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☆ Iran ousted from U.N. women's rights commission amid crackdown and executions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Abigail-Williams-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Eight members voted against the resolution and 16 abstained. “The commission is the premier U.N. body for promoting gender equality and empowering women,” she said. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, during a meeting to remove his country from membership in the Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday. Yuki Iwamura / AFP - Getty ImagesIran, which ranks 143rd among 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's global gender gap index, was voted onto the commission by secret ballot. The vote to oust Iran from the commission came days after the country carried out a second known execution of a prisoner detained and convicted amid the nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

CNN —The House Republican Conference is still entrenched in an internal war over whether to reinstate an arcane rule that would empower any member to bring up a vote to oust a speaker at any time. The bitter divide is only heating up and has emerged center stage in House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s quest for 218 votes to win the position. “There’s a reason [the motion to vacate] already got debated. It’s a healthy process.”For now, leadership is keeping their options open on the motion to vacate with Republican Whip Steve Scalise telling reporters Tuesday, “There are continuing negotiations going on. Video Ad Feedback GOP lawmaker explains why he won't vote for McCarthy to become House Speaker 03:08 - Source: CNNThe House is scheduled to hold another rules meeting on Wednesday where they will debate the issue.

☆ Squeezed by inflation, families are tightening their holiday budgets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Gabe Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Anya Remy is Christmas shopping for her family on a stricter budget than ever before. Remy, a human resources professional in Maryland, has felt the pain of high inflation in recent months. The same poll found 42% plan to spend less on gifts this season and only 8% plan to spend more. Overall holiday spending hasn’t slowed yet, according to the National Retail Federation, but many families are making sacrifices to buy presents for their loved ones. “I don’t want them to be upset.”Recession concerns are also impacting family spending.

☆ Student loan forgiveness could fall through for 30 million borrowers. If it does, consider these 4 relief options
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Defer payments (once they resume)The pandemic-era policy suspending federal student loan payments and the accrual of interest is still active. Those are the ideal ways to postpone your federal student loan payments, because interest doesn't accrue. Use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programThe Biden administration has recently made a number of improvements to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows those who work for the government and certain nonprofits to get their debt cleared after a decade of payments. To reach forgiveness, you need to have made 120 qualifying, on-time payments in an income-driven repayment plan or the standard repayment plan. Lenders will likely be overwhelmed when they have to begin collecting loan payments from tens of millions of people again.

☆ Meet a 27-year-old Four Seasons concierge in charge of the hotel's VIP guests paying up to $25,000 a night
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I shadowed a concierge in charge of high-paying guests at the Four Seasons in downtown New York. The queen ant in this metaphor is 27-year-old guest relations manager Jessica Waddy, whose job revolves around the hotel's high-profile guests and their countless needs. The cellar level of the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. The Empire Suite at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, with rates starting at $25,000 a night. The needs of high-profile guests are listed on a "rider," a document that's typically multiple pages long and attached to their hospitality contract.

☆ Markets are bracing for a 'Powell recession' that could be coming soon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Markets are essentially saying there will be another man-made economic contraction soon: the 'Powell recession.'" The New York Fed even has a tracker on its site that gauges the possibility of a recession by the three-month/10-year curve. As of the end of November, the inversion level implied a 38% recession chance within 12 months, according to the central bank's methodology. Markets also anticipate the Fed will approve a few more increases, ultimately taking the bottom end of the range to about 5%. Similarly, Wells Fargo economists noted that "Our own yield curve forecast signals turbulent times are ahead, aligning with our expectation for a recession starting next year."

The win ends a nearly two-year power sharing agreement, giving Democrats true majority rule. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona's viselike grip on their party's priorities has loosened a bit, thanks to Georgia. Republicans will no longer be able to bottle up Biden administration nominees in committee, and select Democratic committee chairs will again be able to issue subpoenas. "Joe Manchin is a good person; he really is," Biden said Friday at a reception for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks at a press conference at the Capitol on August 5, 2022.

☆ 'You can control your tax reporting destiny.' 4 key year-end tax moves
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While your tax return isn't due until April, several key deadlines are approaching by year-end, experts say. "You can control your tax reporting destiny," said certified financial planner Jim Guarino, a CPA and managing director at Baker Newman Noyes in Woburn, Massachusetts. Since few Americans itemize deductions, it's harder to claim a tax break for charitable gifts. Time Roth IRA conversions with transfers to a donor-advised fundAnother charitable giving strategy, donor-advised funds, may pair well with a Roth IRA conversion, Guarino said. Donor-advised funds act like a charitable checkbook, allowing investors to "bunch" multiple years of gifts into a single transfer, providing an upfront tax deduction.

☆ Flu brought nearly twice as many people to the hospital last week as the week before, updated CDC data show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

There have been nearly 17 flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people, rates typically seen in December or January. The cumulative hospitalization rate hasn’t been this high at this point in the season in more than a decade. Less than two months in, the RSV hospitalization rate this season is already nearing the total RSV hospitalization rate from the entire 2018-19 season. With the holiday season – and flu season – underway, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned this week of the potential for an emergency situation. “When you have very little wiggle room of intensive care beds, when you have like almost all the intensive care beds that are occupied, it’s bad for the children who have RSV and need intensive care.

