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☆ 401(k) 'hardship' withdrawals hit record high, Vanguard says — another sign households feel the pinch of inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Thomas Barwick | Stone | Getty ImagesThe share of retirement savers who withdrew money from a 401(k) plan to cover a financial hardship hit a record high in October, according to data from Vanguard Group. Nearly 0.5% of workers participating in a 401(k) plan took a new "hardship distribution" in October, according to Vanguard, which tracks 5 million savers. Americans are 'feeling the pinch from inflation'Nearly all 401(k) plans allow workers to take hardship withdrawals, but employers may vary in their rationale for allowing them. Participants can also access 401(k) savings via loans or nonhardship withdrawals. Beyond the apparent acute financial need among households, hardship withdrawals carry negative repercussions.

☆ Mitch McConnell could've tried to block a bill to protect same-sex marriage. He stayed silent about it instead.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mitch McConnell never publicly offered his position on a bill to protect same-sex marriage. Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina on amendments to the bill, told Insider. "You know, the leader has to look at his conference," Tillis told Insider, referencing his own time as the Speaker of the North Carolina House. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a conservative opponent of the bill, told Insider that "of course" he wished McConnell had taken a vocal position on the bill. As Sinema stood up to embrace the Iowa Republican, McConnell rose from his seat and voted no.

☆ Robinhood to pay a 1% 'match' on customer contributions to retail individual retirement accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The retail brokerage will pay a 1% "match" on contributions its customers make to a Robinhood individual retirement account, the firm said Tuesday. The firm is billing it as the first-ever match paid to retail IRA customers (i.e., outside of a workplace retirement plan.) A 401(k) match is a common retirement benefit offered by employers that sponsor a workplace retirement plan. How the match worksA 401(k) match is generally structured as a share of employee contributions. There aren't any contribution or account minimums to get the Robinhood match, and trades don't carry commissions.

☆ American Arrested in Dubai at Risk of Deportation to Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI—An American citizen arrested recently on a visit to the United Arab Emirates faces possible extradition to his native Egypt after criticizing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and calling on Egyptians to protest in videos he made while living in the U.S.Sherif Osman, 46, an Egyptian-American dual national, was one of a handful of Egyptians abroad urging people to organize demonstrations during a United Nations climate summit in November held in the Egyptian beach city of Sharm El Sheikh and attended by world leaders including President Biden.

☆ The fear of loss can cost investors big-time. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Westend61The fear of loss is a powerful emotion for investors — and, if left unchecked, can cost them big bucks in the long term due to years of forfeiture of investment gains. watch nowFor investors, that evolutionary impulse plays out as "loss aversion bias." Investors have a bias toward avoiding financial loss. Prioritizing the avoidance of loss over earning a gain "is a major reason why so many investors underperform the market," Aguilar said. Meanwhile, 401(k) investors pulled money out of stock mutual funds during the same time period.

☆ APEC summit host Thailand urges leaders to put aside differences
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Juarawee Kittisilpa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, wife Naraporn Chao-ocha, China's President Xi Jinping and wife Peng Liyuan attend the Gala dinner of the APEC Summit 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 17, 2022. Thailand Government House/Handout via REUTERSBANGKOK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Thailand, the host of the APEC summit, urged leaders of the group meeting in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday to "rise above differences" and focus on resolving pressing global economic issues in areas such as trade and inflation. China's President Xi Jinping is attending the summit, while the United States is being represented by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Security was tight at the APEC summit with around 100 anti-government protesters gathered and planning to march on the meeting venue on Friday morning. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov will represent him at APEC.

☆ Inside the marriage of Elaine Chao and Mitch McConnell, a political power couple who met later in life
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Mitch McConnell and former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao are a GOP power couple. Chao has starred in campaign ads defending McConnell's record on women's issues. In November, McConnell voted against protections for interracial marriages despite his own. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up!

☆ Resurrection of U.S.-China Ties Boosts COP27 Climate Talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Chao Deng | Sha Hua | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—The revival of formal dialogue between the U.S. and China at United Nations climate talks in Egypt is injecting diplomatic momentum into negotiations that delegates say have been rife with division. Cooperation between the U.S. and China is critical if the world is to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, according to climate scientists. Without the world’s two largest emitters of carbon dioxide working together, they say, it will be impossible to meet the target of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.

