital, but also the venture capital firms that fund them too. There are likely to be countless more who are also struggling to raise capital. For some smaller firms, the frothy days of 2021 are looking increasingly like a distant memory.

☆ India hits back after George Soros says Adani troubles will greatly weaken Modi's grip on power
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NDIA - JANUARY 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Gautam Adani, chairman and founder of the Adani Group, and other delegates at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, at Mahatma Mandir Exhibition cum Convention Centre, on January 18, 2019 in Gandhinagar, India. India slammed billionaire investor George Soros after he alleged the Adani turmoil will weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grip on power and lead to a "democratic revival" in the country. The Adani Group has denied those allegations, calling the report a "calculated attack on India." Last week, Soros criticized the prime minister saying India was a democracy but Modi "is no democrat." Over the weekend, India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told a conference in Sydney that Soros' comments were typical of a "Euro-Atlantic view" and rejected his accusations.

☆ India FM Jaishankar says Soros dangerous, debate needed on democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - India’s foreign minister said the democratic world needed a debate on democracy, labelling billionaire investor George Soros “old, rich, opinionated and dangerous” for his comments on India that didn’t recognise its difficult path from colonisation. In a speech ahead of the Munich Security Conference the billionaire investor Soros on Thursday criticised India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying India was a democracy but Modi was not a democrat. read moreIndia’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told a conference in Sydney on Saturday that Soro's comments were typical of a "Euro Atlantic view". He said there was “a debate and conversation that we must have on democracy”, including whose values defined a democracy as the world rebalanced and became less Euro Atlantic. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank hosted a one-day conference where Jaishankar highlighted in a speech the urgent need to "de-risk the global economy" as India took over the G20 presidency.

Financial advisor Cassandra Cummings has taught more than 100,000 Black women start investing in the stock market. Here are four investments she recommends for beginners, including REITs and dividend stocks. Real estate investment trustsInvesting in real estate can require large sums of cash on hand to close sales, make renovations, and maintain properties. On the other hand, real estate investment trusts (REIT) are companies that own, operate or finance income-producing real estate ventures. It's an easy way to start investing in real estate if you don't have the capital to invest in your own rental property.

☆ I started a social-media-marketing company with $50 after getting laid off. Now I bring in more than $70,000 in monthly revenue.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Manu Muraro started offering freelance marketing services when she was laid off in 2016. She turned those services into Your Social Team, which offers social-media templates and coaching. Muraro started her career as a producer and creative manager at Cartoon Network before landing a job as a marketing director at a local startup. When she was laid off in 2016, Muraro tapped her experience to launch Your Social Team, a company that sells social-media templates and coaches social-media managers. Since then, she's grown her company to more than $70,000 in average monthly revenue, documents seen by Insider showed.

☆ A couple in their 30s that paid off their $234,000 mortgage in 5 years and hit a net worth of over $1 million explain how they invest their money and why they only keep $10,000 in their checking accou
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brennan and Erin Schlagbaum went from being deep in debt to a net worth of over $1 million. They also have two health savings accounts (HSAs), which let them contribute pre-tax dollars for health costs but can also be investment accounts and used to supplement their retirement accounts. Note that these accounts are called "taxable" because your investment income is subject to capital gains taxes. Accounts for their daughterBrennan and Erin have opened three investment accounts for their 16-month-old daughter: a Roth IRA, a brokerage account, and a 529 plan. The Schlagbaums have opened various investment accounts for their daughter.

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☆ Jobs report to give clues about where economy is headed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Investors will get another clue when the January jobs report is released on Friday. Economists predict that 185,000 jobs were added last month, a slowdown from the gain of 223,000 jobs in December and 263,000 in November. A further deceleration in the labor market would likely please the Fed, as it would show that last year’s rate hikes are successfully taking some air out of the economy. Along those lines, average hourly earnings, a measure of wages that is also part of the monthly jobs report, are expected to increase 4.3% year-over year. So far, tech earnings season is not off to an inspiring start, with Microsoft (MSFT), Intel (INTC) and IBM (IBM) all reporting weak results.

☆ I'm a 23-year-old founder booking $16,000 in sales a month with my social-media agency. Here's my advice for launching an online business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Lauren Russell, 23, is the founder of the social-media agency, Irresistibly Social LLC. She shared the steps she took to launch a social-media business and her advice on finding success. Russell shared the steps she took to launch a social-media business and her advice on niching down to find success. Building a business with "no floor under me"Irresistibly Social LLC started with a viral TikTok. My biggest piece of advice for social-media founders today is to stop trying to emulate what others are telling you to do.

☆ A bored hacktivist browsing an unsecured airline server stumbled upon national security secrets including the FBI's 'no fly' list. She says what she found reveals a 'perverse outgrowth of the surveill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Easily accessible secretsCrimew told Insider it took just minutes for her to access the server and find credentials that allowed her to see the database. When looking at the list, Crimew told Insider, "you start to notice just how young some of the people are." crimew told Insider. The outcome of the 2021 case is still pending, crimew told Insider. And that really just shows like where the priorities lie," crimew told Insider: "I just hope they maybe learned their lesson the second time."

☆ How VC Moritz Baier-Lentz went from being one of the world's best professional gamers to the new head of Lightspeed's gaming practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Moritz Baier-Lentz is joining Lightspeed Venture Partners as a partner to lead its gaming practice. Before becoming a top gaming investor, he was the top global professional "Diablo II" player. But he ditched his competitive gaming career for a more traditional career path in business. Lightspeed Venture Partners' newest partner Moritz Baier-Lentz has been a prominent gaming investor for years, orchestrating deals for big banks like Goldman Sachs and backing startups in the gaming space as an early-stage venture investor at BITKRAFT Ventures. Baier-Lentz put his gaming career on pause to go to college and then went on to work as a data manager for IBM.

☆ We welcome Cisco CEO's upbeat view on the economy, but remain cautious on future order growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But it's still unclear whether new order growth will slow down the line, once those previously booked orders are fulfilled. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. Chuck Robbins, CEO & Chairman of Cisco, speaking on Squawk Box at the WEF in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 18th, 2023.

☆ 3 Airbnb hosts share how they set up low-lift, reliable income streams — and they achieved 'superhost' status
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Airbnb gives hosts who get consistently good reviews after a year the status of "superhost." They shared their strategies for landing superhost status and avoiding common mistakes that can leave guests dissatisfied. Mosher, who's had 4,300 five-star reviews, shared her dos and don'ts for getting superhost status. She said that to get superhost status, hosts should communicate with guests throughout their stay. "But if we canceled on a guest reservation ourselves, it will hurt us in obtaining superhost status — which would ding our ranking."

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