☆ How to Spend Your FSA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Read on to find out more about how your FSA works and your best options to spend down your balance. Acupressure mat and pillowKanjo Acupressure Mat and Pillow Set $80 at AmazonYou might not have realized that an acupressure mat is FSA eligible. SunscreenEltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 Face Sunscreen $37 at AmazonThere’s a wide variety of sunscreen available on Amazon that’s FSA eligible. Why this December is differentThis year’s December FSA spending crunch could be worse than usual. Fortunately, while you must spend your FSA on medical costs, the options are a lot wider than just doctors visits and prescription meds.

A debate on lifting central banks' inflation targets re-surfaced this week - feeding speculation about just how much economic pain monetary policymakers are willing to inflict to drag decades-high inflation back to largely arbitrary 2% goals. Former International Monetary Fund chief economist and long-term advocate of higher inflation targets Olivier Blanchard thinks 3% could and probably should be the new 2%. That prodded central banks into extraordinary asset purchases, negative interest rates or both just to try and get inflation back up to 2%. And counter-intuitively for some he emphasised that higher inflation would not imply looser policy. So good and bad news - a potentially more balanced economy, with better wage distribution but higher nominal interest rates that may spook financial markets trying to parse the trajectory for Fed or European Central Bank interest rates years hence.

My family lives in an affluent area, but I don't want my kids to take money for granted. I thought I was giving my kids the best childhood ever until my 4-year-old asked why we didn't own a "bigger golf cart." I thought I had time to teach my two young kids about money, but I was wrong. Here's how I'm teaching my kids about money, finances, and how to appreciate what you have. "Not everyone is lucky enough to live in a nice house with lots of toys like you and your brother," I explained.

☆ Flu season continues to intensify in the US, and holiday gatherings could make it worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And the CDC estimates that there have been at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations and 2,900 deaths from influenza this season. Less than two months in, the RSV hospitalization rate this season is already nearing the total RSV hospitalization rate from the entire 2018-19 season. The latest surveillance data does not capture Thanksgiving week or the effects of holiday gatherings. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths reached record high levels during last year’s holiday season – and this holiday season could also bring a rise in spread. Flu shots are lagging, too, with millions fewer vaccinations at this point in the season than in the past two years.

☆ House Republicans’ Slim Majority Creates Extra Challenges for Party Leaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Katy Stech Ferek | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Members-elect from the House of Representatives prepared for a group photo outside the U.S. Capitol building this month. WASHINGTON—Republicans won enough seats during midterm elections to capture a slim majority in the House, but their ability to advance their agenda will face both practical and ideological challenges tied to such a historically small margin. With little wiggle room, party leaders will need the support of nearly every Republican to propel partisan legislation, giving each member more leverage to alter or block proposals. The slim majority could complicate leaders’ efforts to reach deals on “must pass” bills funding the government, addressing the debt limit or setting farm and military policies in cooperation with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

☆ Inflation forces mom and pop restaurants and chains like McDonald's to lean on their strengths
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In response to that drop-off, both chains and independents are working to address the cost factor without alienating diners. Aaron Allen, founder and CEO of restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates, compared restaurant chains to oil tankers and independents to speedboats. Kate Bruce, owner of The Buttery Bar in Brooklyn, said she's been facing higher costs for everything from labor to cooking oil to energy. Portillo's restaurant chain CEO Michael Osanloo said independents do have greater flexibility when it comes to changing prices. Consumers care more about prices when they're visiting a chain restaurant, according to findings from a survey of roughly 2,400 U.S. consumers conducted by PYMNTS.

Mortgage rates trended down quite a bit this week, providing some wiggle room for buyers who have been struggling with affordability. But decreasing mortgage rates are a double-edged sword, since low rates typically create more competition among buyers, pushing home prices up. Whether mortgage rates will drop in 2023 hinges on if the Federal Reserve can get inflation under control. If the Fed acts too aggressively and engineers a recession, mortgage rates could fall further than what current forecasts expect. This means your entire monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed 28% of your pre-tax monthly income.

☆ Wall St Week Ahead With Black Friday ahead, investors look to U.S. consumer stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Consumer discretionary stocks, a group whose members run the gamut from Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and automaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) to retailer Target Corp (TGT.N), have been walloped by surging prices, with the S&P 500’s consumer discretionary sector falling nearly 33% for the year to date compared with a nearly 17% fall for the broader index. Investors poured a net $1.05 billion into consumer discretionary stocks in the past week, the sixth-largest weekly inflows since 2008, data from BofA Global Research showed. “Everybody is watching the strength of the consumer and so far the consumer has held.”Yruma is bullish on retailers Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) and Target. To be sure, consumer stocks have had more than their fair share of woes this year. The bank's analysts are underweight the consumer discretionary sector.

