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☆ Premarket stocks: What the OPEC cuts mean for Putin and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

OPEC+ was formed in 2016 to coordinate and regulate oil production and stabilize global oil prices. What it means for Putin: OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production could have big implications for Russia. After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the United States and United Kingdom immediately stopped purchasing oil from the country. Higher-priced oil could help Russia pay for its war on Ukraine and also boosts revenue in Saudi Arabia. Current regulations, Dimon argued, could actually lull banks into complacency without actually addressing real system-wide banking issues.

☆ South Korea's LGES revives Arizona battery factory plan with $5.6 bln investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) (373220.KS) said on Friday it would invest 7.2 trillion won ($5.58 billion) to build a battery factory in Arizona, reviving a project paused last year due to adverse economic conditions. Friday's announcement comes after LGES in January said it had been in "active discussion" with Tesla and electric vehicle startups to supply batteries from the proposed factory. Automakers and EV battery producers are racing to set up manufacturing in the United States to take advantage of federal subsidies that could generate up to $45 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to offset the costs of production. LGES, which supplies Tesla, General Motors Co (GM.N) and others, also has production sites in South Korea, China, Poland, Canada and Indonesia. Shares of LGES were trading down 1.6% versus a 0.4% fall in the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11) as of 0620 GMT.

☆ Analysis: What's behind bitcoin's latest surge?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Tom Wilson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The original and biggest cryptocurrency has been here before, its 15-year history peppered with dramatic price increases and equally vertiginous drops. Driving bitcoin's gains have been its core user base of retail investors, analysts said. In the past, too, dramatic price swings for bitcoin have been closely tied to shifts in monetary policy globally. In 2022, bitcoin plummeted over 65% as higher rates triggered the fall of a major crypto token, precipitating the closure of major hedge funds and crypto lenders. To be sure, some investors say developments to bitcoin's intrinsic characteristics are now capable of supporting its price.

☆ IT Leaders Reassess Vendor Risks After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Corporate information technology leaders say they are reassessing vendor relationships and putting greater emphasis on risk management as they navigate the aftermath of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. “You can be proactive all you want, but the response to a crisis, the response to a disruption no one saw coming, is just as important,” said Sineesh Keshav , chief technology officer and chief information officer at logistics real-estate company Prologis Inc. He and other executives spoke Tuesday at The Wall Street Journal’s CIO Network Summit in Palo Alto, Calif.

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Credit risk indicators flashed red on Monday, as investors worried about contagion risks across corporate debt markets after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and New York's Signature Bank in the space of 72 hours. Investment grade credit spreads, which indicate the premium investors demand to hold corporate bonds over safer government debt securities, have also been widening. The BlackRock Investment Institute said that after recently trimming its 'overweight' recommendation for investment grade credit, it was reassessing its view due to tighter financial conditions. In money markets, a closely watched indicator of credit risk in the U.S. banking system edged up on Monday. Other banks with California exposure were taking the brunt of the sell-off in the debt capital markets, he added.

The way you're saving and investing money should change as you get close to retirement. Here's what I think you should be doing with your money right now if retirement is on your horizon. Even if you're getting close to retirement, don't panic — it's never too late to make a plan. Increase your savingsIf you're nearing retirement and haven't been able to save enough already, it's a smart move to start increasing your retirement savings contributions now. But there's no one-size-fits-all retirement savings strategy.

We'll use our tax refund to pay off some debt and consider closing unneeded credit cards. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyAs a low-income family with multiple children, my husband Ian and I qualify for the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, and we usually have a sizable tax refund every year. From the end of the tax year until we file, typically in February, my husband and I are in an ongoing conversation about our tax refund and how we want to use it. Editor's Rating 4.2/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.6/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Editor's Rating 4.5/5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star Learn more On TurboTax's website Learn more On Tax Slayer's website Learn more On H&R Block's website1. When we get our 2022 tax refund, the first thing we'll do is pay off our credit cards so we can start with a clean slate.

☆ I coach CEOs and NFL officials and what sets them apart is their obsession with improvement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Duane Carlisle trains CEOs and NFL officials. He is a former coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He's the former head strength-and-conditioning coach for the San Francisco 49ers. His clients, many of whom require him to sign nondisclosure agreements, include leaders such as Sasan Goodarzi, the CEO of Intuit. I work with CEOs, high-profile executives, and NFL officials as a high-performance coach.

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Index provider MSCI said on Wednesday it will postpone implementation of updates to weightings for two of India's Adani Group companies, Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), to the May benchmark review. The reversal of the updates to Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission in the February index review will be reflected in the MSCI Index Product files starting from Feb. 16, MSCI said. MSCI will also apply a special treatment for all Adani Group's associated securities in the MSCI Equity Indexes starting from February. The new index weightings were due to come into effect on March 1 but the proposed changes to Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission will be delayed until May. MSCI examined the size of companies' free floats, having determined there was "sufficient uncertainty" surrounding some investors in Adani companies.

