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☆ Here are some key things to consider before tapping your retirement savings to pay off credit card debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As a result, they may be wondering if it's a good idea to tap their retirement savings to pay off the debt. Stopping your 401(k) contributions for a while — or at least cutting back — and redirecting those funds to debt payoff might make sense. For most others, though, there are more appealing options than a withdrawal, Rossman said. "Using a 401(k) loan to pay off high-interest debt, like credit cards, could reduce the amount you pay in interest to lenders," said Jessica Macdonald, head of editorial content at Fidelity Institutional. Other benefits to a 401(k) loan, Macdonald said, are that they don't require a credit check and they don't show up as debt on your credit report.

WASHINGTON — The 2022 midterm elections were full of surprises. Republicans began the year favored to notch big victories, yet they fell short and barely captured control of the House. Lake was widely seen as the election-denying candidate with the best chance to win a statewide race in a key battleground in the 2022 elections. Secretary of state contenders who echoed Trump’s fabricated claims of a stolen election lost, including Mark Finchem in Arizona, Kristina Karamo in Michigan and Jim Marchant in Nevada. Their wins led Democrats to win every competitive House race and gain control of the state House for the first time in more than a decade — although recent vacancies have called that majority into question.

☆ Netflix's 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' is a Christmas present for superfans only
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ani Bundel | Ani Bundel Is A Cultural Critic Who Has Been Writing Regularly Since Her Work Can Also Be Found At Elite Daily | Weta'S Telly Visions | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Sadly, “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” Netflix’s new spinoff, is a disappointment. Not that the original “Witcher” wholly depended on Cavill as its titular lead. “Blood Origin” is the first live-action spinoff, a prequel deep-dive that chronicles how witchers came to be. Unfortunately, “Blood Origin” doesn’t do much with its excellent pieces. “Blood Origin” just feels like a side quest, something that’s only worthwhile for superfans.

☆ Meet the little-known Google exec steering the company's $209 billion ad business through an uncertain economy and the minefield of privacy concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Jerry Dischler is steering Google's $209 billion ads business through major challenges. It falls to him to reinvent digital advertising to keep its $209 billion ad business going. At the same time, he has to keep growing Google's ad business amid increasingly dour spend forecasts. He went on to search ads in 2008, and by 2009, he was overseeing Google's team that developed new ad formats. Even when some parts of Google's ad business slows, as YouTube and Google network ads did last quarter, it gains strength in other areas, such as search.

☆ Factbox: Tesla's key managers in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is a look at Zhu and other key China managers who have helped Tesla’s Shanghai factory roar back from lockdowns to bring the electric vehicle maker close to its global growth targets for the year. TOM ZHUZhu, who was born in China but now holds a New Zealand passport, joined Tesla in 2014. Lankton later hired Zhu to take charge of Tesla's charging facility construction in China, according to one of the people who is close to Zhu. The moves boosted Tesla's sales in China, and its revenue from China more than tripled in 2016 from 2015. SONG GANGSong Gang has been plant manager of Giga Shanghai since 2018.

☆ Wall Street landlords who've stockpiled $110 billion are lying in wait for their biggest American home-buying spree yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( James Rodriguez | Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Institutional investors have earmarked as much as $110 billion to buy or build single-family homes. Institutional investors now own about 3% of the roughly 20 million single-family-rental homes in the US, according to Roofstock, an online marketplace for single-family investment properties. That would be nearly 9% of the roughly 88 million single-family homes in the US, according to the Census Bureau's most recent statistics from 2020. Better deals expected in the years aheadThere are signs the institutional investors won't have to wait long to begin buying. That leaves between roughly $70 billion and $80 billion that could still flow into the sector.

The email went out to students at Knox College, a small liberal arts school in Illinois, on the evening of Dec. 12. But this group had a new wrinkle for Knox students. “We have compromised your collage networks,” the email said, written in the kind of broken English common among international ransomware hackers. For you, its a sad day where everyone will see your personal and private info.”The incident at Knox College marks the first known case in which hackers used their access to contact students directly in order to intimidate them. The hackers’ website lists an entry to download data for Knox College but doesn’t actually lead to any student data.

