Investing News

Many people perceive being wealthy as having a nice house, a late-model car, and maybe a summer cottage. But the kind of money that the wealthiest 1% of the world’s households has dwarfs this concept. This segment of the population owns large portions of major corporations, multibillion-dollar investment funds, islands in the Caribbean, and even

Before securities—like stocks, bonds, and notes—can be offered for sale to the public, they first must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Any stock that does not have an effective registration statement on file with the SEC is considered “unregistered.” Key Takeaways Any security without a registration statement on file with the

Stock market investors accept the risk that prices will fall from time to time—sometimes severely—but people who buy a house may assume that the value of their home will never decrease by all that much. They’re not wrong. Historically, the housing market has not suffered from the frequent price bubbles and extreme volatility that are

Revenue vs. Retained Earnings: An Overview Revenue and retained earnings provide insights into a company’s financial performance. Revenue is a critical component of the income statement. It reveals the “top line” of the company or the sales a company has made during the period. Retained earnings are an accumulation of a company’s net income and net

Social Security fraud statistics can be difficult to pin down. Some are grouped inside a larger category that the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls “improper payments,” which includes everything from innocent mistakes to willful fraud. The SSA estimates that it made about $7.9 billion worth of improper payments during the 2019 fiscal year. Social Security-related

Key Takeaways The highest-grossing movie franchise of all time is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The top two highest-grossing franchises, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, are both owned by Disney. Four of the five highest-grossing franchises are based on either a series of comic books or a series of novels. Just like sports franchises,

In June 2015, Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, argued that Facebook Inc. (now Meta) had a 45% upside potential. The tech company was then trading just above $90, meaning Munster thought the stock could get as high as $130. He was right—eventually. FB reached $130 in January 2017 and then kept

American Express has launched a new limited-time offer on three of its Hilton Honors co-branded credit cards. New cardholders with the Hilton Honors American Express Card, Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card or Hilton Honors American Express Business Card can earn up to 130,000 bonus points. Here’s how to take advantage of these offers and

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulators voted unanimously to accept an agreement Thursday that ordered Credit Karma to pay $3 million to consumers for misleading them with promises of credit card “pre-approvals” despite knowing those guarantees weren’t real. The order mandates that the company cease from making such claims in the future and requires extra record

Rates on 30-year mortgages bolted dramatically higher Thursday. The flagship average is now a full third of a point above the 6% threshold, as well as within just a few points of the highest level seen since 2008. Today’s National Mortgage Rate Averages On June 14, 30-year mortgage rates entered historic territory when the average

When the global COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the U.S. Department of Education made the bold move to pause payments on eligible federal student loans while fixing interest rates at 0%. In the meantime, all collections activity on federal student loans was brought to a halt, which proved crucial as millions of Americans lost

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a key consideration when constructing any equity or fixed-income portfolio. They can provide added diversification, potentially higher total returns, and/or lower overall risk. In short, their ability to generate dividend income along with capital appreciation makes them an excellent counterbalance to stocks, bonds, and cash. REIT investing involves real

The U.S. economy added 315,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August 2022, but the unemployment rate rose to 3.7% from 3.5% in July. Notable job gains were observed in professional and business services, healthcare, and retail trade. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast job growth of 300,000 in August, with the unemployment rate remaining at 3.5%.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of Americans financially. In a survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), three in 10 Americans said paying off debt is their top financial stressor, while 55% were worried about having enough cash tucked away in savings. Though the federal government has introduced numerous measures to provide

What Is Contribution Margin? The contribution margin can be stated on a gross or per-unit basis. It represents the incremental money generated for each product/unit sold after deducting the variable portion of the firm’s costs. The contribution margin is computed as the selling price per unit, minus the variable cost per unit. Also known as

Profit margins are perhaps one of the simplest and most widely used financial ratios in corporate finance. A company’s profit is calculated at three levels on its income statement, starting with the most basic—gross profit—and building up to the most comprehensive: net profit. Between these two lies operating profit. All three have corresponding profit margins

What’s wrong with the American tax system? Depending on their perspectives, taxpayers complain about a wide range of features. However, a recent study by the Pew Research Center reveals that a majority express a concern that the system is unfair. They believe that it often requires low- and middle-income individuals to pay taxes on a

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who’ve been laid off or furloughed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, your cash flow may have slowed to a trickle or stopped altogether. But the bills, of course, just keep on coming. It helps to have a plan to manage your finances until the crisis

The Biden administration nominated a team of “liberal and centrist economic advisers” to help him steer America’s recovery. Here are the administration’s top picks. Key Takeaways President Biden won the 2020 election and nominated former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to be his treasury secretary. Shalanda Young, current OMB acting director, has been nominated as

If you’re looking to buy cryptocurrencies, you can choose between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins. There are, however, also indirect ways of exploring the crypto world. Here’s a closer look at what you need to know if you want to invest in crypto without buying crypto. Key Takeways Cryptocurrency is a relatively new investment with