☆ Interest rates on retail credit cards are 'crazy high,' with some topping 30%. 4 things to consider before opening one
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Getty ImagesThat offer for a store credit card may sound tempting as you're shopping this holiday season. As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, credit card annual percentage rates — a measure for the yearly cost of borrowing money — are climbing higher. That is especially true for retail credit cards, which tend to charge the most. Credit card interest rates more broadly recently soared to 19.04%. Borrowers with existing retail credit cards may also see the rates they are charged go up soon, Schulz said.

Hedge fund Farallon Capital, for instance, bought nearly 7.8 million shares of Twitter during the quarter that ended Sept. 30, while Franklin Resources, the parent company of mutual fund firm Franklin Templeton, added nearly 2.6 million shares to an existing position of less than 100,000 shares. Shares of Twitter fell to as low as $33 during the third quarter before ending September near $44. The value of Twitter shares jumped 23.2% in October when Musk completed the deal on Oct. 27 by paying $54.20 per share. While some funds reaped short-term rewards, other investors left some potential gains on the table by selling before the October rally in Twitter shares. Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) sold 3.7 million shares of the company, while ClearBridge Investments LLC sold 1.9 million shares.

☆ 7 best dog harnesses to shop in 2022, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Dog harnesses versus collars: Which one is best? Best dog harnesses to shopBelow, we compiled expert-recommended back- and front-clip dog harnesses that can work with your dog’s training, demeanor and size. Best dog harness overall: Wild One“This harness looks good, is well constructed and comes with really nice matching leashes,” Haussmann said. Best adjustable dog harness: WildebeestWildebeest’s no-pull dog harness — which Haussmann said is both functional and durable — offers four highly adjustable straps along with a single buckle to easily get it on or off, according to the brand. , a certified dog trainer and co-founder of dog training service Dogboy NYC.

☆ My partner and I earned over 14,000 points from our first credit card — here's how we're using rewards to save big at Amazon this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Tessa Campbell | Personal Finance Reviews Fellow | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The author, Tessa Campbell, is using rewards from her Amazon credit card to save money on holiday shopping. Tessa Campbell/Tessa Campbell's phoneOpening the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card helped my partner and me earn over 14,000 points in the first four months of opening the card. My partner was already a Prime member, and since we both frequently shop at Amazon.com, it was a no-brainer to get the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card. Here's how we earn points fast, and how we plan to use the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card to save money this holiday season. How I plan to use my Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card to save on holiday shopping in 2022The more my partner and I spend on the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, the more bonus points we'll earn.

☆ Corporate entertaining has come roaring back
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Alexandra Peers Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Boosted by a Covid-era tax break-window that closes at the end of the year — and under pressure to cement ties and reassure clients — companies are now spending big on wining and dining current and potential customers. The company, which has operations globally, needed something that would make clients “want to get on a plane from Singapore, from Japan” to attend. “It’s just like when kids go back to school and don’t want to, but then they get excited,” he said. And in the restaurant, guests typically opt for the $298 chef’s tasting menu — $468 with wine pairings. The deduction, which was meant to help support restaurants during the pandemic, only applies to restaurant meals, and only if a member of the client company is present.

☆ 11 Best Gifts for Dog Lovers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

For the bakerThe Dash Dog Treat Maker—a small waffle iron with bone-shaped plates—lets your pal whip up homemade dog treats. It makes up to eight bone-shaped dog treats at a time, and it includes sweet and savory recipes. Dockx eased her golden retriever’s separation anxiety while she was at work with a Snuggle Puppy, a plush toy with a battery-powered heartbeat. To brush up on dog speak, DeWillems recommends “Doggie Language: A Dog Lover’s Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend,” which decodes canine body language through illustrations that highlight subtle nuances in their mannerisms. For the devoted dog dadDog Dad Hats Custom Dog Dad Hats $69 at Dog Dad HatsAny proud parent will dig a Dog Dad Hat, with a custom embroidered illustration of their pet’s portrait.

☆ Dollar stores getting penny-wise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dollar stores are fighting to retain pricing power, but a new lawsuit suggests it might get tougher. Ohio Attorney General David Yost sued Dollar General (DG.N) on Tuesday for deceptive practices after some customers complained about coughing up $2 on occasion rather than a buck. For now, raising prices at $57 billion Dollar General seems to be working. Such stores certainly have in the past as consumers seek cheaper options. Unlike in previous economic slumps, where dollar stores could shrink the size of, say, a bag of chips and stick with the $1 price tag, charging more now could mean that products already have been fully condensed.

☆ America is facing a dramatic diesel shortage that could get even worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But trucks continued to deliver goods around the country, so diesel demand stayed elevated. With European nations weaning off Russian energy, competition has increased in the diesel market due to the influx of buyers. Markets are panicking, so diesel prices will climb higher and higher, which will spark behavioral changes in consumers and producers. "Higher prices make the profitability of refining diesel go much higher," he said. The mechanism to do that is simply through diesel prices rising."

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