With Europe's winter energy crisis abating and power prices falling, there are growing expectations that idled zinc smelter capacity will restart. The exchange's latest positioning report shows four dominant long positions on cash zinc as of Monday. All of which serves to underline just how depleted LME zinc stocks are. STOCKED OUTLME zinc stocks total just 25,075 tonnes, less than one day's worth of global consumption. LME zinc pricing is going to remain volatile for a while yet as shorts betting on a return to surplus have to navigate today's low-stock reality.

☆ China cranking up political espionage, German official tells newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] German and Chinese national flags fly in Tiananmen Square ahead of the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing, China, May 23, 2018. We must be prepared for these to increase in the coming years," Verfassungsschutz agency chief Thomas Haldenwang told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He warned that economic dependence on China could be exploited for political influence. "The political leadership is already using its economic power, which also results from intensive relations with the German and European economies, to implement political goals." The German government has been reassessing its economic relations with authoritarian countries after the Ukraine war laid bare the vulnerabilities of Berlin's years-long energy dependence on Russia.

☆ Morning Bid: Volatility stirs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

World markets end a rough week of confusing and competing narratives in distinctly edgy form, with peculiarly subdued volatility gauges flickering back to life. Both 10 and 30-year yields hit their highest levels in over a month early on Friday. Job shedding in the digital sector continued, with Yahoo's plans to lay off more than 20% of its total workforce. That said, the year-on-year oil price trend continues to be negative, as it's been all year and base effects from last year's price spike around the Ukraine invasion will only deepen that and weigh on headline inflation further. Goldman Sachs lowered its oil price forecasts for this year and next, cutting its Brent 2023 price forecast by $6 to $92 per barrel - still above current levels around $86.

☆ MSCI to cut weighting of four Adani firms in wake of Hindenburg report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People walk past a screen displaying news featuring on Adani Group inside the BSE building in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Index provider MSCI said it will cut the weightings of four Adani Group companies, including flagship firm Adani Enterprises , in its indexes after reassessing the number of shares that are freely traded. The move comes in the wake of a Jan. 24 report by U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research that has accused the Indian conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. The Hindenburg report has plunged the group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, into crisis, wiping some $110 billion off the value of the group's main seven listed firms. In addition to Adani Enterprises — the group's coal-miner-cum-incubator for new projects, MSCI also plans to cut the weightings for Adani Total Gas — a venture with France's TotalEnergies and Adani Transmission , a power transmission company.

☆ Adani Group reels after report from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It says it holds short positions in Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. JAN. 26* Adani Group says it is evaluating "remedial and punitive action" against Hindenburg under U.S. and Indian laws. JAN 28* Index provider MSCI says it is seeking feedback on Adani Group and associated securities and is aware of the Hindenburg report. JAN 30* Adani Group issues a detailed riposte to the Hindenburg report, saying it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures. * Index provider MSCI says it will cut weightings of four Adani Group companies, including Adani Enterprises, in its indexes after reassessing the number of freely traded shares.

☆ U.S. opens embassy in Solomon Islands to counter China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of ships and boats anchored at the harbour in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Gilmore Tana | iStock | Getty ImagesThe United States opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday in its latest move to counter China's push into the Pacific. The embassy in the capital, Honiara, is starting small, with a chargé d'affaires, a couple of State Department staff and a handful of local employees. The U.S. State Department notified lawmakers early last year that China's growing influence in the region made reopening the Solomon Islands embassy a priority. The Solomon Islands switched allegiance from the self-ruled island of Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, threatening the close ties with the U.S. that date to World War II.

☆ UniCredit CEO says 'we'll see' when asked about Monte dei Paschi -CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monte dei Paschi is 64% owned by the Italian state, which needs to eventually cut its stake to meet re-privatisation commitments given to the European Union at the time of the bailout. "I think Monte dei Paschi has taken a different direction in their strategy. And they've raised their capital, they're rationalising the bank, they're restructuring the bank," Orcel said in an interview with CNBC. So they need to do that, and then we'll see," he said when asked about a Reuters report that UniCredit was still seen as a potential buyer for Monte dei Paschi, alongside Banco BPM (BAMI.MI). Monte dei Paschi raised 2.5 billion euros in capital in December, despite rocky markets, to finance thousands of voluntary staff exits and cut costs.

☆ This 28-year-old ex-stock trader became a self-made millionaire this year—her best money lessons for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Looking ahead to 2023, Simmons says she's reassessing her risk tolerance and urging caution against uncertainty. It comes down to being intentional with how you spend your money, she says. For example, she's looked to Treasury securities, which are backed by the government, as a safer vehicle to park cash. And continue to work on your side hustles, whether to supplement your income or replace it if need be. And at the end of the day, you have to understand where you are willing to compromise on things."