☆ Watch CNBC’s full interview with Momentum Advisors' Allan Boomer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC’s full interview with Momentum Advisors' Allan BoomerAllan Boomer, Momentum Advisors managing partner and chief investment officer, joins 'The Exchange' to offer three stock picks that will benefit from a resilient consumer next year.

☆ Momentum Advisors Allan Boomer offers his bullish outlook on consumer stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | 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 EmailMomentum Advisors Allan Boomer offers his bullish outlook on consumer stocksAllan Boomer, Momentum Advisors managing partner and chief investment officer, joins 'The Exchange' to offer three stock picks that will benefit from a resilient consumer next year.

☆ China's reopening brings both risks and opportunities, Asian Development Bank says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowChina's reopening could bring opportunities as well as risks to its economy, Albert Park, chief economist at the Asian Development Bank told CNBC. His comments came a day after Hong Kong further eased travel and mobility measures. It's been surprising how quickly businesses in Hong Kong have bounced back, and those that left Hong Kong due to its stringent measures in the past are ready to return as well, claimed Zeman. "They've been so pleased with the result of yesterday and many are planning their trips back," he said, referring to people who do business in Hong Kong. With regard to tourism, China's reopening will accelerate Hong Kong's recovery to "bring us back to the old days again," according to Zeman.

☆ Fed interest rate decision spells housing trouble. It is worth it?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Allan Chernoff | Allan Chernoff Was Formerly A Senior Correspondent For Cnn | Cnbc. He Is Now Ceo Of Chernoff Communications. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and members of his Federal Reserve Board might not be cruel and heartless people, but they are in the process of killing the American dream of home ownership for millions of families. As the central bank continues to aggressively raise interest rates in its battle to get inflation under control, the housing market is collateral damage. Had the Federal Reserve been more vigilant on its inflation watch, much of this pain could have been avoided. Already the housing market, which accounts for nearly 18% of the U.S. economy, is in a serious recession, with home sales sinking and prices beginning to fall. As the housing market slumps, the Federal Reserve is fighting a battle not only to curb inflation, but to restore its reputation as an inflation fighter.

On Tuesday, for example, Fox News host Sean Hannity said Republicans “have been unwilling for whatever reason” to vote early and by mail. Ahead of the general election, registered Democrats held an 8-point edge over registered Republicans in Georgia in early voting. Now about to enter his seventh term, Schweikert said that Republicans in his state used to enjoy a robust early voting edge. Kirk, who had raised concerns about mail-in voting, changed his tune after the November midterms, tweeting that Republicans must recognize the “power of early voting.” But Johnson has called for a ban on mail-in voting. At the forefront of GOP concerns over early voting is Pennsylvania, where Democrats enjoyed an edge so substantial that Republicans did not come close to overcoming it.

☆ TSX posts biggest weekly decline since September as oil tumbles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended down 22.12 points, or 0.1%, at 19,947.07, its lowest closing level since Nov. 17. For the week, the index was down 2.6%, its biggest weekly decline since September. The Toronto market's energy sector fell 0.7% as U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.6% lower at $71.02 a barrel. Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ DocuSign CEO on earnings: Pushing growth in digital self-service motions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDocuSign CEO on earnings: Pushing growth in digital self-service motionsAllan Thygesen, DocuSign CEO, joins 'TechCheck' to discuss what's behind the company's outperformance, DocuSign's gross margin performance and more.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., kept his supporters energized ahead of Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff, and it showed on the electoral map. Turnout was high for Tuesday’s election, an NBC News analysis of election data shows, with runoff turnout at almost 90% of the general election’s level. That strong turnout was the key to Warnock’s victory, as the Democrat improved his results in almost two-thirds of Georgia’s 159 counties. By comparison, seven of the 10 counties where turnout fell the most were counties Walker won in November, and Walker improved his vote share in just one county that Warnock carried in November. Warnock entered Election Day with an early vote advantage, which was even more heavily Democratic than it was in the general election.

Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local officials in key presidential swing states for any and all communications involving former President Donald Trump, his campaign and a series of aides and allies who assisted in his effort to overturn the 2020 election. A spokesperson for Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson confirmed that Smith’s office had sent a subpoena. Scott McDonnell, the Dane County clerk, confirmed to NBC News that his county had received a virtually identical subpoena as Milwaukee. An Arizona elections official confirmed that Maricopa County had received such a subpoena this month with similar demands for those communications. "Maricopa County has received a subpoena and will comply," Fields Moseley, a county spokesperson, said.

☆ Christmas vacations: 15 of the best places to go
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The Bath Christmas Market has a multitude of wooden chalets selling distinctively British handmade crafts in a quaint Georgian setting. Bogotá, ColombiaA woman dressed as Santa Claus sits next to a Christmas tree and a Christmas star at Bolivar Square in Bogota. Salzburg and Oberndorf, AustriaThe Christmas Market and associated festivities in Salzburg are really something to sing about. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg claims to be the oldest Christmas market in France and one of the oldest in Europe. damianalmua/Adobe StockThe traditional Christmas colors of red, green and white take on an entirely new meaning in New Zealand.

Persons: CNN —, Santa Claus, Claus, ”, Allan Baxter, Jesus, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Centre –, Austen, Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, Roy Rochlin, Bergdorf Goodman, Wangari Maathai, Fernando Vergara, “ Ruta, John’s, Miguel de Allende, Mary, Joseph, “ posada ”, Mozart, White Organizations: CNN, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, The, Royal, Catholic, Rockefeller, Getty Images Rockefeller, New York, Radio City, Columbus Circle, Fashion’s, Saks Fifth, Macy’s Herald Square, Kenyan, Park, Nuremberg, Toy Museum, Bolivar, Downtown, Malta Toy Museum, Quebec City, Adobe, Nord Expe, Mexico Piñatas, UNESCO, ”, Santa Locations: England, Philippines, Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, Santa, Bethlehem , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York City, Bethlehem, Moravian, Bath, “, Fernando , Philippines, Asia, San Fernando, Catholic Philippines, Manila, of Bethlehem, Barcelona, Spain, Santa Eulalia, New York City New York, Central Park, Macy’s, Nairobi, Kenya, Nuremberg, Germany, German, Bogotá, Colombia, Bogota, Christmastime, Malta, Downtown Valletta, Quebec City, Canada, Petit Champlain, Quebec, Old Quebec, Sentier, Nord, Miguel, Mexico, posadas, ponche, Piñatas, Salzburg, Oberndorf, Austria, ” Salzburg, Bavaria, Strasbourg, France, Europe, Queenstown , New Zealand, New Zealand, Queenstown, Wakatipu

☆ Today's Google Doodle features a Silicon Valley trailblazer who knew Steve Jobs and Wozniak—and 'was not impressed with them'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Today's Google Doodle highlights a little-known piece of Silicon Valley history. The animation recognizes tech and gaming pioneer Jerry Lawson, one of the few Black engineers working in the tech industry in the 1970s. The console was a flop with consumers, but it changed the gaming industry forever by featuring the first-ever removable video game cartridges. A different figure from those early tech days made a much larger impression on Lawson: Allan Alcorn, creator of the iconic video game "Pong." The conversation prompted Lawson to start building his own coin-operated video game in his garage, called "Demolition Derby."

☆ Top Canada banks RBC, National Bank's profits dip as bad debt provisions mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Profit from personal and commercial banking for RBC and National Bank in the quarter grew 5% and 13%, respectively. RBC earmarked C$381 million in provisions for credit losses (PCL), compared with a C$227 million release last year. National Bank reported C$87 million versus a C$41 million release a year ago. Shares of RBC, which agreed to buy HSBC's (HSBA.L) Canadian business on Tuesday, were down 1.4%, while National Bank fell nearly 4%. National Bank, on the other hand, posted an adjusted profit of C$2.08 per share, below analysts' expectation of C$2.24.

