How The “Magnificent Seven” Misleads

A ll models are wrong, goes the statisticians' adage, but some are useful. This time last year, plenty of pundits' models started looking more wrong and less useful. The consensus forecast was a grim spell for economic growth and a dreary one for stock prices—and that was before a clutch of American regional banks buckled. Higher interest rates seemed set to cause pain everywhere. Instead, in the very country where the banking turmoil unfolded, the stockmarket began to soar. By the summer America's S & P 500 index of leading shares had risen by 28% from a trough hit the previous ...

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‘There Are No Consequences For Not Paying Your Property Taxes’ As Delinquencies Spike To $880 Million ...

More New Yorkers have stopped paying their property taxes — a troubling trend since the onset of the pandemic that city officials attribute to the end of a tax-lien sales program that punishes delinquency.

Overdue property taxes are forecast to reach its highest level ever, jumping by over 30% to more than $880 million at the end of the fiscal year in June from three years ago, according to an offering document for a city general obligation bond sale Tuesday. That means New York could be bringing in less tax revenue, since close to half of it comes from property tax collections.

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The Riskiest Jobs In Accounting

We've been hearing it for years, but especially in 2023 as generative AI rocked the world: Automation and artificial intelligence are here and they're coming for all the routine, mundane, repeatable tasks that have traditionally been accountants' bread and butter.

However, allowing machines to do this frees up human accountants for higher-value, strategically oriented tasks that will help firms do more with less in the face of a diminishing talent pipeline and outside disruption. Professionals will be able to work on the things that are really interesting to them and discard all the drudge work that no one ever wanted to do anyway.

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China's Xi Meets U.S. Execs As Businesses Navigate Bilateral Tensions

BEIJING — U.S. business leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the latest of Beijing's efforts to bolster foreign investment in China amid tensions with the U.S.

Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon, Bloomberg Chair Mark Carney and FedEx President Rajesh Subramaniam were among the attendees, according to state media.

Earlier reports described the meetings as a follow-up to Xi's dinner with U.S. business executives in San Francisco in November following the Chinese president's meeting with President Joe Biden.

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How Much Money Americans In Their 30s Have In Their 401(k)s

How much money Americans in their 30s have in their 401(k)s

Americans in their 30s have another 30 or so years before they reach retirement age , but they may not be saving enough to retire comfortably.

On average, Americans believe they'll need nearly $1.3 million to retire comfortably, according to Northwestern Mutual's 2023 Planning and Progress study.

However, the amount Americans in their 30s currently have saved is much lower. The median 401(k) balance for account holders in their 30s is around $20,400, according to the latest data from Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest 401(k) provider. The data is from the fourth quarter of 2023.

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US Department Of Labor Recovers Nearly $369K In Wages, Damages For 16 Workers Denied Overtime Pay By Prominent Oahu ...

HONOLULU – The U. S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has recovered $368,992 in back wages and damages for 16 employees of an Oahu restaurant — owned by one of Japan's largest brewing and distilling companies — whose operators denied overtime wages to salaried cooks and chefs, some of whom worked up to 70 hours per week.

Investigators determined Restaurant Suntory wrongly excluded these salaried employees from overtime eligibility and, by doing so, did not pay them legally required overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The restaurant also failed to keep accurate wage records.

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Biden Administration Announces New Tailpipe Rules Aimed To Expand EVs

Biden Administration Announces New Tailpipe Rules Aimed to Expand EVs - The New York Times

The Biden administration on Wednesday issued one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation's history, a rule designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032.

Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market. A record 1.2 million electric vehicles rolled off dealers' lots last year, but they made up just 7.6 percent of total U.S. car sales, far from the 56 percent target under the new regulation. An additional 16 percent of new cars sold would be hybrids.

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Bringing America To A Soft Economic Landing, Step One

A merica's central bank left rates untouched, to widespread market delight. Why is this economic cycle confounding expectations so much, and how to bring it to a gentle end ? We look at the modern fortunes of Vodafone, a once-mighty telecoms firm that is slimming down to get healthier (11:21). And why Britain's system for protecting its historic buildings from change… needs to change (16:10). Runtime: 21 min

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, the Chinese e-commerce giant seems intent on disrupting one of the original disruptors

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California Woman Shocked At Huge Tax Bill: 'How Am I Going To Survive?'

