People commuting to work in the morning cross a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo on February 15, 2024. Kazuhiro Noji | AFP | Getty ImagesMost Asia-Pacific markets fell as Japanese corporate inflation rose in March and interest rate decisions from the central banks of New Zealand and Thailand are being weighed.Markets in South Korea were closed on Wednesday, as the country headed to the polls to elect its next parliament.Japanese corporate inflation reached 0.8% for March, the third straight month of increases and in line with expectations from a Reuters poll of economists, while investors also braced for the US CPI…
Author: ricardofrancois
The jump in interest rates to their highest levels in decades has led to a significant increase in mortgage fraud, according to banks and regulators.Since the cost of borrowing began rising two years ago, a growing number of people in the US and UK have lost money to sellers who promise below-market interest rates in exchange for an upfront fee, but disappear when it's time to close the bank. lend.Lloyds Bank says the number of so-called advance fee scams reported by its customers rose 19 percent last year, after rising 83 percent in 2022. In the United States, according to…
There is a workaround for some college applicants stymied by the chaotic rollout of a newly designed federal student aid form. The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is extremely important for many students looking to afford college. The US Department of Education's goal in reforming the process was to make it simpler, but the new system was plagued by delays and glitches. Among the most affected are low-income families where a parent or student does not have a Social Security number.But on Tuesday, the California Student Aid Commission provided welcome news, announcing that it will offer an…
Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro 2025Toyotatoyota motor It has revealed the new 4Runner SUV for the first time in nearly 15 years – completing the automaker's recent redesign of its existing trucks and SUVs.Aside from its new look resembling the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickup, the 2025 4Runner will be offered with a hybrid powertrain for the first time as well as new upscale “Platinum” and “Trail Hunter” models.“The all-new 4Runner has incredible versatility and capability that complements our truck family nicely,” Dave Crist, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “We've sold more than 3 million…
When China's Tianqi Lithium paid $4 billion in 2018 to become the second-largest shareholder in Chile's SQM, it was gambling for a strategic foothold in one of the world's largest lithium reserves as demand soared for the metal at the heart of the electricity industry. Vehicle revolution. But Tianqi's investment in strengthening its position in Latin America, home to the “lithium triangle” that includes Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, is in jeopardy as the Chilean government works to exert more control over the vast salt flats in the Atacama Desert, where SQM produces a fifth of the world's lithium. SQM has…
The new biggest bull on Wall Street is growling a little like a bear. Wells Fargo Securities' Chris Harvey raised his year-end price target for the S&P 500 by about 20% this week. However, he is less enthusiastic about the market's upward trajectory. “It's weird. This isn't going to sound great. But even though we were up on the Street, I don't feel optimistic,” the company's head of equity strategy told CNBC's Fast Money on Tuesday. “It's not like: 'Wow, multiples are so cheap. Things are going to be great. The economy is on fire. The Fed has cut rates…
Pictured here is a real estate project under construction in Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, China, on April 8, 2024. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China needs to convince people that home prices are on the way up for economic activity to rebound, Richard Kuo, chief economist at Nomura Research Institute, told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick last week.Business and consumer appetite for new loans saw a tepid start to the year, while home prices fell at a steeper pace in January than in February, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis.In other words, as Kuo warned last year, China…
The city of Los Angeles will pay up to $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed a poorly designed intersection was the cause of a traffic collision that left her injured. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the settlement amount for plaintiff Jan Yuna Horahata, whose car was struck by a vehicle in February 2021 at Oakshire Drive and Cahuenga Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills. Days earlier, a traffic signal pole was damaged in an accident at the same intersection, said David Rudorffer, an attorney with Panish, Shea & Ravipudi who represents Horahata. The…
In a market where finding reliable passive income sources can be difficult, two fund managers shared their insights into dividend stocks that can offer attractive yields and growth potential. Matt Burdette, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment, looks for companies with the ability and willingness to pay dividends, with an emphasis on cash generation and flexible business models. Broadcom One such stock highlighted by Burdett is Broadcom, a semiconductor and software company. Although the current dividend yield of 1.6% may not sound attractive, Burdett noted that the company's earnings have grown significantly — by double digits annually over the past five…
Venture capitalists' appetite for merger startups has been up and down in the past few years. For example, the Nuclear Fusion Industry Association found that while nuclear fusion companies attracted more than $6 billion in investment in 2023, $1.4 billion more than in 2022, the 27% growth was slower than It was in 2022, as investors battled external concerns such as inflation. However, the numbers don't tell the whole story: interest in projects in this area has remained strong as startups begin to find new ways to harness the sun's energy to produce safe, unlimited energy. The field reached a…