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☆ We're a millennial couple in Singapore. It took 2 years, 17 apartment viewings, and some negotiation, but we managed to find our forever home.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After being together since 2015, Joy Oh and Eddy Kur were looking to settle down. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 31-year-old Joy Oh, a digital-content producer who works in a creative agency in Singapore. Joy Oh and Eddy Kur/Ohkur HouseThat aside, we had a pretty long list of requirements for our future home. Joy Oh and Eddy Kur/Ohkur HouseAfter our down payment, we took out an HDB housing loan of SG$389,100 to finance the rest of our home. Joy Oh and Eddy Kur/Ohkur HouseWe decorated the place and signed the papers in our living room.

Persons: Joy Oh, Eddy Kur, —, Indonesia —, Eddy, Oh Organizations: Service, Board Locations: Singapore, Jakarta, Indonesia, Yishun, Khatib —

☆ These 5 home upgrades are the secrets to a better sale price
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's a seller's real-estate market, meaning the demand for homes exceeds supply. Homesellers can fetch more at closing if their property has a few key upgrades that buyers want. A refreshed kitchen and primary bathroom can help boost the sale price, agents said. It's a seller's real-estate market. The latter is a truth that's existed for a while, despite the predictions of a real-estate market crash or impending comedown of home prices.

Persons: —, Jen Patchen, Opendoor Organizations: Service

☆ House lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill requiring total disclosure of ticketing fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers introduced a new bill on Thursday targeting ticketing fee disclosures in an effort to increase transparency in the entertainment industry. The "Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act,'' or TICKET Act, is modeled after current advertising guidelines for airline tickets, which require disclosing the full ticket price before purchase. With every ticketing debacle, from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, and so many more, their frustration grows," Schakowsky said in a statement. The House bill mirrors the Senate measure in mandating ticket vendors to display the total price of a ticket, including all required fees, in any advertisement or piece of marketing. Bilirakis said the bill will bring "much-needed transparency to the whole ticketing industry."

Persons: Jan Schakowsky, Gus Bilirakis, Taylor Swift, Schakowsky, Sens, Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell, Biden, Cantwell, Bilirakis, Taylor Organizations: WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, Senate, New York, Office, Ticketmaster Locations: Beyoncé, Texas

☆ All-cash homebuyers are becoming 'disruptive' to the housing market
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Al Yoon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As for the cash buyers who can pay in full without taking out a mortgage, their power has only increased. In April, cash buyers represented 33.4% of transactions, far above levels hovering around 25% for most of the past decade. The data is the latest sign that cash buyers are clashing with borrowers more than ever. "Cash offers used to be an occasional nuisance and now they're becoming disruptive" to the market, said Debra Shultz, a vice president of mortgage lending at CrossCountry Mortgage. At each turn, he lost them either because he'd been outbid, or because the seller went with a cash offer, she said.

Persons: Redfin, Cash, —, homebuyers begrudgingly, Debra Shultz, Shultz, he'd, Deanna Kory, Kory, she's Organizations: Service, CrossCountry Mortgage, Corcoran Group Locations: New York City, Manhattan, In New York City

☆ Fintech Tingo's shares slump as short-seller Hindenburg takes aim
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Tingo Group (TIO.O) shares halved in value on Tuesday after short-seller Hindenburg Research criticized its founder and alleged that the fintech firm had "fabricated" its financials. Hindenburg also said Tingo was an "exceptionally obvious scam" and called out founder Dozy Mmobuosi's claims of having developed "the first mobile payment app in Nigeria". The New Jersey-based holding company, whose shares shed more than 59% to $1.04, operates in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Shares of IEP have erased a fifth of their value after Hindenburg accused the company of overvaluing its holdings and relying on a "Ponzi-like" structure to pay dividends. Conglomerate Adani's market value took a $100 billion hit after the short-seller accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens.

Persons: Hindenburg, Tingo, Dozy Mmobuosi's, Dozy Mmobuosi, Jack Dorsey, Carl Icahn's, Mehnaz Yasmin, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Tingo, Hindenburg Research, Reuters, Adani Group, Inc, Icahn Enterprises, Thomson Locations: Nigeria, New Jersey, Africa, Southeast Asia, Bengaluru

☆ We're a millennial couple in Singapore, where real-estate prices are skyrocketing. House hunting was surprisingly easy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For about a year, he lived with me and my family in our five-room Housing Development Board flat in Holland Village. Housing Development Board flats are public housing, and they're home to about 80% of the country's resident population. The seller's agent told us the Housing Development Board valuation was SG$430,000, and we ended up making an offer of SG$445,000, which was accepted. After the down payment, most people either take a Housing Development Board loan or a bank loan to finance their homes. The Housing Development Board interest rate is fairly stable and has stayed at 2.6% a year for a few years now, though the Housing Development Board acknowledges that it may be adjusted over the year.

