Reviewing Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp.

TCG BDC and Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations. TCG BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.0%.

Tax bill thrown into uncertainty as first GOP senator comes out against it

Uncertainty gripped the Senate on Wednesday over efforts to pass a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax cut after a Wisconsin Republican became the first senator in his party to declare that he could not vote for the tax bill as written, and other senators expressed serious misgivings over the cost and effect on the middle class. The House is set Thursday to pass its own version of the tax bill, which would cut taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over 10 years and broadly rewrite the business tax code.

Trump likely to change watchdog agency as Cordray leaves

Richard Cordray, the aggressive first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, plans to leave the agency by the end of the month, giving President Donald Trump a chance to appoint a replacement likely to be friendlier to the financial industry. Cordray was a holdover from the Obama administration, appointed to his position in 2013 for a five-year term.

Richard Cordray, head of Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, says he’s stepping down

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, talks about mortgage protections, managing student loans and the best ways to prevent another financial crisis with USA TODAY Editorial Page writer Saundra Torry. Richard Cordray said he will step down as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, by the end of November.

House passes bill to renew flood insurance program

The House on Tuesday backed legislation that will increase flood insurance premiums for many property owners to help firm up a program under stress from ever-more frequent and powerful storms. The bill's passage was secured when sponsors made a variety of changes to accommodate lawmakers determined to protect constituents from even steeper rate hikes or from being booted out of the program altogether.

Democrats have leverage in one part of the GOP tax cut process

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Nov. 7 said he expects the GOP tax plan "in the end to be revenue neutral for the government, if not a revenue gainer." As Republicans work to pass the largest overhaul of the U.S. tax code since 1986 by the end of this calendar year, they're not banking on any support from Senate Democrats.

Illegal immigrant found in county is indicted

A federal grand jury in Raleigh indicted a Guatemala native found in Wayne County on charges of false representation of a Social Security account number and aggravated identity theft. Maria Asuncion Lucas-Mendez, 31, would face up to seven years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment if convicted on the charge.

Minnesota’s cabin getaway lifestyle could come under pressure from tax reform

The portion of the House Republican tax proposal that curtails homebuying incentives appears likely to hit Minnesota harder than most states. That's because the vast majority of cabins in central and northern Minnesota are second homes, which would no longer be eligible for a deduction on mortgage interest under the House GOP tax plan that was unveiled Nov. 2. Senate Republicans last week unveiled a different tax reform plan that makes no change to mortgage interest deductions.

Voices Reform plans are up in the air – ” and so are tax pros

As it has so often in the past, Congress is making the end of the year difficult for accountants and tax practitioners, dragging tax legislation out to the last minute with a maximum of confusion and a minimum of advanced warning. The simultaneous release on Thursday of the Senate's proposals for tax reform and the House Ways and Means Committee's markup of an earlier House bill may bring the tax reform process closer to some kind of end, but they provide few, if any, actionable items for tax professionals to bring to their clients, and in fact may end up threatening the entire reform effort.