Month: July 2020

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether spousal benefits are always half of the other spouse’s retirement benefit, divorced survivor benefits before a retirement benefit at 70 and how totalization agreements with other countries can affect retirement and spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the
0 Comments
Coronavirus stimulus may reduce the likelihood of an infrastructure bill passing in the next few months. That’s what some experts predicted during a Brookings Institution webinar on Thursday. Tracey Ross, director of federal policy and narrative at PolicyLink is confident that a federal infrastructure stimulus will pass by next summer, though others think it may
0 Comments
Key Takeaways Analysts estimate EPS of -$0.05 vs. $0.21 in Q2 2019 Gross payment volume is expected to plunge. Revenue expected to decline modestly despite COVID-19. Square Inc. (SQ) is feeling the negative financial impact of the pandemic-induced economic downturn even as its shares are dramatically outperforming the stock market. The financial services company, co-founded
0 Comments
The EU will open a full-scale investigation into Google’s $2.1bn bid for fitness tracking company Fitbit, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation, in a sign that regulators are unsatisfied with the concessions Google has made so far. Google has pledged not to use the health data gathered by Fitbit’s tens of
0 Comments
Should financial advisors make TikTok part of their digital marketing strategy? The video sharing app has enormous potential for advisors hoping to connect with next-generation investors, digital marketing experts say. Not only that, TikTok’s algorithm makes it easier for an interested audience to find advisors’ content than other social networks, digital marketing experts say. “The
0 Comments
TOPLINE President Trump on Wednesday promised U.S. suburban residents that the value of their homes would not be impacted by crime or the construction of low-income housing after an Obama-era rule designed to limit housing segregation was ended last week, the culmination of years of deregulation effort by Trump and a reported appeal to suburban
0 Comments
getty This past June, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released new guidelines regarding the proper use of incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) factors in determining the investments within a retirement plan covered by ERISA. This hasn’t gone over well with ESG advocates. Aron Szapiro, director of policy research for Morningstar MORN , recently wrote,
0 Comments
Unlikely as it may seem, there are some beneficiaries who prefer not to receive inherited assets. The reasons vary: Often the beneficiary would like the assets—such as a traditional or Roth IRA or other inherited retirement plan—to be given to someone else. Other times the intended beneficiary does not want to be taxed on the assets.
0 Comments
Brookfield has renegotiated a $6.4bn credit facility, offering sweeping concessions to banks that have lent money to its property arm after the coronavirus prompted many retailers to stop paying rent. The revised terms impose restrictions on the dividends that can be paid by Brookfield Property Reit, which is one of America’s biggest operators of shopping
0 Comments
Fidelity Investments is the latest brokerage firm to embrace a subscription fee pricing model for digital advice. The cost? Cheaper than a Netflix subscription. Fidelity’s move could help the firm attract more young investors — and it represents another step in industry’s shift away from the AUM-based fee model. For clients with $10,000 to $50,000
0 Comments
Blockchain-powered financial services company Diginex launched its new Equos digital asset exchange on July 30. The exchange will initially host crypto asset spot trading, with plans for “perpetual swaps, dated futures, options, and other derivatives products” to soon follow. The platform will support USD and the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin at launch.  The spot exchange
0 Comments
A resurgent bitcoin is rekindling Indian interest in cryptocurrencies with reports suggesting many dormant holders are back to trading. A report in Livemint is also attributing the piqued interest to a recent Indian supreme court decision to overturn a prohibition that barred banks from dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. The ban was imposed by the Reserve
0 Comments