Big week for US markets; Deal mania; Pound drops - CNN

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to move to cut interest rates at its meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. That will provide still more juice for stocks, which continued to hit fresh records last week.

But investors shouldn't get tunnel vision.

Another round of trade talks between the United States and China kicks off Tuesday in Shanghai. It will be the first time that top negotiators meet in person since US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to a truce at the G20 meeting last month.

There's also the US jobs report for July, which hits Friday. Investors will scrutinize that data to see if it backs up the Fed's decision.

2. Deal mania: Britain's looming exit from the European Union isn't stopping a wave of dealmaking in the region.

British delivery service Just Eat (JSTTY) and Dutch company Takeaway.com have agreed to join forces, the companies said Monday.

The combination will create a massive food delivery service better positioned to compete in a crowded market. Amazon (AMZN) backed UK delivery app Deliveroo earlier this year. Uber Eats has also been ramping up its presence in top markets like London.

Investors in both companies appear to like the deal. Just Eat shares jumped 25% in early trading Monday. Takeaway shares rose 4%.

Also on the radar: the London Stock Exchange (LDNXF) confirmed over the weekend that it's in talks to purchase financial data service Refinitiv in a deal worth $27 billion including debt. Private equity firm Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the business from Thomson Reuters just last year. LSE shares are up almost 15% on Monday.

And the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that pharma giants Pfizer (PFE) and Mylan (MYL) are nearing a deal that could create a global powerhouse in the low-price drug market.

3. Investor jitters: Global markets are largely gloomy, but there are a few bright spots.

US stock futures point to a flat open Monday. European markets opened mostly lower, with Germany's DAX falling 0.1% and France's CAC 40 dropping 0.2%.

Stocks in Asia also saw declines. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1% amid concerns that massive protests could hurt the local economy, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.2%.

The exception was Britain's FTSE 100, which rose 1%, even as the pound hit a new two-year low near $1.23 on fears of a messy Brexit.

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4. Coming this week:
Monday — Beyond Meat (BYND) earnings
Tuesday — Apple, Sprint (S), Mondelez (MDLZ), Under Armour (UA) and Procter & Gamble (PG) earnings
Wednesday — Fed rate decision; GE, Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Molson Coors (TAP), and Qualcomm (QCOM) earnings
Thursday — Bank of England rate decision; General Motors (GM), Dunkin' (DNKN), Kraft Heinz (KHC) and Verizon (VZ) earnings
Friday — US jobs report; Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) earnings

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/29/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html

2019-07-29 09:58:00Z
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China to enhance bilateral trade connectivity with Malaysia - The Edge Markets MY

KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): China is willing to enhance its bilateral trade connectivity with Malaysia and is open for more Malaysian products to compete in its market, says Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian.

He said areas in which the two governments could further discuss on include finance and high-value agriculture.

"We can also tap into new industries and the new form of businesses such as e-commerce, artificial intelligence and hi-tech, building new ‘growth points’ for our bilateral cooperation,” he said in his remarks at the Belt and Road China-Malaysia Forum on People-to-People Exchange and Economic Cooperation here today.

Bai Tian noted that China was also open to deepening the people-to-people exchanges with Malaysia by building richer collaboration in areas such as think tanks and media dialogues, students exchange, human resource training, tourism and sports, as means to share experiences and learn from each other.

He described the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the context of China-Malaysia as creating “opportunity” which saw the establishment of the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.

“Often referred to as the ‘Two Countries Twin Parks’, both of them are advancing steadily.

“The East Coast Rail Link just got relaunched, and it will prove to be a catalyst for the development in the states along the route in many areas such as trade, logistics, tourism and industrial parks,” he stated.

On tourism, Bai Tian said the BRI had brought the opportunity for both Chinese and Malaysian people to know each other better, and in the last three years, almost three million Chinese tourists had visited Malaysia.

“Next year, we will also celebrate the China-Malaysia Year of Tourism and Culture in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2020.

“The Chinese Culture Center will open later this year,  aims among others to ensure the bond of common interests between China and Malaysia, enhance the understanding and friendship between our peoples’, and give a fresh and strong impetus to the China-Malaysia relations in the new era,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior director strategic planning at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry John Patrick Antonysamy said this year marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China.

