Category: Personal Finance

Tech Startup Market Slows Amid Silicon Valley’s Doubts on Trump

The post-election rally that’s lifting U.S. public markets has left at least one group by the wayside: private technology startups. Since last year’s peak in mid-December, startup deal-making has fallen 37 percent, according to the Bloomberg U.S. Startups Barometer, which tracks fundraising, initial public offerings and acquisitions.

Mortgage Rates Monday, Feb. 27: Holding Near 2017 Lows

Thirty-year and 15-year fixed rates, as well as 5/1 ARM rates, are all mostly unchanged today, according to a NerdWallet survey of current mortgage rates published by national lenders Monday morning. After retreating for five of the past six days, fixed-rate mortgages are holding close to 2017 lows.

Rules force Internet providers to protect the data they have on you;…

Federal regulators on Monday will move to stop certain privacy regulations from going into effect that were designed to safeguard consumers’ personal information from hackers and criminals, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The stay by the Federal Communications Commission will release broadband companies such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T from previously approved rules requiring them to adopt “reasonable” security measures protecting Social Security numbers, Web browsing history and other information belonging to their customers.

Austerity anguish

In normal times, in a normal country, court proceedings over mortgage arrears would not be the stuff of headline news. In a soulless white concrete court building, leaders of the I Won’t Pay movement have been turning routine eviction proceedings into the frontline in a popular fight-back against austerity.

Doubts grow over stock marketa s Trump-inspired surge

President Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd after he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center February 24, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland. While American stock markets have enjoyed a good run since Trump’s election, there are beginning to appear some concerns over whether the so-called “Trump Effect” will last.

Brief-Waterstone Financial Quarterly Earnings Per Share $0.23

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 The new U.S. Federal Communications Commission chief will move to block broadband privacy rules, approved by the Obama administration, that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers like AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Corp.

Deutsche Bank Loses Ground in Trading as JPMorgan Thrives

Deutsche Bank’s negotiations with U.S. prosecutors last year over alleged mortgage misdeeds rattled investors, leading many of the German lender’s trading partners to defect — apparently to American rivals. Deutsche Bank , the German lender hit last year by a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over alleged mortgage misdeeds, is losing ground to American rivals in the highly profitable arena of bond and currency trading, a new report shows.

China Expands Drug Insurance Coverage in Boost to Pharma Stocks

China expanded the list of medicines covered nationwide by government insurance for the first time since 2009, a move that sent the shares of Chinese drugmakers soaring. The central government decided to add 339 drugs to a list of medicines covered by the country’s basic medical insurance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in a statement on Thursday.

Rate Hikes Boost Bank Deposits

Repurchase agreements, or repos, are a tool of monetary operations used by the Fed in carrying out monetary policy. In a repo, the Fed will buy securities from authorized counterparties at an agreed-upon price for an agreed-upon term.

Prudential May Press Wells Fargo as Fake-Account Fallout Spreads

Prudential Financial Inc., facing regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits over a sales relationship with Wells Fargo & Co., said it may press its partner to cover costs after halting the offering — another sign the bank has yet to contain the full fallout of its bogus-account scandal. Prudential “has provided notice to Wells Fargo that it may seek indemnification,” the Newark, New Jersey-based insurer said in a Feb. 17 regulatory filing, referring to their agreement to sell MyTerm life coverage to Wells Fargo customers.

Rate Hikes Boost Bank Deposits

Repurchase agreements, or repos, are a tool of monetary operations used by the Fed in carrying out monetary policy. In a repo, the Fed will buy securities from authorized counterparties at an agreed-upon price for an agreed-upon term.

For Asset Managers Battling Index Funds, It’s Hunt or Be Hunted

Janus Capital Group Inc. and U.K.-based Henderson Group Plc are merging to reduce costs, broaden their product mix and expand geographically. Last week, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. struck a $3.3 billion agreement to buy alternative-asset manager Fortress Investment Group LLC, whose shares had lost two-thirds of their value since the company went public in 2007.