☆ Market watchers' comments on COVID-19 protests in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what market watchers are saying about the unrest:ALLAN VON MEHREN, CHIEF ANALYST, DANSKE BANK, COPENHAGEN:"Normally protests in China are aimed at local governments but a crowd in Shanghai directed their protest against the Communist Party and Xi Jinping." "The protests come as the recent tweaks in the zero-Covid policy seem to have backfired as they led to rising cases across the country that subsequently triggered new restrictions being implemented. MARK HAEFELE, GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CIO, UBS, ZURICH:"We do not expect economic or market headwinds in China to abate significantly over the coming months. KEN CHEUNG, CHIEF ASIA FX STRATEGIST, MIZUHO, HONG KONG:"The China economy is heading to the direction of reopening but the road to the reopening could be a bumpy one. GARY NG, ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, HONG KONG:"The market does not like uncertainties that are difficult to price and the China protests clearly fall into this category.

Conservative-led governments in oil-producing Alberta and Saskatchewan are demanding Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government cede more power on issues from climate policy to gun control. Provinces already manage non-renewable natural resources, while the federal government has some jurisdiction over the environment. Alberta's proposed legislation "undermines the authority and duty of the sovereign nations that entered into treaty," Treaty 8 First Nations Grand Chief Arthur Noskey said in the statement. First Nations only agreed in treaties to share their land to "the depth of a plow," said Chief Bobby Cameron of Saskatchewan's Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, meaning agreements did not cover oil or minerals deeper underground. The backlash against Alberta and Saskatchewan sovereignty mirrors Indigenous opposition to Quebec's attempt to secede from Canada in a 1995 referendum which it narrowly lost.

☆ U.S. housing faces longer descent to basement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. housing market is destined to keep sliding. The highest mortgage rates in 15 years have stifled demand, leading the pace of existing home sales to slow 31% since January. An influx of new supply should depress prices from pandemic-era highs, but affordability will be squeezed well into 2023. With existing owners locked into lower mortgage rates, they’re unlikely to put their homes up for sale, curbing supply. Housing starts for single-family homes decelerated to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 855,000 units in October, the Census Bureau said on Nov. 18.

Hunt, reminding lawmakers of his own past as an entrepreneur in marketing and publishing, made accelerating economic growth a priority in his budget speech to parliament on Thursday. Britain is badly in need of a growth fillip. It also cut its growth forecast for 2024 to 1.3% before a better couple of years thereafter with growth at 2.6% and 2.7%. It said Hunt's plan to cut public investment from 2024 would probably weigh on productivity growth - key to an economy's long-term prospects - beyond its five-year forecasts. "I have tried to avoid anything that damages long-term growth," Hunt told the BBC.

Another focus of the conference was “electability,” with many Republicans expressing increased interest in making sure that candidates who emerged from primaries were best positioned to win in November. Pete Ricketts, who just finished a term as RGA co-chair, suggested that the group could get more involved in primaries. The RGA did spend to defend incumbents facing primaries but now may consider spending in open races. “The idea that Trump would make an announcement yesterday — and I’ve been proven right, because it’s barely a story — it was just stupid,” he said. It’s clearly from a position of weakness, and for his own self-serving purposes, whatever they may be legal or otherwise.

As Republicans across the country saw their predictions of commanding victories up and down the ballot fall short on election night, Democrats in Pennsylvania were celebrating signs of a blue wave. Spencer Platt / Getty Images fileMany state Republicans said it’s no surprise that the strategy worked. “I think Republicans are going to be very demoralized here,” one Republican who worked on a Pennsylvania campaign, said in an interview. But while Oz struggled to overcome questions about his residency, Democrats and Republicans both said the election was driven by the Shapiro-Mastriano dynamic. “To have a wave, you not only have to have the initial motion, but you have to have the driver.

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