Persons: Vanessa Tai, —, They're, hadn't, It's, we're, it's, We're Organizations: Service, Board, Housing, Google, Central Provident Fund Locations: Europe, Singapore, Croatia, Holland Village, Holland, Sengkang, we're

☆ Matt Onofrio made $35 million helping everyday people invest in real estate. Then he was indicted. Was it all a scam?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

The MMA fighter Michael Chandler, pictured with his wife, Brie Willett, bought a $16 million property from Matt Onofrio in 2021. Then, in November 2022, federal prosecutors indicted Onofrio on charges involving three deals he'd arranged in Minnesota the year before. The federal complaint doesn't involve the property Onofrio sold to Chandler. Unbeknownst to Hermann, Onofrio had already tied up the warehouse in contract for $4.75 million. "Matt was finding a deal for $4 million and selling it for $5 million," Stageberg said.

Persons: Matt Onofrio, anesthetist, who'd, Onofrio, Michael Chandler, Chandler, Brie Willett, Rick Diamond, Michael didn't, Matt, Brendan Johnson, he'd, fraudster, who's, Matthew Hermann, Hermann, he's, —, Anthony Vicino, unburden, Hermann countersued, Let's, Nick Stageberg, Stageberg, Vicino, couldn't, wasn't, Zacari Pennington, Brandon Turner, David Greene, Pennington, Brad Lea's, Ryan Pineda's, Alec McElhinny, Onofrio's, Greene, Ed Mylett, Mylett, Lily Ro Onofrio, Lea, Brittany Arnason, BiggerPockets, Cameron Cropsey, Scott Trench, Nicholas Perrone, Wild Organizations: Onofrio, CMT, Chandler, Wild Moose Ventures, Finance & Commerce, Mayo Clinic, Moose Ventures, Wild, Ventures Locations: Wisconsin, California, Sauk Rapids , Minnesota, Minnesota, Onofrio, Minneapolis, Mexico City, Mayo, Denver, Nashville, Church, Golden Valley , Minnesota, Macon , Georgia, Pennington

☆ EV startups conserve cash as make-or-break moment approaches. Here's where everyone stands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

As legacy automakers increasingly ramp production of all-electric vehicles, cushioned by the profits of gas-powered models, a handful of EV startups are scrambling to conserve cash and stay in the mix. It also means the amount of cash Fisker had left as of the end of March, $652.5 million, isn't yet cause for alarm. Still, Fisker cut its production guidance for 2023 to between 32,000 vehicles and 36,000 vehicles, from 42,400 in its original plan. Or as Evercore ISI analyst Doug Dutton wrote before Fisker's earnings report, "Fisker is beginning to turn into a story of binary and 'show me' outcomes." It had $108.1 million remaining as of the end of March, but it lost $171.1 million in the first quarter .

Persons: Tesla, Rivian, Claire McDonough, Rivian's, It's, McDonough, Deutsche Bank's Emmanuel Rosner, Rosner, Sherry House, Peter Rawlinson, Bank of America's John Murphy, Murphy, Aston Martin, Henrik Fisker, Fisker, Doug Dutton, Dutton, Nikola Nikola, Trevor Milton, Nikola, Voltera, TD Cowen, Jeffrey Osborne, Osborne, Polestar Polestar, it's, Johan Malmqvist isn't, aren't, Deutsche Bank's Rosner, Lordstown, Foxconn, Foxconn doesn't Organizations: EV, Amazon, Deutsche, Lucid's, Bank of America's, BMW, Global, Magna International, Nikola, Iveco, Volvo Cars, Geely, Lordstown, Nasdaq, General Motors Locations: Georgia, Magna, Austria, U.S, Europe, North America, Nikola's, Swedish, China, Ohio, Lordstown

☆ 5 red flags to look out for when working with a real-estate agent, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Elana Klein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

From unclear fees to conflicts of interest, there are signs you should find a new real-estate agent. Keep an eye out for conflicts of interestClients singing documents with a real-estate agent. "In truth, it is the responsibility of the seller's agent to maximize the seller's return on investment. As a seller, your real-estate agent's availability to show your home to interested parties should be unbroken," she continued. "The commission paid to the real-estate agent is often a portion of the property's sales price.

