Author: Press Room

Dear Quentin, My mother and father were married for almost 60 years, and my mother just passed away. I grew up an only child. I am my father’s only child; however, my mother was married before him and has a son who is my half-brother. She didn’t raise him, nor did she see him until he looked her up about 20 years ago.  When my mother… Read the full article here

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands outside of the entrance of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, California, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small (Reuters) -SVB Financial Group’s CEO and chief financial officer resigned this week while the collapsed lender’s restructuring committee appointed a turnaround expert as interim CFO, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. CEO Gregory Becker resigned on April 19, while finance chief Daniel Beck left the company on April 18, SVB said. The two top executives were sued in March by shareholders who accused them of concealing how rising interest rates would…

By Laura Sanicola (Reuters) -U.S. crude oil inventories last week fell more than forecast as refinery runs and exports rose, while gasoline stockpiles jumped unexpectedly on disappointing demand, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.     Crude inventories fell 4.6 million barrels in the week to April 14 to 466 million barrels, more than quadruple analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel drop. Crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell 1.6 million barrels last week to just under 368 million barrels, its lowest since October 1983. Meanwhile, crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for futures…

By Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s peso currency sank in widely used parallel markets on Thursday, hitting a record low against the U.S. dollar as concerns grew about the Latin American country’s economy, with 104% inflation, reserves dwindling and drought hitting exports. The black market peso, one of several unofficial rates that have flourished as tight capital controls have limited access to official forex markets, weakened almost 4% to 438 per dollar, roughly double the official rate of 218 pesos. The blue-chip swap or CCL rate was at 433 pesos per dollar and the MEP was at 421.3…

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – Even though it may surprise some that it’s positive at all, the risk premium on equity over bonds has hit historic lows – a key driver of the recent dash for fixed income. Wall Street has successfully fended off the continued rise in U.S. interest rates and drum beat of recession talk this year, but lukewarm equity returns relative to bonds suggests further upside in the second half of the year may be limited. The so-called equity risk premium (ERP), the extra return investors can expect for holding stocks over risk-free government bonds,…

Private equity (PE) is a rich guy and gal favorite. PE firms find deals and deliver outsized dividends. They don’t like dealing with common folk. So, PE shops typically set a minimum of a few hundred thousand dollars or so to invest. But we contrarians have a better way! By tapping BDCs—or business development companies—we can toss as little as $20 into a PE payer. Better yet, we can secure yields between 8.5% and 13.1%. We’ll discuss three examples today. Including one that is trading below book value! If you’ve never heard of business development companies (BDCs), you’re not alone.…

Grow your money with a lot less risk and boost your confidence as a new investor with the help of high interest rates. As a financial educator who has more than $1 million set aside in investments and doesn’t like to take on unnecessary risk, I’m excited to see simple ways you can increase your cash flow with minimal investing experience necessary. What Does It Even Mean That Interest Rates Are High? When you hear about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, it’s a reference to the federal funds rate, also called the federal funds target rate. The Federal Open…

We are accustomed to the utilization of equations in financial planning, and while most of those tend to be numerical, there are a growing number of formulas that apply to the utilization of our non-financial resources. These resources—such as our time, influence, energy, and relationships—can be as important as our money and can often be scarcer. That’s why I was especially attuned to the words of social scientist, best-selling author, and Harvard Business School professor, Dr. Arthur Brooks, , when I attended his recent lecture and he insisted that happiness was something we could deliberately pursue. He even offered a…

Earnings season continued last week, with 18% of S&P 500 companies reporting so far. Last week the breath of the reporters spread beyond primarily the banks. With little economic news and mostly earnings driving the action, the S&P 500 was fractionally lower for the week, and large bank shares were down similarly. This week is the busiest of the earnings season, with 178 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report. ADVERTISEMENT At this early juncture, blended earnings, which combine actual with estimates of companies yet to report, are better than forecasts at the end of the quarter. The high earnings growth…

A complex but concerning method of gaining control over a user’s iPhone and permanently locking them out the device appears to be on the rise. Some iPhone thieves are exploiting a security setting, called the recovery key, that makes it nearly impossible for owners to access their photos, messages, data and more, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Some victims also told the publication their bank accounts were drained after the thieves gained access to their financial apps. It’s important to note, however, this type of takeover is hard to pull off. It requires a criminal essentially watching…