Author: Press Room
Over the past year I have found a number of interesting players in the banking sector. Some of these have been enterprises that I became very bullish on that went on to achieve some rather meaningful upside. Other opportunities have fallen short of expectations. Others, still, were firms that I did not have high hopes for and that went on to achieve the mediocre results I anticipated. In this final category one firm that I could point to as an example is Independent Bank Group (NASDAQ:IBTX). With a market capitalization as of this writing of $1.87 billion, Independent Bank Group…
Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Jens Stoltenberg said there was no doubt that Ukraine would join Nato as western leaders gathered in Kyiv to pledge support and mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.The Nato chief said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “started this war because he wanted to close Nato’s door . . . but he has achieved the exact opposite: Ukraine is now closer to Nato than ever before”.He said Nato was helping Kyiv to make its forces “more and more interoperable” with the defence alliance and…
GOP consultant: ‘I don’t understand what Haley’s endgame is’ At first, Nikki Haley seemed to be positioning herself to be a VP who’d help in districts “where Trump needs a little softening,” says GOP consultant David Urban. “But there is a lot of bad blood right now between the two camps.” As for a 2028 run, says Urban, “It’s 100 years from now.” Read the full article here
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies marched upward Tuesday with the largest digital asset trading at its highest level in more than two years. Cryptos continue to benefit from multiple factors driving prices higher—and analysts say more gains could come. The price of Bitcoin has risen 4% over the past 24 hours to just shy of $50,000, having previously traded near $50,400, the loftiest levels since December 2021 after a rally that has pushed prices more than 20% higher in two weeks. Bitcoin blew through the $49,000 level late Monday, which had stopped prices in January after the U.S. launch of spot…
Times like these are why I am so glad that all of the bonds in my 401(k) and my IRA are protected against inflation.I really don’t care. Whatever happens to prices, my bonds are guaranteed to adjust so that I get the same interest rate in “real,” or inflation-protected, terms. Why so many people carry on owning old-fashioned bonds with no inflation protection is beyond me. Who needs the stress? Who wants to take the risk? To me, it’s like driving without a seat belt, or listening to music on cassettes. I know that’s what everyone used to do. But…
Investing.com — Oil prices settled at eight-week highs on Thursday as stronger U.S. economic data eased worries about slowing global growth, boosting the demand outlook just a day after China rolled out monetary policy stimulus to prop up its economy. By 14:30 ET (19.30 GMT), the futures settled 3% higher at $77.36 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 30, and the contract climbed 3% to $82.43 a barrel. U.S. economy grows more than expected in Q4 to allay crude demand concerns The U.S. economy grew at a faster than anticipated rate in the fourth quarter, according to data released earlier…
(Reuters) -New York Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:) cut its dividend last week and recorded a surprise quarterly loss on the hit from the beleaguered commercial real estate (CRE) sector, reviving fears about the health of regional banks that have similar exposure. The dividend cut, which was meant to bolster capital to meet stricter regulation after NYCB’s assets crossed $100 billion, prompted a series of downgrades and sparked an over 60% drop in shares since then. In a bid to revive investor confidence in the bank, its top executives, including newly appointed Executive Chairman Alessandro DiNello, disclosed they had bought shares together…
There’s no such thing as “divorce benefits” in Social Security, but divorced spouses often are eligible to receive benefits based on an ex-spouse’s earnings record. Ex-spouses often quality to receive Social Security spousal benefits, and on fairly liberal terms. Divorced spouses sometimes have better options and more flexibility than current spouses. But small differences in timing can leave a divorced spouse without benefits, or with lower benefits than would be available with different timing. Social Security spousal benefits can be collected on the earnings record of a former spouse when the marriage lasted at least 10 years, the couple has…
Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett said his sprawling conglomerate may only slightly outperform the average American company due to its sheer size and the lack of buying opportunities that could make an impact.The Omaha-based giant — owner of everything from BNSF Railway to Dairy Queen and 6% of Apple — has by far the largest net worth recorded by any American business and now reached 6% of that of the total S&P 500 companies, Buffett said in his annual letter released Saturday.”There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they…
It may be hard to imagine digging yourself out of $100,000 in credit card debt and boosting your credit score by 400 points. But it’s possible—just ask Lynnette Khalfani-Cox.Khalfani-Cox boosted her credit score from the low 400s to a perfect 850 after spending three years paying down her debt. Now, the New York Times bestselling author teaches others how to do the same through her books, including the newly released “Bounce Back: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Resilience,” and her financial education platform, The Money Coach.Although her credit score sits at 806 as of the last report date on Jan.…