☆ Egypt Dims the Lights in Cairo to Free Up More Gas for Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO—Egypt is racing to provide more natural gas to Europe by cutting back on its domestic energy consumption, part of an effort to bulk up state coffers amid an economic crisis. The Egyptian government started this summer to direct the scaling back of domestic electricity consumption, reducing lighting in some streets, squares and other public areas, as well as in shops and government buildings. The aim is to try to lower the amount of natural gas needed for generating electricity by 15% and ship that surplus to buyers in Europe, who are paying top dollar for liquefied natural gas.

☆ Rick Scott launches his Trump-backed challenge of Mitch McConnell to become Senate GOP leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sen. Rick Scott is challenging Mitch McConnell to become the top Senate Republican. Scott's challenge comes as former President Donald Trump and some Senate Republicans blame McConnell for a lackluster midterm election. As Politico broke the news of Scott's challenge, McConnell's allies lashed out. As the leader of Senate Republicans' campaign arm, Scott played a key role in shaping his party's strategy. Unlike McConnell, Scott did not want the GOP to aggressively intervene in contested primaries, which led to Trump-backed challengers like Dr. Mehmet Oz and Don Bolduc emerging in key races in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, respectively.

☆ Rick Scott — Mitch McConnell's would-be rival — dodged a question on whether he'd back the Kentucky senator for GOP leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Rick Scott dodged a question about whether he would back Mitch McConnell for GOP leader. KUDLOW: Are you backing Mitch McConnell? Trump endorses Rick Scott for Republican Senate Leader: “I think Rick Scott would be much better than McConnell. I'm not a fan of McConnell and I am a fan of Rick Scott." "Because Masters said he would vote against Mitch McConnell, and so Mitch would rather be leader than have a Republican majority.

☆ Matt Gaetz mocked GOP leadership over the midterms, dubbing Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and Ronna McDaniel a 'McFailure'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matt Gaetz blasted several top GOP leaders as vote counts for the midterms draw to a close. McFailure," tweet Gaetz, meaning Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Gaetz's tweet laid part of the blame on McCarthy, McConnell, and McDaniel. McDaniel has publicly had warmer ties with Trump in recent years than McConnell and McCarthy. Nor did representatives for McCarthy, McConnell, and McDaniel.

The U.S. outlined a new carbon-credit plan that aims to pump billions of dollars into developing countries’ energy transition, while some businesses expressed caution over investing in the program. On Wednesday, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry presented the program, called the Energy Transition Accelerator, at United Nations climate talks in Egypt. The program, he said, aims to enlist investors in efforts to reduce emissions across entire regions or countries by paying developing nations to shut down fossil-fuel energy sources and accelerate the construction of renewable energy.

☆ U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry Rekindles Contact With China at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said on Tuesday that he spoke with his Chinese counterpart during the COP27 United Nations climate conference, rekindling contact between countries that are pivotal in the global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions. “We need to be talking to each other because we’re the two biggest economies in the world and the two biggest emitters,” Mr. Kerry told The Wall Street Journal at a live event at the Egyptian seaside resort where the 27th U.N. climate gathering is taking place.

☆ Egypt’s Food Supply in Danger as Farmers Struggle to Adapt to Climate Change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FAYOUM, Egypt—Armyworms have ravaged Mohamed Abdel Tawab’s maize crop, the result of increasingly frequent heat waves in this central Egyptian oasis that lies to the west of the Nile. In recent years, the changing weather patterns have helped give rise to pests that have attacked his tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis and eggplants. Earlier this year, he tried to plant clover, but the weather was too hot and no sprouts appeared.

☆ Egypt Keeps Tight Grip on Protests as Host of COP27 Climate Conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Demonstrators have to navigate through a complex registration system to gain access to a limited “Green Zone” protest space outside the main COP27 conference area in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—Egyptian authorities have detained more than a hundred people in connection with demonstrations planned for the COP27 climate summit with rights groups saying the government appears increasingly concerned that protests could spill over into a broader display of dissent against President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi . Human Rights Watch, a New York-based nonprofit, on Sunday said that camera-surveillance networks had been set up in taxis in Sharm El Sheikh to monitor who is traveling around the town. It also pointed to a complex registration system to gain access to a limited “Green Zone” protest space outside the main conference as a further indication that Egyptian authorities are trying to limit free speech around the summit.