Every year, many taxpayers are startled to find their income as an independent contractor or business owner taxed at a higher rate than they imagined.

A TikToker who goes by the name of @_WestCoastFairy posted a video detailing her woes this tax season and now is unsure how she will go about paying her necessities.

"I literally can't breathe," the content creator said in her video . "I have so much anxiety. I just want to cry. I don't know what to do anymore."

_WestCoastFairy said she did everything right when filing her taxes and managed to make six figures last year. Despite her hard work, she was frustrated to learn $26,000 would be taken away from her earnings.

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Collective Debuts AI Accounting Tool For Solopreneurs

Collective Debuts AI Accounting Tool for Solopreneurs

Collective has debuted an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered accounting platform designed for one-person operations.

"As freelancers delve into the administration needed to properly pay their taxes and keep their books up to date, they've been shocked by their choices: pay expensive local accountants and bookkeepers that often leave them in the dark, or spend hours on DIY finance," the company said in a news release announcing "Collective Accounting" Tuesday (March 19).

"With today's release, Collective has solidified itself as a third option, one that fuses human expertise with the efficiency of AI technology."

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So Much Money Everywhere

There are tens of billions of dollars flowing into the new bitcoin ETFs. Speculation in tech stocks, crypto, NFTs, options, day trading, etc. makes it feel like we picked up right where we left off in the mini-2020/2021 meme stock bubble.

If you want to find areas of concern and complacency, you don’t have to look very hard right now.

Look at the trillions of dollars that have poured into money market funds these past few years. Money has actually come out of stock market mutual funds and ETFs on a net basis while money market funds have raked in trillions of dollars.

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Top 10 Budget Travel Myths

Top 10 Budget Travel Myths

Whether it's a long weekend getaway or a much-deserved multi-week vacation, travel can be an amazing way to relax and reset from the daily grind. Wanting to be able to afford such an adventure can be a struggle. Many myths about budget travel persist as a sort of "received wisdom" passed down from parents, friends, and across the internet.

Some of these myths might actually cost you money. Others might prevent you from considering travel since it's "too expensive." So lets take a look at some of the most persistent myths about budget travel, with the hope that you'll be able to save enough money to afford more travel now and in the future.

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Custodians Cleaning Up On Overtime In Newton Public Schools: 13 Earn More Than $100

Custodians are cleaning up on overtime in Newton Public Schools, with nearly a quarter earning at least $20,000 in extra hours last year as the district became embroiled in a stifling contract dispute between teachers and the School Committee .

A Herald analysis into Newton's payroll for the 2023 calendar year revealed that 21 of the 89 custodians employed in the district made at least $20,000 in overtime pay, a statistic one financial watchdog called "appalling."

The review also found that 13 custodians used the extra pay to skyrocket their salaries to over $100,000 — with the highest raking in $75,347.12 to boost their $88,383.58 in regular earnings to $166,780.86.

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Gov. Pillen Approves Nebraska Gender Care Regulations

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen approved the final rules and regulations for Nebraska's gender care law Tuesday, ending the administrative process as a legal challenge continues to play out.

Pillen, in a news release, announced the approval of Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services regulations for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. The restrictions apply to Nebraska minors under 19 years old and will take effect in five days, per state law.

"Nebraska's kids are our future," Pillen said in a statement. "They deserve the opportunity to grow up and develop to their full, God-given potential."

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ADM Says Employees Received DOJ Subpoenas Amid Probe Over Accounting Practices

ADM says employees received DOJ subpoenas amid probe over accounting practices

(Reuters) -Global grains merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland said on Tuesday some of its employees have received subpoenas from the Department of Justice amid an ongoing investigation over its accounting practices.

The disclosure came as ADM reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as oilseed processing and crop origination margins fell and as the company's Nutrition unit, the subject of the investigation, posted a quarterly loss.

ADM said some sales between business units within the company were not recorded at amounts approximating market value and corrected certain segment-specific financial information for previous financial statements from 2018 to 2023.

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One Of The Top Donors To A Pro-Biden Dark-money Group Is A Nonprofit Run By A Little-known AI Investor | CNN ...

One of the top donors to a pro-Biden dark-money group is a nonprofit run by a little-known AI investor | CNN ...

A husband-and-wife duo whose fortune has ties to AI investments and cryptocurrency trading are quietly emerging as some of the largest backers of the main dark-money group boosting President Joe Biden.

The second-largest donation in 2022 to the non-profit arm of Future Forward, the primary Super PAC supporting Biden, came from a group run by James McClave and Emily Berger. The couple work at Jane Street, a Manhattan trading firm, and McClave was an early investor in the AI company Anthropic.

Related article How the family fortune behind a major American pharma company has quietly funded conservative causes

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Express Scripts Defeats Manager’s Overtime Pay Collective Action

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Water Company Violated State Regulations | Wnep.Com

DEP: Water company violated state regulations | wnep.com

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — The Department of Environmental Protection says Pennsylvania American Water violated state regulations, leading to low, smelly water at a creek in Lackawanna County.

According to the DEP, sediment flowed into the Roaring Brook Creek in Scranton and Dunmore back in February as a result of construction at a dam at Dunmore Reservoir Number 7.

The state says Pennsylvania American Water was in violation of several regulations regarding sediment control and water pollution.

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Why And How Economics Must Change By Jayati Ghosh

The enforcement of strict power hierarchies within the discipline has suppressed the emergence and spread of alternative theories, explanations, and analysis. These combine with the other forms of discrimination (by gender, race/ethnicity, location) to exclude or marginalize alternative perspectives. The impact of location is huge: the mainstream discipline is completely dominated by the North Atlantic—specifically the US and Europe— in terms of prestige, influence, and the ability to determine the content and direction of the discipline.

These flaws have greatly impoverished economics and unsurprisingly reduced its credibility and legitimacy among the wider public. The mainstream discipline is sorely in need of greater humility, a better sense of history and recognition of unequal power, and active encouragement of diversity. Clearly, much has to change if economics is really to become relevant and useful enough to confront the major challenges of our times.

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R Block’s AI Chatbots Are Giving Bad Tax Advice

TurboTax and H&R Block's AI chatbots are giving bad tax advice - The Washington Post

This year, TurboTax and H&R Block added artificial intelligence to the tax-prep software used by millions of us. Now while you're doing your taxes online, there are AI chatbots on the right side of the screen to answer your burning questions.

But watch out: Rely on either AI for even lightly challenging tax questions, and you could end up confused. Or maybe even audited.

H&R Block's AI gave unhelpful answers to more than 30 percent of the questions. It did well on 529 plans and mortgage deductions, but confidently recommended an incorrect filing status and erroneously described IRS guidance on cryptocurrency.

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Severe Accounting Shortage In U.S. Could Be Causing Earnings Report Mistakes

While it's unclear what exactly led to the mistakes in each of these cases, one major risk factor has reached crisis levels: a shortage of certified public accountants.

Seasoned practitioners are retiring while the profession isn't drawing the next generation of workers entering the labor market. The lack of help means current accountants' hours and workloads can be grueling, upping the odds of mistakes and burnout.

Yet despite the plentiful job openings, students aren't racing to major in accounting. For many, the typical entry-level job doesn't pay enough to make the needed fifth year of college tuition worth it.

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Red Sea Cables Have Been Damaged, Disrupting Internet Traffic

Red Sea cables have been damaged, disrupting internet traffic | CNN Business

Damage to submarine cables in the Red Sea is disrupting telecommunications networks and forcing providers to reroute as much as a quarter of traffic between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including internet traffic.

Cables belonging to four major telecoms networks have been "cut" causing "significant" disruption to communications networks in the Middle East, according to Hong Kong telecoms company HGC Global Communications.

HGC estimates that 25% of traffic between Asia and Europe as well the Middle East has been impacted, it said in a statement Monday.

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'You're Not Gonna Spend Any Money On Anything For The Next Three Years' — Dave Ramsey Is Perplexed By Millennial Couple ...

As if that wasn't enough to grab his attention, the woman soon noted that she's 29 and her husband is 32.

At this point, you can see the perplexed look on Ramsey's face and hear the concern in his voice.

While this situation sounds absurd on the surface, extreme debt is something that many individuals and couples are dealing with.

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New Bill Could Jumpstart Overtime Laws For Maine Workers | Newscentermaine.Com

#News

WELLS, Maine — To keep up with rising inflation, a bill is making its way through the legislature that would jumpstart Maine's overtime laws if passed.

Source: New bill could jumpstart overtime laws for Maine workers | newscentermaine.com