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☆ Security, red banners and COVID curbs: Beijing readies for 20th Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Beijing has stepped up security and COVID curbs and decorated the capital Beijing with red political banners as it gears up for a Communist Party congress where President Xi Jinping is poised to become China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. The 20th party congress, which opens on Oct. 16, occurs every five years and brings together 2,300 party members, mostly behind closed doors, at the vast Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square. One hashtag about Beijing "pop-up windows" started on Oct. 5 and generated over 12 million views by Tuesday. A lockdown in Beijing during Congress would be an even larger dent on Xi and the Party's unwavering commitment to zero-COVID. Besides the COVID "pop-up windows", Beijing authorities recently introduced a series of measures to show their commitment to keeping the Congress virus-free, from reinforcing COVID monitoring teams at key airports and railway stations to increasing the frequency of COVID testing for office workers.

☆ FASB Extends Accounting Relief as Companies Switch From Libor
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Financial Accounting Standards Board allowed companies to continue ignoring certain rules around modifying loan contracts and accounting for hedges of interest-rate risks as they move away from the London interbank offered rate. Libor and other benchmarks underpin trillions of dollars of financial contracts, including corporate loans, mortgages and interest-rate derivatives. PREVIEWThe FASB initially gave companies relief in March 2020, in an effort to help them work through the large volumes of financial contracts they needed to update or renegotiate as part of their preparations to abandon Libor. U.S. banks stopped issuing new financial contracts using Libor at the end of last year. Companies are considering which version of SOFR to switch to from Libor.

☆ British pub group Mitchells & Butlers warns on costs, shares drop
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Q4 LfL sales up 1.5% vs 2019Flags higher energy and utility costsShares down ~7%Sept 29 (Reuters) - Mitchells & Butlers (MAB.L) warned of tighter margins in its new financial year as costs rise, driving shares in the British pub operator to two-year lows. Energy and utility costs have risen to roughly 150 million pounds ($161.6 million) in the year ending September 2022, from 80 million pounds in the 2019 period, and could rise further next year, it said in a statement on Thursday. Shares in the company, which have nearly halved in value this year, fell nearly 7% to their lowest since Oct. 2020. read moreBritain has tried to ease the pressure of soaring energy costs, saying it would cap wholesale electricity and gas costs for businesses at less than half the market rate from the coming month until the end of March. Like-for-like sales were up 1.5% for the fourth quarter ended Sept. 24, against 2019 levels, amid rail strikes and extreme heat.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape as streaming video reshapes entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Company valuations are set to fall back to earth in 2023, and private equity and strategics are lying in wait. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Joshua Grode's Legendary Entertainment, backed by Dalian Wanda and now Apollo Group, which took a stake in the studio in January. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

Parafin, launched in 2020, works with so-called platform partners, or companies that other small businesses sell their products through. All the cofounders knew was that they wanted to build technology that would help small businesses. And they may not get their first contract payment from the government for as long as 120 days," Reed, the startup's CEO, told Insider. Helping small businesses manage their taxesComplYant's founder Shiloh Jackson wants to help people be present in their bookkeeping. HoneyBookWhile countless small businesses have been harmed by the pandemic, self-employment and entrepreneurship have found ways to blossom as Americans started new ventures.

☆ Hungary submits new anti-graft bills to avoid loss of EU funds
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Krisztina Than | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hungary's Justice Minister Judit Varga speaks in a press conference during a General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, June 22, 2021. The EU's executive on Sunday recommended suspending funds worth 7.5 billion euros over what it sees as Hungary's failure to combat corruption and uphold the rule of law. Hungary's forint currency and Hungarian bonds have sold off in recent weeks over fears that Budapest would lose billions of euros in EU money. Hungary's case is the first in the EU under a new financial sanction meant to better protect the rule of law and combat corruption in the 27-nation bloc. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How more than $424 million in taxpayer money is locked away in a forgotten government fund — and lawmakers won't spend it or return it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The intended beneficiaries of the taxpayer-fueled Presidential Election Campaign Fund — presidential candidates — don't want it, as they're soured by its restrictions on their election fundraising and spending. A US Treasury document detailing the finances of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Several nonprofit leaders told Insider that Congress could use the Presidential Election Campaign Fund money to immediately ease suffering, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2019-20 congressional session, two Republican lawmakers sponsored similar bills that attempted to kill the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Until that or any other repurposing decision comes down, the FEC continues to spend taxpayer resources keeping the Presidential Election Campaign Fund alive.

☆ The Fed commits even more to inducing a 'growth recession' as it raises interest rates at an extra-fast pace for the third time in a row
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Fed lifted interest rates by another 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday, marking the third such hike in a row. The Federal Open Market Committee raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, marking the third consecutive hike of that size. Higher interest rates are the central bank's best tool for countering high inflation. As the Fed lifts rates through the rest of the year, economists expect spending to cool further and for the labor market to soften. Expectations of slower overall growth have intensified concerns that the Fed is steering the US into a growth recession.

"It's about breaches of the rule of law compromising the use and management of EU funds," said EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn. The 7.5 billion euros in question amounts to 5% of the country's estimated 2022 GDP. Navracsics expressed hope that the Commission would be reassured by the implementation of the reforms and withdraw its proposed sanctions against Hungary by Nov. 19. The Commission is already blocking some 6 billion euros in funds envisaged for Hungary in a separate COVID economic recovery stimulus over the same corruption concerns. Hungary had irregularities in nearly 4% of EU funds spending in 2015-2019, according to the bloc's anti-fraud body OLAF, by far the worst result among the 27 EU countries.

☆ Starbucks soars after its investor day. Here's what Wall Street analysts had to say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

BTIG Starbucks' investor day "lived up to expectations," according to BTIG analysts Peter Saleh and Ben Parente. Ivankoe noted that, in December 2016, Starbucks released a five-year strategic plan that called for annual EPS growth between 15% and 20%. "We think investors had also expected more conservative guidance to provide room for the incoming CEO and return to a beat & raise story," the analysts wrote. Wedbush Wedbush analysts Nick Setyan and Michael Symington were more muted in their reaction to Starbucks' investor day. China, a view that, to us, seems equally out of place given ongoing global macro headwinds," the analysts wrote.

This week, a reader asks: Should they use extra money to pay for college or buy a house? I want to try to buy a house with it (we have other house-buying money put aside). I feel like housing prices will only grow and a house is a good investment. He thinks the market will crash eventually. No matter what you and your partner decide to do with the money, make sure you take a minute to celebrate your achievement.

☆ Planet: Companies are accelerating their investment in combating the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-03 | by ( Bria Overs | Megan Dematteo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Many are now investing in green bonds and other financial instruments to drive change. Green bonds are one way companies are using new financial offerings to drive change. Also called sustainability bonds, they work like regular bonds in many ways and allow companies to raise money for capital projects. Each project it selects aims to support "low-carbon design and engineering, renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon mitigation, and sequestration," the company said. "People are going to have to start demonstrating what they're doing inside these green bonds," Grainger said.

☆ I started working with a financial planner this year and I've already saved and invested more than I ever had before
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-14 | by ( Bria Overs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This year, I met with a financial planner for the first time to start making progress. My financial planner helped me figure out my goals and how to achieve themBefore I started working on Master Your Money, I didn't know what a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) was — it sounded expensive and hard to find. I was able to get a financial planner, Raman Singh, and more hands-on help with my money, without spending a lot. Which is amazing, but my financial planner wanted to challenge me to take it a step further by starting a Roth IRA and a brokerage account. Outside of my financial planner, I decided to independently invest in cryptocurrency.

Persons: —, Raman Singh, Roth, I'm, I've Organizations: Service, Roth IRA, IRA Locations: Los Angeles , California, Brooklyn , New York, cryptocurrency

Some money decisions call for reinforcement from a financial planner, who can help organize your overall financial picture, or focus on specific financial needs. 7 reasons to hire a financial plannerHere are 7 reasons you should consider hiring a financial planner. If this sounds like you, consider consulting a financial planner to formulate an investment strategy that satisfies your risk tolerance. There are a few things you should know about any financial planner you're considering in advance of booking an appointment. And by working together with a financial planner, you can work your way to achieving your financial goals — and financial freedom.

I never seemed to be on the same page with the financial advisor we used for nearly two years. AdvertisementRecently, the investment firm we use hired a new financial advisor who took over our accounts. In our first meeting with her, we got more accomplished than we had in nearly two years with our previous financial advisor. We don't even miss that money, and we're working toward our financial goals each month like clockwork, which feels great. She also made sure to tell us when we were actually on track for our retirement savings goals, which was an amazing feeling.

Persons: —, didn't, there's, it's Organizations: Service

When I started out as a financial planner at 23, I talked too much — I was too eager to prove I knew my stuff. I took the responsibility of being a financial planner really seriously, and I was desperate to learn so that I could give good advice. My evolution as a financial plannerAfter I got a few years under my belt and became a certified financial planner, my knowledge and confidence grew, but I still misunderstood my role as a financial planner. How to find the best financial planner for you1. And if you happen to be a young financial planner, I hope you can take my experience and learn this lesson much more quickly than I did!

Persons: —, waaaaaay, Howser, I'd, I've, who's, it's Organizations: Service, Honda, IRA

We've made learning about money easier for you by compiling a list of some of our go-to websites for money advice. CNN MoneyWhy we like it: If you're more interested in breaking news that has to do with money, you'll like CNN Money. CNN Money covers personal finance as well as featuring articles on the economy, small businesses, and luxury. He curates the best money articles from a wide web of personal finance bloggers and writers — "rockstars" — and then shares them on Rockstar Finance. You can sign up by email to stay up to date and receive the new rockstar articles daily.

Persons: Guo Bobi, We've, Kiplinger, Wise, NerdWallet, Rich, Ramit Sethi, Sethi, — Organizations: Kiplinger, Credit.com, Reading, Google, Facebook, CNN, New York Times, New York, Rockstar Finance, rockstar

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