“This will pave the way for more productive economic cooperation between our two countries.

“It does not stop there as other countries will also benefit from the enhanced land and sea connectivity, as well as infrastructure development that currently in-progress,” he said.

He noted that to remain relevant and competitive in today's digital era, Malaysia must make sure that its human capital was well trained and ready to embrace and adapt to new technology and employment.

He also pointed out that as there were more than 120 countries along the BRI, there was huge potential to boost economic growth by exploring new markets in these countries.

“E-commerce can be the conduit to make this a success,” he added.

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https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/china-enhance-bilateral-trade-connectivity-malaysia

2019-07-29 08:20:12Z
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Why Feeling Confident About Your Retirement Savings May Be Dangerous - The Motley Fool

Preparing for retirement is tricky, and it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifices to be able to save enough to enjoy your golden years comfortably.

Despite the challenges of accumulating enough savings to retire comfortably, 38% of retirees say they felt either extremely or very confident in their savings before they retired, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That may sound like a good thing -- and on the surface, it is. There are plenty of startling statistics about how unprepared the average American is for retirement, so it appears to be a positive shift when nearly four in 10 workers say they are confident in their savings.

Image source: Getty Images.

However, confidence can sometimes be dangerous, because it encourages you to let your guard down. The average retiree is expected to outlive their savings by around eight to 10 years, according to a study from the World Economic Forum, so even though so many current retirees are confident about how much they have saved, the average retiree will still likely run out of money at some point.

Retirement is more expensive than you may think, and underestimating how much you need to save can lead to a financial disaster down the road. Here's how to ensure you're accurately estimating the cost of retirement so you can be truly confident in your savings.

The true cost of retirement

How much your retirement will cost depends on your lifestyle, so it differs for everyone. That said, it may be more expensive than you'd expect.

The average American age 65 and older spends around $46,000 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At that rate, if you were to spend, say, 25 years in retirement, you'd end up spending roughly $1.15 million -- not accounting for inflation.

Also, if you face expensive health issues as you age, healthcare costs could cause your spending to skyrocket. Long-term care alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; you can expect to pay around $6,800 per month for a semiprivate room in a nursing home, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which adds up to approximately $81,600 per year. Roughly 70% of retirees will need long-term care at some point, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the average person who needs long-term care requires it for around three years. At $81,600 per year, that's a total cost of nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

As if that number isn't hard enough to swallow, the kicker is that Medicare doesn't cover long-term care -- so all those expenses will likely have to be paid for out of pocket.

In short, retirement can be incredibly expensive. However, roughly 75% of workers think retirement will cost less than $1 million, according to a survey from American Advisors Group, and nearly 40% think it will cost less than $250,000.

This is where confidence can be dangerous when planning for retirement. If you've banked $250,000 in savings, and you're confident that's enough to last the rest of your life, you might stop saving, thinking you've reached your goal. Or you might even choose to retire early under the assumption that your savings will last as long as you need them to. While confidence itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's crucial that you also have realistic expectations about how far your money will go in retirement.

A realistic approach to retirement planning

It is possible to be confident about how much you have saved for retirement, but it's important to ensure you're looking at the whole picture. Several important factors affect how much retirement will cost, and misstepping on any of them can dramatically affect how far your savings go.

One of those factors is how much you expect to spend each year in retirement. Many retirees end up spending less in retirement than they did while they were working, but that's not always the case. If you have expensive plans lined up for after you leave your job, your costs could increase. And although nobody can predict exactly what type of health issues will pop up in the future, if you have a family history of a certain disease or illness, it might be worthwhile to factor that into your retirement plans -- especially if medical treatment will be expensive.

Another factor to consider is how Social Security benefits will impact your savings. Your benefits alone likely won't be enough to support you in retirement (the average check comes out to just $1,461 per month, according to the Social Security Administration), so make sure you're not going to be overreliant on them. Also, if you claim benefits before you reach your full retirement age (which is age 67 for those born in 1960 or later, or either 66 or 66 and a few months for those born before that), your monthly checks will be reduced by up to 30%. So before you claim, make sure you know how your age will affect how much you receive.

