The IRS issued a one-day, penalty-free extension for tax filers after suffering an all-day computer breakdown on Tuesday that prevented taxpayers from filing returns electronically on the day 2017 payments were due. The Internal Revenue Service blamed the problem on a hardware error, and the glitch exposed the information-technology challenges that agency officials have been […]
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Starbucks to Close All Stores Nationwide for Racial-Bias Education…
Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced it will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores. The training will be provided to nearly 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part […]
Four Flashpoints of Volatility by Nom Prins…
1 – Trade Wars Flashpoints, From China to Canada and Mexico: Wall Street has knee-jerk reactions to any trade war related headlines. There are legitimate reasons to be concerned about trade wars. The world is increasingly more connected than ever. Many major American companies that are household names such as Starbucks (SBUX), Boeing (BA) and […]
Uh Oh… CFPB Suffered More Than 1,000 Data Breaches…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suffered at least 240 data breaches and another 800 suspected hacks, according to Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the bureau in congressional testimony. Mulvaney is the first CFPB official to admit the agency’s massive data mining of consumer mortgage and credit card information is vulnerable to hackers and […]
The Richest People in America Live on This Miami Island…
The richest people in America live on Fisher Island, a tiny barrier island between Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, according to a study released Tuesday morning. Fisher Island’s 33109 zip code was ranked the wealthiest in the country, topping glitzy neighborhoods in Los Angeles, New York City, and downtown Miami. A Bloomberg study of 2015 […]
Meaningless Words – Chairman Xi Jinping Uses Panda Speech to Con China Trade Critics…
While necessarily needing to continue the gamesmanship, and publicly exhibit positive reception therein, I doubt seriously President Trump is fooled by this familiar Chinese ploy. Actions speak louder than words…
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China’s Running Out of U.S. Imports to Target…
China acted swiftly on Wednesday to announce reciprocal tariffs on $50 billion worth of American imports, unveiling a match for the Trump administration’s move against Chinese imports less than 12 hours before. Now that U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a review of measures on $100 billion of additional Chinese goods, China will have to […]
Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax…
One of the least discussed parts of America’s income tax is how progressive it is, and the tax overhaul didn’t change that fact. In 2018, top earners will pay a higher share of income taxes. The individual income tax matters—a lot—because it is the largest single source of U.S. revenue. And its share has risen […]
Tax Trouble For Certain Bitcoin Traders…
What do you do, come April 17, if you made a ton of money trading crypto last year and have since lost most of it? Panic, probably. A lot of last year’s winners are in deep porridge now. They owe tax on 2017 profits. They’re losing money now, so it’s not easy to come up […]
Manufacturing Industry Has Strongest Jobs Increase in Three Years…
Hiring at private U.S. employers grew more than expected in March, according to a report, as the manufacturing industry showed the strongest increase in more than three years. Firms across the country added 241,000 workers in March, according to payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics. Economists surveyed by The Wall […]
Trump Hits China with Tariffs on 1,300 Products…
The Trump administration Tuesday rolled out a list of proposed Chinese high-tech imports to hit with new tariffs, advancing get-tough measures that have raised alarms about a trade war. The list named 1,300 separate products with a total value of roughly $50 billion. President Trump ordered the tariffs to combat China’s unfair trade practices and […]
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U.S., China Signal Room for Talks with Trade Tensions Heating Up…
The U.S. and China indicated they’re willing to negotiate on escalating frictions, helping to ease fears among investors that a tit-for-tat trade dispute could derail the strongest global expansion in years. The White House’s National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow spent much of the day Wednesday trying to calm markets after the two countries announced […]
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The Oligarchs’ ‘Guaranteed Basic Income’ Scam by Chris Hedges…
A number of the reigning oligarchs—among them Mark Zuckerberg (net worth $64.1 billion), Elon Musk (net worth $20.8 billion), Richard Branson (net worth $5.1 billion) and Stewart Butterfield (net worth $1.6 billion)—are calling for a guaranteed basic income. It looks progressive. They couch their proposals in the moral language of caring for the destitute and […]
Shadow Banking Warning Highlights China’s ‘Debt Time Bomb’…
The mere mention of shadow banking was always going to conjure images of dimly-lit rooms and shady deals, evoking Hollywood’s film noir genre. In reality, of course, those two words are probably enough for the mandarins in the rarefied atmosphere at the People’s Bank of China to break out in a collective cold sweat. With […]
John Williams Named Next New York Fed Chair…
As was widely expected thanks to several leaks to the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Fed President John Williams has been named president of the (far more influential) Federal Reserve Bank of New York: It’s considered one of the most powerful positions within the Fed system – sometime even more so than the Fed chair […]
China’s $3B Tariffs on U.S. Imports – Pork, Scrap Aluminum, Wine and Fruits…
In retaliation for $50 billion in U.S. trade tariffs against Chinese imports, China laughably hits back with $3 their own billion tariffs against the U.S. According to most reporting Beijing has selected U.S. pork and scrap aluminum as targets for a 25% tariff, along with wine and fruit tariffs around 15%. It should be emphasized […]
EPA to Loosen Rules for Automobile Gas Mileage, Pollution…
The Trump administration is expected to announce that it will roll back automobile gas mileage and pollution standards. Automakers wanted the government to relax the current standards, which were imposed by the Obama administration to combat climate change. They say the rules will cost the industry billions of dollars and raise vehicle prices. But environmentalists […]
NY Fed Unleashes SOFR, the U.S. Rival to LIBOR…
In an effort to offer a more transparent alternative to U.S. dollar Libor, the New York Federal Reserve released its first Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Tuesday. SOFR opened at 1.80. Considerably lower than either the ICE Libor 1 month or 3 month rates. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a broad measure of […]
CFPB Chief Mick Mulvaney Formally Asks Congress to Slash the Agency’s Power…
The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau formally called on Congress to sharply reduce his agency’s authority. Among the suggestions he delivered Monday: Any major new rules the bureau makes should be subject to lawmakers’ approval. “The bureau is far too powerful, with previous little oversight of its activities,” Mick Mulvaney — who has […]
Subprime Auto Bubble Bursts As “Buyers Are Suddenly Missing from Showrooms”…
It was less than a month ago when we showed a series of “10 charts revealing an auto bubble on the brink”, and which laid out several very troubling trends, including i) the average new vehicle loan hit a record high $31,099; ii) the average loan for a used auto climbed to a record high […]