☆ Building emergency savings is a top financial resolution for 2023, survey finds. Here’s how to get started
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jenkin, who co-wrote a book called "The 21-Day Budget Cleanse," recommends people take a detox-type approach to their household budgets. "Most people really haven't taken the time to see where they're overspending and size up what the difference is," Jenkin said. That's "troubling" now, as interest rates on those debts are poised to continue to climb, according to Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. Look for higher rates on your cashAs interest rates climb, that's good news for the money you stand to earn on your cash. Online savings accounts and certificates of deposit, or CDs, are providing the highest interest rates in more than a decade.

☆ Virginia on track to send first Black woman to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan is on track to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress after she won the Democratic primary Thursday to fill the seat of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who died last month from cancer. Lamont Bagby, the chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, in the primary. Morrissey resigned from his state House seat in 2014, but he then ran for that same seat as an independent and won in 2015 — while serving time in jail. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia also threw his support behind her. McClellan had also won the support of other Black leaders in the district, including Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

☆ People are paying $12 to go on VR tours of turtle nesting in Costa Rica or India's Holi festival from their couches. Meet a tour guide who's cashing in on this travel niche.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ligia Morera, based in Costa Rica, leads virtual tours on the Japanese platform Dokodemo Door Trip. A VR tour guide needs AI software to reach a worldwide audienceMorera filming a VR tour. In other words, these VR tours are as much a marketing program for its core business as a standalone revenue stream. Another source of referrals is other VR tour guides. "In Costa Rica, sometimes we get little problems with that," she said.

☆ Pentagon Reviews Munitions Needs as Ukraine Drains Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Doug Cameron | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon is reassessing the U.S.’s stockpile of missiles, artillery shells and other munitions in light of the huge quantities consumed in fighting in Ukraine this year, and could find the U.S. needs to keep less ammunition in its arsenal because the Russians have fired so much of theirs, defense officials said. The sheer quantity of U.S.-made munitions that Ukrainian forces have shot at the Russians has stretched U.S. stocks and worn out howitzer barrels, military officials and company executives said. It has brought to the fore years of underinvestment in munitions manufacturing and purchasing, which the Pentagon said it aims to reverse.

☆ 360,000 student loan borrowers received $24 billion in forgiveness from fix to Public Service Loan Forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In October 2021, the Biden administration announced a one-year opportunity for student loan borrowers pursuing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness to get closer to being debt-free. Signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows certain nonprofit and government employees to have their federal student loans canceled after 10 years, or 120 payments. More from Personal Finance:Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is on holdInflation-adjusted college costs declineThese colleges promise no student debtThe average borrower got more than $67,000 in student debt cleared. "These borrowers previously faced obstacles based on frustrating technicalities despite having worked in a qualifying public service job," Kantrowitz said. The reforms under the Biden administration included reassessing borrowers' timelines and counting some payments that were previously ineligible because of a borrower's loan type or repayment plan.

☆ National security concerns reportedly delay TikTok-U.S. deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The government has yet to come back with TikTok with new requests on how to address the concerns, the Journal reported based on unnamed sources. TikTok confirmed it has not received an update from the government about any unresolved concerns. The two sides had reached broad agreements about storing U.S. user data on Oracle servers in the U.S., the Journal reported, moving it from TikTok data centers in Virginia and Singapore. U.S. officials and lawmakers have been vocal about their security concerns with TikTok. Cowen analysts wrote Wednesday that Meta's Reels, short-form videos similar to those on TikTok, "would be the biggest beneficiary" of a TikTok ban, followed by YouTube's Shorts.

☆ Dollar holds firm on hawkish Fed bets, Aussie tad higher after RBA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It had dipped to 104.1 for the first time since June 28 as traders continued to rein in bets of aggressive Fed tightening. "The dollar really kicked butt across the board," said Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager at State Street in Tokyo. Investors had been on watch for signs of a pause in tightening after inflation unexpectedly cooled last month. "And with the RBA expecting inflation to continue higher and household spending remaining strong as ever, then the RBA may well hike by another 25 bps in February and March before reassessing." In recent days though, RBA policy has taken a back seat to optimism about an easing of strangling COVID-19 restrictions in China, a top trading partner.

☆ Despite ongoing Covid risks, more employees consider cutting back on health-care benefits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Almost 159 million Americans rely on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. Health insurance plansFor starters, consider what your health coverage costs you. But "don't just look at the monthly cost of your health insurance," Cosgray advised. To be able to use an HSA, you need to be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, or HDHP. Other voluntary benefits offered through an employer can provide additional protection, including hospital indemnity insurance, critical illness coverage and accident insurance.

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