China is the largest lender to the United States, buying billions of dollars of treasury notes each year. The communist state’s lending has largely been beneficial to the United States, and we borrow from them each year — which the United States government uses to finance its own deficit spending. While this tactic may have … Continue reading “What If China Stops or Slows Buying US Debt?”

Since Trump was elected, reading jobs reports has been a pleasurable experience. Jobs are growing. Economic conditions are improving, and there is nothing but good news. Let’s take a look at December and see how it caps Trump’s first full year in office.   Let’s begin with a look at December’s numbers. The country added … Continue reading “December Jobs Report Shows a Great Year for the Trump Economy”

At the beginning of every year, you expect to hear from the biggest names in technology, retail, and more about their stellar profits from the year prior. From Apple to Nike, Louis Vuitton to Facebook, these are the big brands that most consumers sink their money into. One of the most profitable names from 2017 … Continue reading “The Swiss National Bank Enjoys Huge Profits from 2017”

Look hard enough at any news source and sooner or later, you’re likely to see something somewhere about people becoming victims of a financial scam. Perhaps it’s an athlete whose unethical former manager cost him millions, or a Ponzi scheme that’s victimized thousands of senior citizens. Whatever the case, financial scams are real threats. In … Continue reading “The 4 Best Ways to Avoid Financial Scams”

The year 2017 was in some respects the worst year ever for the retail industry because it had a record number of announced store closings — at least 6,700 — and a large number of bankruptcies at major retail chains, including Toys ‘R’ Us. The trend of store closings continued in the first week of … Continue reading “Can Grocery Stores Avoid the Retail Apocalypse?”

Since tax season is right around the corner, you are probably thinking about how much of a refund you’re going to get. Maybe your imagining all of the things you’ll do with your refund — like redo your bathroom or plan your next vacation. Instead, you should be thinking about how to protect your identity. … Continue reading “Identity Theft Runs Rampant During Tax Season”

If there wasn’t so much disinformation coming from the suited goons on CNN, we could sum up this review of the job creation abilities of Trump vs Obama thusly: Trump = Quality / Obama = Quantity. Obama lowered the unemployment rate by encouraging businesses to create low paying jobs. These jobs made it possible for … Continue reading “Job Creation: Donald Trump vs. Barack Obama”

An unplanned car repair. A home HVAC system that unexpectedly decides to bite the dust. A medical expense that your health plan doesn’t fully cover. Or in the most dire of circumstances, job loss. The aforementioned are all good reasons to have some sort of an established emergency savings fund, as unanticipated expenses that range … Continue reading “Why Everyone Needs an Emergency Fund Right Now”

Many retailers struggled last year, but 2017 was a very exciting time for investors. When the stock market opened for trading in 2017, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 19,762 points, a gain of 13.5 percent for the year, while the Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 index was 2,239 points, up 9.5 percent, and the … Continue reading “Flashback: The 10 Biggest Business Stories of 2017”

IPOs, or initial public offerings, are often high risk, high reward endeavors. While many IPOs don’t go exactly how investors predict (Facebook), other IPOs soar from the start (Tesla). For solid companies with good fundamentals, an initial public offering gives investors a chance to get in on the ground floor. But it really depends on … Continue reading “Top IPOs to Look Out for in 2018”

With the new year comes top venture capital deals to whet your appetite. Some of the world’s biggest names are on the move, raising funds and snapping up other companies. The impetus behind all the action is to position these companies to make better inroads toward their goals as well as to diversify their holdings. … Continue reading “2018 Begins With Epic Developments in Venture Capital”

The recent tax reform has passed both the Senate and the House and signed into law by President Trump. It’s been well-established that the law is a net-win for the middle class and small business owners. However, what impact will this far-reaching change to the way our company funds growth and infrastructure support have on … Continue reading “The Long-Term Impact of Tax Reform on Foreign Investments”

It’s probable that no television program in American television history has been more associated with a TV network as “The Simpsons” has been associated with Fox Broadcasting Company. Fox debuted in late, 1986. “The Simpsons” was a sketch on the Fox network’s “The Tracey Ullman Show” from 1987 through 1989, debuted as a TV program … Continue reading “Why Disney’s Takeover of Fox is a Very Big Deal”

Chapter 1 of the history of the television industry was fascinating in many ways, but the business part of the chapter was dominated by three companies. They were so dominant that writing here that the companies that owned the ABC, CBS, and NBC networks from the late 1940s through the late 1970s seems redundant. In … Continue reading “The Netflix Effect: Companies Transforming Entertainment Now”

For so long, it seemed as though no one could get away from the ubiquitous Budweiser commercials and ads that permeated modern culture. But over time, Anheuser-Busch InBev has failed to stay as relevant or as popular to beer drinkers today — especially in America. Budweiser is no longer on the lips of every red-blooded … Continue reading “Beer Industry Shakeup: Budweiser No Longer in America’s Top 3”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is the first major tax overhaul since the Reagan era. Rather than simplifying the already 10,000-page tax code, Republicans took a different approach: they tweaked the taxation formula and did a balancing act by doing away with a few deductions. They also gave the business community a … Continue reading “Who Benefits from the Tax Overhaul Plan?”

For many people, retirement doesn’t mean that they stop working. It simply means more of the same as far as their typical work day. According to a Gallup poll, almost three out of four people said they intend to work beyond the typical age of retirement. Another study — this time from the AARP who … Continue reading “When Retirement Becomes Work: What to Know, What to Watch Out For”