☆ Five takeaways about the consumer from Walmart, other retailers after a big week of earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

So far, at least five retailers – Target, Walmart, Tapestry , Bath and Body Works and Foot Locker – have spoken about sales trends across the country getting worse. The retailer's comparable sales in the U.S. declined 4.6% in the quarter versus the year-ago period. Target, Home Depot and Walmart all saw a noticeable pattern: Fewer pricey and fun items in shopping carts. At Home Depot, customers bought fewer big-ticket items like appliances and grills in the fiscal first-quarter. Customers at Walmart have become more selective when shopping for electronics, TVs, home items and apparel, Rainey told CNBC.

Walmart — Shares of the big box retailer rose slightly after the company reported an earnings and revenue beat for the fiscal first quarter. However, its adjusted earnings guidance for the fiscal second quarter came in lower than expectations. Bath & Body Works — The retailer's shares jumped more than 9% after its fiscal first quarter earnings topped expectations. Take-Two Interactive — Shares surged almost 13% and hit a new 52-week high following the company's earnings announcement Wednesday. To be sure, the company's guidance for bookings in the first-quarter and full-year fell below Wall Street's expectations.

☆ For Wall Street's incoming interns, it's not exactly dress to impress
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As Wall Street internship season quickly approaches, that's a question many soon-to-be summer analysts are asking each other. One big trend Emmalyse notes in her story is the casualification, so to speak, of Wall Street. But the Wall Street dress code was starting to change before 2020, thanks in large part to the tech community. Read more about Wall Street's new dress code for summer analysts. Wall Street's litigious sibling is not an appealing career path to Gen Zers, the Financial Times reports.

☆ Carl Icahn's company stock falls as much as 20% after prosecutors seek financial information
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Regulators sought information a day after notable short seller Hindenburg Research took a short position against Icahn's company. The shares fell as much as 20% in morning trading, following a near 25% loss last week. Icahn Enterprises , Carl Icahn's conglomerate, saw its stock drop again Wednesday after a disclosure showed regulators are seeking information regarding its corporate governance. Headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Icahn Enterprises is a holding company that invests in a myriad of businesses including energy, automotive, food packaging, metals and real estate. Shares of Icahn Enterprises are now down more than 35% year to date.

☆ Analysis: Icahn's mark-up of meat packager extraordinary but possible, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Koh Gui Qing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Hindenburg said Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) (IEP.O) valued a meat packing company in which it owns a 90% stake three times over its market value. IEP cited "the lack of material trading volume" in Viskase's stock as grounds for the valuation mark-up in the filing. Viskase's shares are traded in the over-the-counter market rather than a major exchange such as Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange. On Thursday, IEP said after the stock market closed that it would preserve its dividend at $2 per unit for the first quarter. IEP's stock rose 10% in afterhours trading on the announcement.

☆ Short sellers haven't profited a lot from Hindenburg Research's salvo against Carl Icahn's investment firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Short sellers haven't profited significantly from Hindenburg Research's recent report against Icahn Enterprises. That's because Wall Street investors remain hesitant to place bets against the billionaire owner Carl Icahn, Bloomberg reported. Short sellers have made just $9 million in mark-to-market profit, per S3 Partners data. Hindenburg also alleged that the company is "using money taken in from new investors to pay out dividends to old investors." The short seller's report on Gautam Adani's company shaved tens of billions off of its market cap and dealt a huge blow to the billionaire's net worth.

☆ Real estate agents are tacking ludicrous 'junk fees' on to every home purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The fee goes by many names: an administrative fee, a transaction fee, or even a "regulatory compliance" fee. Despite the controversy, all signs indicate that brokerages large and small have increasingly embraced the admin fee in recent years. The vast majority of real-estate agents are independent contractors who rely on commissions to earn a living. Admin fees may be one of the most polarizing topics among real-estate agents today. "I'm in a place in my business right now where I can justify paying that," the Las Vegas agent told me.

☆ Block investors may seek clarity on Cash App after Hindenburg report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Manya Saini | Thomson Reuters | Manya Saini Reports On Prominent Publicly Listed U.S. Financial Firms Including Wall Street S Biggest Banks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

May 3 (Reuters) - Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc's (SQ.N) first-quarter results will likely see investors zoom in on the payments firm's Cash App business following U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research's allegations including inflated user count. Morgan Stanley analysts in April said that some bearish investors remain uncertain about the amount of gross profit that is generated by "potential illicit activity" on the Cash App platform. "Eventually, bears suspect a meaningful amount of gross profit might come under pressure if regulators crack down on Cash App, and also think this makes it hard to accept that Cash App can be a legitimate, trusted bank in the long-term," they added. Block has touted Cash App as an alternative to traditional banking services. Cash App reported 51 million monthly active customers as of Dec. 31, of which 44 million were verified.

