Author: Press Room

Election officials in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida are working quickly to ensure voters can still securely cast early ballots, despite the devastating storm impacts of Hurricane Helene that have in some cases left them without power, water and cell service. Potential solutions in the affected counties of the three states, which could determine the White House, could include extra polling places, extending early voting and making it easier to drop off mail ballots. “We have no power. We have no water. Cell service is limited, so right now the concern is a delay in getting the absentee ballots mailed out,…

The self-employed have the potential to earn more, and build wealth faster than a traditional employee, if their business allows. If not managed correctly, though, a solo owner can also find themselves well behind retirement unless they take proper steps to save. This reality was highlighted again with new research looking at the self-employed savings levels out of the United Kingdom. The UK, which has a public pension plan, encourages employees and business owners alike to fund their retirement. According to new research by the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies, only 20% of those making 10,000 pounds ($13,362) or more…

Deutsche Bank is striking a cautious tone on Dover ‘s stock ahead of the industrial conglomerate’s upcoming earnings report. Jim Cramer is saying don’t fall for it. The firm’s wariness on Dover lands not long after the Federal Reserve began its rate-cutting cycle – generally seen as a positive development for economically sensitive corners of the market such as industrials. That’s because lower rates are typically good for businesses’ capital expenditure levels. And yet a recent pair of research reports on industrials – from Deutsche Bank and Barclays – paints a decidedly mixed view on Dover and the group overall, which includes…

Denim-crazed consumers are turning to Levi Strauss & Co for new jeans, but the company’s overall business is being dragged down by its Dockers brand, which the company is now considering selling off, it announced Wednesday. Sales at Levi’s brand were up 5% during its fiscal third quarter — the biggest gain in two years — but overall revenue came in flat and lower than Wall Street had expected. Shares of Levi’s fell more than 8% in extended trading Wednesday.Here’s how the denim-maker performed compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:Earnings per share: 33…

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday allowed a prediction market to offer election betting, denying a government watchdog’s request to halt a ruling that made way for legal political gambling in the United States. Kalshi, an online platform where users can bet on the outcomes of future events, relaunched its congressional control contracts a few hours after the ruling, letting Americans bet on which party will control the House and Senate in 2025. It is unclear whether the New York-based startup will launch more election markets. A panel of three judges unanimously ruled Wednesday that the Commodity…

This article was written byFollowAfter 43+ years working for one investment research company or another, I finally retired. So now, I’m completely independent. And for the first time on Seeking Alpha, I won’t be working based on anybody else’s product agenda. I have only one goal now… to give you the best actionable investment insights I can.I have long specialized in rules/factor-based equity investing strategies. But I’m different from others who share such backgrounds. I don’t serve the numbers. Instead, the numbers serve me… to inspire HI (Human Intelligence) generated investment stories. I definitely understand quant investing, including factors and…

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White HouseVice-presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz are facing off in a debate in New York, laying out sharply contrasting visions of the US at a pivotal moment in the final stretch of the 2024 White House race.With just over a month until polling day, it is the first, and probably only, debate between Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s running mates, and a chance for Vance, in particular, to improve his tepid approval ratings.An Associated Press poll last week…

A Georgia judge signaled Tuesday that he sees a need to bring clarity to the meaning of a “vague” new election certification rule approved by Donald Trump allies that critics say will inject chaos into the battleground state after Election Day. State and national Democrats have sued the GOP-controlled Georgia State Election Board over a pair of rules passed in August that require county election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them and allow them to “examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections prior to certification of results.” During a bench…

One of the goals of the Inflation Reduction Act is to lower drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The biggest step toward that goal will be the implementation of the $2,000 cap on Part D out-of-pocket costs starting in January 2025. Nearly 19 million Part D enrollees could save $400 and almost two million with the highest costs could save, on average, $2,500 per year. Last year, Medicare took a baby step toward that goal by eliminating the 5% coinsurance in the Catastrophic Coverage payment stage. This should save approximately 1.5 million enrollees about $3,100 each this year. Both these initiatives…

The U.S. housing market has remained stagnant, with just 25 out of every 1,000 homes changing hands in 2024, according to recent data from real estate firm Redfin.  The first eight months of the year marked the lowest turnover rate in at least 30 years, according to Redfin, which conducted an analysis of housing turnover by comparing the first eight months of 2024 across different metro areas, home and neighborhood types. It is using turnover as a way to measure housing availability.  Comparatively, there were 37% fewer homes sold this year compared with during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic…