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Showing posts from November, 2021

Berkshire Hathaway Reports 18% Gain in Operating Profit, With Its Cash Pile at Record $149 Billion

 Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway saw an 18% gain in after-tax operating profit in the third quarter, up to $6.47 billion from $5.48 billion in the same quarter last year, CNBC reports.  The continuous recovery of railroad, utilities and energy businesses has contributed to the growth, and the company's cash pile sat at an all-time high of $149.2 billion in September, up from $144.1 billion in the second quarter, despite Berkshire's aggressive share buybacks.  In the third quarter, Berkshire bought back $7.6 billion of its own stock for a total of $20.2 billion in a nine-month period. Last year, the company purchased a record $24.7 billion of its own stock.  Operating earnings from Berkshire's railroad, utilities and energy segment increased 11% year over year to $3.03 billion in the third quarter.  Related: Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules. “Beginning in the third quarter of 2020, many of our businesses experienced significantly high

Where to Find Help if You are in Financial Trouble

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  There’s a misconception that only those who live above their means are the only ones who experience severe financial problems. One in three households, however, reported struggling to make ends meet in a study by Harvard University, George Washington University, and the University of Oxford. PlayUnmute Fullscreen VDO.AI  Skip Ad Due - Due And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In addition, 40% of Americans said they could not cover a $400 unexpected bill without selling something or taking on debt, according to a Federal Reserve report from 2018. What’s most concerning about the figure above? The figure was taken while the country was experiencing its longest economic expansion in history and low unemployment. It just goes to show that most people are teetering on the edge of financial disaster due to lost income, medical bills, or home repairs; that’s also not taking into account the mountain of debt that most people are buried under as well. And then there was the Covid-

The Best Credit Cards for Retirement

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  Retirement is a significant milestone in life, and it’s essential to be prepared for the exciting time of your golden years. One way of doing so is by making sure you’re financially prepared, and a great way to start preparing is to get yourself a sound credit card. Due - Due While most credit cards will target a younger age group, luckily, many credit cards offer special incentives for retirees. Since choosing a credit card can be daunting, in this post, I’ll examine the best credit cards for retirement and why they might be the best fit for your needs! Why should you get a credit card for retirement? If you don’t have a credit card and you’re about to retire, you should consider getting one as soon as possible. Credit cards offer a convenient and straightforward way to purchase products and services without having to carry cash. Not carrying around money is particularly convenient for seniors since they can sometimes be prone to losing cash. Also, carrying cash around makes seniors

Customer Service Is the New Upsell

 We all know that keeping your customers happy is the key to building loyalty and earning repeat business. If your customers aren’t satisfied with their buying experience, it won't matter how good your marketing is, how many leads you receive or how well your sales funnel converts new customers — they won’t come back. Video Player is loading. PauseUnmute Fullscreen VDO.AI And you need them to come back. In ecommerce, between 20% and 50% of your transactions are generated by returning customers, and for most merchants, those transactions account for the lion’s share of the revenue. In fact, the Pareto Principle predicts that just 20% of a given brand’s customers will account for around 80% of its revenue; in other words, your most loyal segment of customers produces the vast majority of your profits. Plus, returning customers cost nothing to acquire and take shorter journeys to conversion, meaning the margin on their purchases is higher. That’s why so many retailers invest in loyalt

Shiba Inu Plunges 14% in 24 Hours After Funds Moved From $5 Billion Wallet

 Following a big week of record highs, Shiba Inu coin (SHIB) has dipped 14% in 24 hours, losing its spot in the top-10 market ranking. The cryptocurrency's price began to decline earlier this week after a whale transferred more than $2 billion worth of the tokens.  PlayUnmute Fullscreen VDO.AI  Skip Ad The anonymous investor who moved the funds also made headlines last week as the person behind what some were calling "the greatest trade of all time." In a span of just one year, the investor's SHIB investment ballooned from approximately $13,000 to a whopping $5 billion. The wallet had been inactive for 192 days, and it was unclear if the owner would be able to access the funds.  Related: 'The Greatest Trade of All Time': $13,000 Worth of Shiba Inu Coin Bought Last Year Now Worth $5 Billion But the owner has since made four transactions of exactly 10,000,000,100,000 SHIB tokens to four different wallets; each transaction was valued at around $586 million, more

FTC Gives Amazon Drivers Over $60 Million in Withheld Tips

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  The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that over 140,000 Amazon Flex drivers will receive more than $60 million in tips that were withheld by their employer between 2016 and 2019. The withholding, the FTC said, was illegal.  Video Player is loading. VDO.AI PATRICK T. FALLON | Getty Images Amazon Flex drivers deliver the goods ordered through programs like Prime Now and Amazon Fresh. The FTC sued Amazon and Amazon Logistics earlier this year on their behalf, accusing the company of failing to pay the tips that those drivers had earned. In its release Tuesday, the commission also alleged that Amazon secretly kept the tips over a two-and-a-half year period, only stopping after becoming aware that the FTC was investigating in 2019.  Related: Jeff Bezos's Replacement Says Amazon Will Spend Billions to Combat Holiday Shipping Delays As the FTC pointed out, Amazon agreed to settle the case, surrender all the withheld money and never misrepresent a driver’s likely income or rate

Don’t Scramble Your Retirement Nest Egg

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  Retirement calculators are your friend. By the time you reach retirement age, you’ve most probably spent a lifetime dealing with and achieving measurable goals. From the first day you enter kindergarten to your last day at work, you have been set goals. And you have probably achieved most of them. So there’s no reason to be hesitant or anxious about measuring the success of your retirement income goals. Due - Due Of course, if you haven’t bothered to set any retirement income goals, you don’t need to worry about this subject. But, because you will have to keep working until they carry you out in a casket, those are pretty much the financial facts of life. But let’s look at the positive aspects here. First, let’s assume you have a savings program in place. Along the way to your retirement, you will want to familiarize yourself with a good pension calculating program.  This software is easily available and relatively inexpensive to use. What these programs will do for you is give you a

Barclays CEO Jes Staley Steps Down After Epstein Investigation

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  Jes Staley, the American CEO of Barclays, will step aside immediately following a British investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.  Bloomberg | Getty Images The bank announced Monday that after the investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, Staley will step down and be succeeded by C.S. Venkatakrishnan, though that is subject to regulatory approval. The investigation focused on how Staley characterized his relationship with Epstein to his employer.  The bank and Staley were made aware of the investigation’s conclusions Friday.  “In view of those conclusions, and Mr Staley's intention to contest them, the board [of Barclays] and Mr Staley have agreed that he will step down from his role as group chief executive and as a director of Barclays," said the bank, though the statement noted that the investigation did not find that Staley “saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epstein’s alleged crimes.”  Epst