☆ Activist investor Carl Icahn's wealth plunged by $10 billion after a short-seller accused his company of running a 'Ponzi-like' structure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hindenburg Research released a report alleging "Ponzi-like" economic structures at Icahn Enterprises. Shares of Icahn Enterprises closed 20% lower at $40.36 on Tuesday. Activist investor Carl Icahn's wealth plunged by $10 billion on Tuesday after Hindenburg Research — a short-seller that took on one of Asia's richest men earlier this year — targeted Icahn Enterprises with a scathing report. As Icahn derives his wealth from an 89% stake in Icahn Enterprises, his fortune was hit by the rout. Insider was unable to reach Icahn Enterprises via phone outside regular business hours.

☆ An explosion of hidden 'junk fees' is making every home more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

☆ The CEO of BiggerPockets explains why real-estate investors should have a 'healthy fear' of the market right now — and why they should avoid the once-popular BRRR method entirely
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scott Trench is the CEO of real estate investing platform BiggerPockets. BRRR is a way to make quick profits and build up a sizable real estate portfolio, and until recently, market conditions were very favorable for the approach. Interest rates have risen quickly by historic standards, but the fact that rates were going to go up significantly was clear in advance. How to handle today's housing marketWhile the last decade or so was great for renovators and flippers, Trench says real estate investors need to be cautious now. But now that it's much more expensive to borrow money, Trench said that listeners and forum members are looking for other ways to finance their purchases.

☆ 24-year-old earns $5,450/month in passive income from a car wash she bought for $0 down: 'I only work on it 20 minutes a day'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hannah Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

While struggling to make ends meet, I read about the power of passive income. Now, at 24, I earn an average of $5,450 a month in passive income off my car wash business, after $1,500 to $2,000 of monthly expenses. Buying a car wash business with just $2,000 in the bankWhen I purchased my business, I hardly had any credit history and only $2,000 in savings. In May 2021, I closed on the car wash, but I didn't have to start paying bills until June. Earning passive income from a self-service car wash

☆ India's Adani Ports starts $130 mln buyback of debt securities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 24 (Reuters) - India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), a group company of the beleaguered Adani Group, said on Monday it has started a buyback programme of certain debt securities to partly prepay near-term loans due in 2024. Adani Ports said in an exchange filing that it has floated a tender of up to $130 million in outstanding debt, as it tries to boost investor confidence after the group's shares were pummelled earlier this year by a U.S. short-seller's report. The Economic Times first reported on Monday, citing sources, that the Adani Group plans to buy back foreign currency bonds of various group companies, starting with a $650-million tranche at its ports unit. Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment on its buyback plans. Shares and bonds of Adani Group have regained some lost ground over the past month or so after it repaid some debt and attracted a $1.9 billion investment from boutique investment firm GQG Partners.

☆ This married real-estate investing couple bought their first house by accident. Now they've built a $19 million 47-unit portfolio over the last 8 years by chasing the 'bread and butter' of multi-famil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Over the past decade, they've grown their real estate portfolio to 47 units worth $19 million. Both had also had real estate ambitions prior to meeting. According to Simpson, the best way to source deals is also the most obvious — by having a good relationship with real estate brokers. If they intend to sell a property, Simpson and Moore generally only make improvements to between 60% to 65% of the units. In the future, the couple's long-term goals include continuing to grow their real estate portfolio, expanding their coaching business, and eventually handing their own investments full-time.

☆ This reseller's side hustle started as a way to get his family out of debt. Now he's made over $1.4 million on StockX by working around 10 hours a month.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ray Cao began reselling sneakers and apparel at 17 to help get his family out of debt. As a teen, Cao's parents racked up gambling debt and invested in penny stocks that backfired, he told Insider. "What got me into reselling was just being desperate to improve the financial situation for my family," Cao said. Ray CaoReselling on StockX costs more but saves timeA turning point for Cao's business came when StockX asked for a meeting a few years ago. "It's true that you don't make the best money on StockX," Cao said, referring to fees the marketplace charges for orchestrating a sale.

☆ A 23-year realtor shares the key tip that has allowed him to negotiate home prices down by up to $129,000 in the current market, and additional tips to save on interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ryan Rogers says home buyers can take advantage of the current real estate market. Rogers recommends looking for properties that have been on the market for more than 30 days. The 30-year fixed rate averaged about 6.62% on Wednesday, down from peaks of above 7% during the last quarter of 2022. But nothing could be farther from the truth, according to Ryan Rogers, a 23-year residential real estate agent with Douglas Elliman in Austin, Texas. Since the start of the year, he has noticed an increase of properties that have been sitting on the market for 30 to 60 days.

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