For Asset Managers Battling Index Funds, It’s Hunt or Be Hunted

Janus Capital Group Inc. and U.K.-based Henderson Group Plc are merging to reduce costs, broaden their product mix and expand geographically. Last week, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. struck a $3.3 billion agreement to buy alternative-asset manager Fortress Investment Group LLC, whose shares had lost two-thirds of their value since the company went public in 2007.

Ahead of the Bell: US home sales

The National Association of Realtors reports on January sales of existing U.S. homes Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists forecast sales will tick up to a seasonally adjusted 5.55 million, up from 5.49 million in December.

Cohen-backed Metro Bank Defies Brexit Uncertainty With Pledge To Double In Size

Metro Bank has defied uncertainty brought about by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and stuck to its guns on growth targets, reiterating Wednesday a pledge to double in size by 2020. The upstart lender, who counts Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management as its largest shareholder, reported its second quarterly profit against a backdrop of overarching economic uncertainty and said that it has seen no significant change in customer behaviour since the U.K voted to leave the European Union in June last year.

Lloyds Swings to Fourth-Quarter Profit as It Boosts Dividend

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, swung to a fourth-quarter profit even as it faced more than 700 million pounds of conduct and restructuring charges. Pretax profit was 973 million pounds, compared to a loss of 507 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based bank said in a statement Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ estimates for 1.38 billion pounds.

Hedge Funds Lose Bid to Quash Fannie, Freddie Profit Grab

Hedge funds largely failed in their legal challenge to the U.S. government’s capture of billions of dollars in profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after their bailout, sending shares of the mortgage guarantors plunging. Perry Capital LLC, the Fairholme Funds and other big investors lost a bid to overturn a judge’s ruling that said they can’t sue the government over the dividend change.

Hedge Funds Can’t Sue Over Investments in Fannie or Freddie

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that barred hedge funds from suing to overturn the U.S. government’s 2012 decision to capture billions of dollars in the profits generated by the mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after their bailout, sending shares plunging. Some Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors still have a shot at money damages, based on when they acquired their shares and whether they did so before or after the Federal Housing Finance Agency was created and then imposed its control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Pop-Ups Come to Banking as Swedbank Steals a Page From Eateries

Sweden’s biggest mortgage lender plans to open pop-up banks across the country, reversing half a decade of shuttering branches. Swedbank AB, which has cut its network by almost two-thirds since 2011, envisions portable banks setting up virtually anywhere, from university campuses to real estate brokers’ offices to corporate clients’ headquarters.

There are 5 places in the US where you need to make over…

In the last quarter of 2016, the median cost of a single-family home in the region rose to $348,800, up nearly 8% from the previous year and a greater increase than any other region, according to the National Association of Realtors . “Depressed new and existing inventory conditions led to several of the largest metro areas seeing near or above double-digit appreciation, which has pushed home values to record highs in a slight majority of markets,” said Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist.

Will your pension be there when you need it?

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and supporters rally outside the Capitol in Washington. Millions, including these protesters, are at risk of losing their retirement savings if the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation becomes insolvent.

Another View — Mark Connolly: The upside of regulations

Punishment came down quickly for two Daniel Webster College basketball players, including the leading scorer this season, after a fight during the school’s last-ever men’s basketball game on… Brad Marchand scored a breakaway goal 2:36 into overtime as the Boston Bruins beat the Sharks 2-1 Sunday night.

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In a perfect world, everyone would have no problem living within their income; we’d all have little to no debt and plenty of money set aside in savings. In the real world, that’s a depressingly rare circumstance.

The Best Investments for an IRA

An IRA is a fantastic way to build long-term wealth, but it can be tricky knowing which stocks or ETFs are best to own in one. There are thousands of publicly traded companies and ETFs to choose from, and they don’t all deserve a spot in your portfolio.