☆ Leaders Gather for COP27 as Fallout From Ukraine War Complicates Climate Talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Eric Niiler | Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

COP27 is expected to focus on boosting funds to developing countries to help them adapt to the effects of climate change. SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—World leaders began to converge on Egypt on Monday at the outset of two weeks of climate talks overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and energy-market turmoil. French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will help kick off the proceedings, while President Biden will join the talks later in the week. Absent from the summit are the leaders China and Russia, countries that have a pivotal role in shaping the global energy map.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is planning to propose a new carbon-credit program that aims to ramp up funding from businesses and governments in wealthy economies to help developing countries cut back on fossil fuels. Mr. Kerry said in an interview that he plans to make the proposal at the United Nations climate-change conference in Egypt on Wednesday, adding that he was still consulting with representatives of other countries on the size and structure of the program.

☆ Hong Kong stocks log best week in more than a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) soared more than 5% on Friday and finished the week up 8.7%, logging its biggest gain since 2011. China’s Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) rose 5.3% this week, its best performance in more than two years. David Chao, global market strategist for Invesco Asia-Pacific, said some of this investor angst appears to have lifted. The Hang Seng shot up 5.4%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 2.4%. The Hang Seng has plummeted 31% year-to-date, compared to a 22% drop in the S&P 500.

☆ China will continue to be No. 1 in the 'global supply chain order,' says strategist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina will continue to be No. 1 in the 'global supply chain order,' says strategistDavid Chao of Invesco says, however, that "a diversification to its neighbors will be likely."

☆ IMF to Lend Egypt $3 Billion to Help Safeguard Economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Egyptian authorities have been struggling to import enough wheat, corn and soybeans to feed the country’s population. CAIRO—The International Monetary Fund reached an agreement on Thursday to lend $3 billion to Egypt, its latest effort to help emerging markets hit by the war in Ukraine and global inflation. Egypt has been one of the hardest hit emerging market economies amid the strengthening dollar, with authorities struggling to import enough wheat, corn and soybeans. Private businesses in particular have been squeezed as the government imposes import restrictions to try to preserve its foreign currency reserves.

☆ Wall Street's rising stars admit their biggest career mistakes — from missing out on lucrative bets to taking too much on — and what they learned from them
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Alex Morrell | Alyson Velati | Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vinay Trivedi, a vice president at General Atlantic focusing on the technology sector. I don't think we necessarily transitioned fast enough to how people learn if we're only doing audio from home. - David Israel, 27, vice president at Credit SuisseAngel Pu Shum is a principal within Warburg Pincus's technology group. -Allison Boxer, 29, senior vice president and economist at PIMCONoah Zerance, a vice president with Bank of America's global sustainable-finance group. and the response would be, 'Well, we don't know how we do it yet.

☆ Sen. Patrick Leahy Blocks $75 Million in Funding to Egypt, Citing Human Rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Human rights groups say Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi oversees one of the world’s worst crackdowns on human rights. CAIRO—A U.S. senator blocked $75 million in military funding this year to Egypt, citing insufficient progress on the country’s treatment of political prisoners, despite recent prisoner releases by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi . Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), chairman of the Senate appropriations committee, informed the State Department that he would put the money it approved on hold ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline for the release of the funds.

☆ Egypt’s Answer to a Rising Dollar Puts Everyday Items Out of Reach
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CAIRO—When customers walk into Ahmed Ali’s pharmacy here, they often walk out without the medicine they need. He has run out of nearly a dozen prescription drugs for common ailments like high blood pressure and osteoporosis. “Every day I have to say that something isn’t available,” said Mr. Ali, 26, whose patients are flying to Turkey or the U.K. to get medicine, if they can afford the flight. Those who can’t turn to a growing black market for prescription drugs.

Share this -Link copiedCommittee votes to subpoena Trump The committee voted on Thursday unanimously to subpoena Trump. Trump would not be the first president to be subpoenaed, nor would he be the first former president subpoenaed by Congress. "Even before the networks called the race for President Biden on Nov. 7th, his chances of pulling out a victory were virtually nonexistent, and President Trump knew it," Kinzinger said. “At times, President Trump acknowledged the reality of his loss. “What did President Trump know?

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