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☆ The UK's abrupt tax cuts are sowing market chaos — and putting policymakers in a no-win situation that threatens economic crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The UK government's plan to slash taxes and stimulate economic growth has backfired spectacularly. The episode risks lifting inflation higher still and levying new economic pain on all Britons. What was introduced as an effort to boost the UK's economic growth is backfiring to an extraordinary degree. The blowback could range from a weaker British pound to a government default, even higher inflation, higher unemployment, a bigger wealth gap, and a crippling recession. According to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, the aim was to lift the struggling UK economy and cut the risk of a near-term downturn.

☆ Walmart's secretive fintech ONE is the new disruptor in consumer banking, and the retailer has nabbed talent from Wall Street mainstays like Goldman Sachs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In January last year, the retailer said it was pursuing a partnership with venture-capital firm Ribbit Capital, which backed Robinhood. The next month, Walmart lured Omer Ismail and David Stark, two executives from Goldman Sachs' Marcus, over to work on a fintech initiative. Insider's Ann Gehan, Carter Johnson, and Ben Tobin have identified the key people shaping this effort at its fintech called ONE. Done deals :Acrisure, a fintech company that operates an insurance broker and real-estate services company, has acquired B2Z Insurance. Aditxt, a biotech company developing tech around monitoring the immune system, raised $20 million after selling 3.33 million shares on Nasdaq.

☆ Wells Fargo is paying $131.8 million to retirement-plan participants after an investigation found the plan overpaid for company stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wells Fargo is paying $131.8 million to 401(k) participants to settle a probe by the DOL. The DOL said it found that the plan overpaid for company stock purchased between 2013 and 2018. Wells Fargo said it "strongly disagrees" with the allegations. Wells Fargo and GreatBanc didn't admit or deny the allegations as part of the settlement, the DoL said, though Wells Fargo said in a statement Monday that it "strongly disagrees" with the allegations. The plan borrowed money from Wells Fargo to purchase the preferred stock between 2013 and 2018, the DoL found.

☆ Rationing is coming: Europe could introduce mandatory limits on electricity use as its standoff with Russia intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The EU is set to unveil mandatory energy use cuts as its standoff with Russia pushes supply lower. The plan also includes an "exceptional and temporary" tax on companies in the oil, gas, coal, and refining sectors based on the firms' extra profits. Yet with energy prices still elevated and Russia slashing exports to Europe even further in recent weeks, the plan's authors argue urgency is paramount. Energy prices have skyrocketed in the UK and the EU as Russia retaliates against sanctions and cuts its exports of oil and natural gas to western Europe. The shift has forced them to quickly adopt measures boosting domestic energy supply and easing demand to avoid rolling blackouts and even more intense inflation.

☆ China had a plan to dominate tech and become the world's most powerful country. It's all gone wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Semiconductor chips are the tiny brains that power our technological world, from cars and cellphones to fighter jets and advanced missile systems. Right now China is awash in money for tech, but you need the right people and customers that trust you. Why China needs the chipsThe Chinese economy is big, but it isn't wealthy. In other words, China needs a more lucrative line of business the same way someone with credit-card debt needs a raise. The Made in China 2025 plan lays out a goal for domestically manufactured chips to meet 70% of China's semiconductor needs within three years.

☆ Biden's plan to forgive student loans could end up costing over $1 trillion, an analysis says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-05 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden's plan to forgive student loans could cost more than $1 trillion, per an analysis. Under the plan, around 20 million borrowers would eligible to have their full debt wiped out. The plan also included extending student loan forbearance to the end of the year, which the model estimates would cost another $16 billion. That additional $520 billion would take the total costs of the student loan forgiveness plan to over $1 trillion, Wharton said. Americans currently have a collective student loan debt of around $1.6 trillion, per federal data.

☆ Chase Aeroplan credit card review: A 70,000-point welcome bonus and unique travel perks make this card a good pick even if you don't fly Air Canada
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-16 | by ( Jasmin Baron | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightReview: Is the Chase Aeroplan card the best credit card for you? It's not often an airline credit card makes waves with a strong welcome bonus and completely unique benefits, but the Aeroplan® Credit Card has managed to do just that. Free first checked bag on Air Canada flightsWith the Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card, the primary cardholder and up to eight companions on the same reservation get a free first checked bag on Air Canada, Air Canada Express, and Air Canada Rouge flights. Carbon offsetsTo help reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions associated with travel, Air Canada will purchase carbon offsets for primary cardholders of the Chase Aeroplan® Credit Cardand all travel companions on the same award reservation, for any flight segments on Air Canada, Air Canada Express, and Air Canada Rouge. Otherwise, you're not eligible if you already have a Aeroplan® Credit Card open, or previously opened the card in the past 24 months.

☆ Travel insurance probably won't save you during this summer's airline chaos. Here's when it's worth buying trip protection — and when it's not.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-09 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here's when it is worth it to purchase travel insurance for your flight this summer. For example, a typical travel insurance policy cover cancellations due to mechanical issues, but not those caused by staffing shortages. "When there's a lot of money at stake, it makes more sense to perhaps invest in travel insurance." Another reason to buy travel insurance for international trips is to ensure medical coverage when you're abroad. If your kid gets sick and it's not COVID, your travel insurance probably isn't going to cover that," Balber said.

☆ Mark Cuban’s pharmacy startup is actually making drugs less expensive. It's still working on solving the real problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-28 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Imatinib, a leukemia medication with a retail price of more than $2,500, is just $14.40 at Cost Plus Drugs. But experts say that Cost Plus Drugs' impact is limited, at least for now, because it hasn't broken into the market driving those exorbitant prices: brand-name drugs. Instead of negotiating prices through those pharmacy benefit managers, Cost Plus Drugs directly negotiates with manufacturers to get generic drugs at wholesale prices. The trade-off: Cost Plus Drugs doesn't accept insurance claims, since insurers don't typically work with pharmacies that avoid pharmacy benefit managers. That gives drugmakers little-to-no incentive to offer rebates to Cost Plus Drugs, Hernandez notes.

☆ Official says US, Taliban reach Afghan truce agreement
▼ + stars: | 2020-02-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Tom BrennerA senior U.S.official said Friday the United States and the Taliban have reached a truce agreement that will take effect "very soon" and could lead to withdrawals of American troops from Afghanistan. The official said the agreement for a seven-day "reduction in violence" to be followed by the start of all-Afghan peace talks within 10 days is "very specific" and covers the entire country including Afghan forces. The final details were hammered out in recent days by U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar. U.S. officials have brushed aside claims that a Taliban ultimatum forced their hand.

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