Author: Press Room

3/3 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A replica model of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket sits in a media area ahead of UK’s First launch at Newquay Airport in Newquay, Britain, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls 2/3 By Joey Roulette and Kevin Krolicki (Reuters) – As the fortunes of Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit were crashing to Earth last month, a little-known investor called Matthew Brown appeared offering a $200 million rescue.     Within two days of being contacted by Brown, Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart had secured board backing for a preliminary agreement with the 33-year-old Texas-based investor, according to related documents…

Banking-as-a-Service is one of the buzziest areas of fintech globally, but economic and regulatory pressures are bearing down on it. BaaS already looks and feels very different depending where you are geographically, and by the end of the year it’s going to see further significant changes that will leave the segment and the companies that comprise it looking very different to 2022. How BaaS Works In Europe In Europe, the term is applied broadly to many different types of business, but within that there are two distinct groups: Companies with full banking licenses and software providers that have varying levels…

Summary According to a GuruFocus backtesting study, stocks with higher GF Scores tend to outperform those with lower GF Scores. These defensive stocks have high dividend yields, low valuations and GF Scores that indicate outperformance potential. When the Covid-related stock market bubble began to deflate near near the end of 2021, it was tempting to snap up shares of businesses deemed to be “recession-proof,” such as those in the consumer defensive and utility spaces. However, even though many of these businesses have held up well despite the struggling economy, their share prices still had room to adjust just downward due…

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen recently tied the failure to raise the debt limit in time to the prospect of more bank failures. The Secretary is absolutely right that if Congress wants to prevent more government bailouts of banks in the short-term, it can ill afford to wait to enact a clean debt limit increase. But in order to help bring down the inflationary pressures that helped undermine Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), President Biden and Democrats must find common ground with Republicans to stabilize the national debt. While liberal Democrats point to the 2018 banking regulatory relief law and MAGA…

President Joe Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness plan has been blocked by federal courts since last fall. The fate of the program is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, with a formal ruling expected this summer. If the Supreme Court winds up striking down Biden’s student debt relief initiative, advocates have pointed to a potential backup option that could allow the administration to essentially reissue the program under a different legal authority. But a new legal development could scramble that plan. Here’s the latest. Supreme Court To Determine Fate Of Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Biden’s student loan…

Why are there significant differences in U.S. life expectancies by state? Answers to this question can potentially be found by digging into the underlying influences on this basic measurement of well-being in a broad population. The life expectancies discussed in this post were published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2023 and collected by Assurance, an insurance technology platform. Below are the top 10 and bottom 10 states by life expectancy according to this set of rankings: Top 10 States By Life Expectancy 1. Hawaii (80.7 years) 2. Washington (79.2 years) 3. Minnesota (79.1 years) 4.…

Thought you wanted to be a millionaire? The “Billionaire Tax” might cause you to reconsider. All American earners are subject to federal income taxes, but not everyone is subject to the same tax rate. While middle-class Americans pay, on average, roughly 14% in federal taxes annually, the wealthiest American families frequently use loopholes to avoid paying these tax rates. The question of whether or not the richest Americans pay enough in taxes for the amount of money they have compared to the average American’s net worth has been a hot topic of debate, in all likelihood, since July 4, 1776.…

Many advisors in your firm may believe the best way to deliver personalized service to high-value clients is to be as “hands on” as possible. That often translates into spending lots of time constructing, monitoring and adjusting portfolios for important clients. While it may seem oxymoronic at first, the automation that technology provides can actually enhance the personalization and “high-touch” service that advisors want to deliver. Advisors sometimes have doubts about how easy implementing new technologies will be. Still, you can make a compelling case that the right technological solutions enable advisors to spend more time on the areas of…

Independent furniture designers face many challenges today. Between the creative process, physically producing their work, and the entrepreneurial aspects of marketing and selling, an artist needs to be a “jack of all trades.” However, Jean Lin, founder of Colony has found a way to mentor emerging talent and help them cultivate their careers. With a gallery located in downtown Manhattan Lin’s unique co-op model truly makes it possible for artisans to thrive. Products feature a mix of unique furniture, lighting, textiles, and decor, Colony is the ideal place to source unique items for the home. In April 2023, the company…

Mortgage rates slid for the fourth week in a row, but buyers may have their hands tied by other challenges arising in the housing market, according to Freddie Mac.  The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.28% for the week ending April 4, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down from the previous week when it averaged 6.32%. Mortgage rates, however, remained well above last year when the average was 4.72%.Last week, the average rate for a 15-year mortgage was 5.64%, up from 5.56% the week before and from 3.91% last year.   The continued decline in the 30-year…