Life expectancy is another key factor to think about when planning for retirement. Although you can't predict exactly how long you'll live, estimating it will help you figure out roughly how long your savings need to last. A third of today's 65-year-olds can expect to live until at least age 90, according to the SSA, so it's likely you could spend several decades in retirement.

Once you have as much information as possible about the costs you'll face in retirement, pop those numbers into a retirement calculator to see what you should aim to have saved by the time you retire. With that number in mind, you'll know what you'll need to save in order to feel confident your money will last the rest of your life.

Of course, there's no way to guarantee your savings will last as long as you need them to. However, the more time you spend planning for retirement and understanding how much it will cost, the more confident you'll be knowing you've done everything you can to prepare for the future.

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https://www.fool.com/retirement/why-feeling-confident-about-your-retirement-saving.aspx

2019-07-28 15:01:08Z
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Equifax breach: see if you’re eligible, how to file a claim and see what you’ll get - CNET

James Martin/CNET

If you were among the 147 million people whose data was exposed in the 2017 Equifax data breach, you now can see if you are eligible to submit a claim and then file one to recover money you spent or lost as a result of the massive hack. The Federal Trade Commission said last week that Equifax has agreed to pay at least $575 million and up to $700 million to help compensate victims of hackers who stole personal data from Equifax servers. Payments as part of the settlement can cover the costs to recover from the security breach of the free credit report company -- including recovering from the theft of your identity and freezing and unfreezing accounts -- and unauthorized charges to your account. You can also submit a claim to cover the cost of protecting yourself from identity theft, following the Equifax data breach.

The breach resulted in hackers stealing Social Security numbers, addresses, credit card and driver's license information, birthdates and other personal data stored on Equifax's servers. As part of its investigation, the FTC alleged that the free credit bureau failed to take reasonable steps to secure its network. 

To get started, you can check if you and your information were exposed as part of the breach. Then, if your data was exposed, gather receipts and other documents related to the hack that show losses and out-of-pocket expenses. And finally, submit your claim for compensation. You have until January 22, 2020, to file as part of the class-action settlement.

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Even if you weren't part of the breach and don't qualify to file a claim, you can get free credit reports for seven years as part of the settlement.

Taking part in the Equifax settlement isn't completely straightforward. The exact amount that Equifax will pay out is undetermined. The proposed settlement will start with a $300 million fund to compensate affected consumers who bought credit-monitoring services. Equifax will also pay $175 million to state and districts -- and $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in civil penalties. 

If the initial $300 million infusion doesn't adequately compensate consumers, according to the FTC, Equifax has agreed to kick in $125 million more to the fund, for a total possible settlement payout of $700 million. If you're a claimant, your share of the settlement could include free credit-monitoring and identity-theft protection services. You might also be eligible for cash payments to cover expenses as a result of the breach -- such as legal fees and credit monitoring -- free help recovering from identity theft and free credit reports for 10 years.

Here's how to take part in the settlement.

Find out if you were affected by the breach

If you want to check if your data was exposed, the FTC and official settlement site has an online tool you can use to check if you were part of the Equifax breach.

You'll need to enter your last name and last six digits of your social security number to see if your data was part of the hack.

To get started, enter your last name and last six digits of your social.

Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

Prepare and file your claim

On the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website, you can now file a claim to get back money you lost or spent as a result of the wide-ranging hack. Here's how to prepare for and then submit a claim.

• To support your claim, you'll need to gather any documents and receipts you have related to the breach to show expenses you had to recover from identity theft, for example, and money lost because of the breach.
• To follow the settlement, the FTC suggests you sign up to receive email updates.
• You can also check the FTC's Equifax Data Breach Settlement page and the official data breach settlement page for updates.
• And the FTC has a number you can call -- (833) 759-2982 -- for updates.
• On the official settlement site, you file a claim online.
• You can also follow the instructions on the site to mail your claim or have a claim form mailed to you.
• As part of the claim process, you'll select which benefits you are eligible for and review which documents you need to submit to support your claim. Supporting documents include statements showing unauthorized charges, costs of freezing your account, fees paid to professionals to help with the theft, and other associated expenses.
  

To start the claims process, provide some information.

Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

What the settlement payments can cover

The proposed agreement caps payouts at $20,000 per person to help cover what you spent to recover from the breach. Here are costs and expenses you may be able to recover.

• Expenses related to unauthorized charges to your accounts
• Costs of freezing a credit report and credit monitoring
• Fees paid to accountants, attorneys and other professionals
• Expenses for postage, mileage, notary and other services
• Fees related to credit monitoring, up to $125.
  
• Cost of Equifax credit monitoring and other services for a year prior to the breach.

In addition, beginning in 2020, Equifax will provide all US consumers -- whether part of the settlement or not -- with six additional free credit reports per year for seven years, from its website.

When do I need to file a claim

The FTC said you must submit your claim by Jan. 22, 2020. The soonest you will receive benefits you qualify for is Jan. 23, 2020, the FTC said.

This is the information we know right now, with a lot of details still to come. We'll update this story as we learn more.

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https://www.cnet.com/how-to/equifax-breach-see-if-youre-eligible-how-to-file-a-claim-and-see-what-youll-get/

2019-07-28 12:39:45Z
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Get Ready for the World Economy’s Biggest Week of 2019 - Bloomberg

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Get Ready for the World Economy’s Biggest Week of 2019  Bloomberg

There will be no chance of a summer break for investors or policy makers in coming days as they brace for what might be the busiest week for the world ...

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-28/the-world-economy-s-biggest-week-of-2019-as-fed-prepares-cut

2019-07-28 02:00:00Z
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Sorry AOC, but Equifax probably won't be paying people $125 apiece - New York Post

Those hoping to cash in on the massive Equifax settlement might be out of luck, thanks to AOC.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a call for those affected by the 2017 data leak to make a claim, saying they could get $125 — “a nice chunk of change.”

But only $31 million has been earmarked for the payments, and the more who file claims, the less each person gets.

If all 147 million entitled to money request it, they would get just 21 cents apiece.

The freshman Democratic Socialist tweeted out a link Friday to a page where anyone affected by the breach from the credit reporting agency could file a claim.

“Everyone: go get your check from Equifax! $125 is a nice chunk of change,” she said. “Get that money and pay off a bill, sock it away, take a day off, treat yourself, whatever you’d like – but cash 👏🏿 that 👏🏽 check! 👏🏻 💸 It takes one minute.”

Earlier this week Equifax reached a settlement with the FTC which included an agreement to create a fund with at least $575 million, though only a small percent of that will go to cash payouts.

The lion’s share of the settlement will go into free credit monitoring services or larger awards for individuals who can prove that they suffered identity theft as a result of the breach, according to The Verge.

In fact, if all 147 million people entitled to the $125 actually file for it, they can each expect to get just 21 cents apiece as developer Rufo Sanchez pointed out on Twitter.

“Okay everyone UPDATE on Equifax: for most people the better deal is 10 years of free credit monitoring,” AOC said in a follow-up tweet, urging her followers to pass on the cash payment and instead take another offer from the company.

“There’s apparently a run on settlements so there’s anxiety people are going to get 16 cent checks. But if you choose 10 years of credit monitoring, Equifax *must* cover it.”

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2019-07-27 15:28:00Z
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Warren Buffett Is Now Betting $29 Billion on This Bank Stock -- Here's Why - Yahoo Finance

There are quite a few bank stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) portfolio, and most were chosen by Warren Buffett himself. At the end of the first quarter, Berkshire owned shares of 10 different banks, and these positions have a current market value of more than $91 billion.

However, we just learned that Buffett and his team have added even more to the company's largest bank-stock investment, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). In fact, Berkshire's latest Bank of America stock purchase pushes the stake past the 10% ownership threshold. Here's why that's such a big deal.

Warren Buffett smiling with a crowd of people behind him.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Berkshire's latest Bank of America purchase and why it's so significant

In a recent SEC filing, Bank of America disclosed that Berkshire Hathaway owns 950 million shares of the bank. This is significantly higher than the approximately 896.2 million shares it owned at the end of the first quarter.

At the current stock price, the additional 53.8 million shares Berkshire has purchased translates to an additional $1.64 billion invested in what was already the company's largest bank-stock investment. Berkshire's Bank of America stake is now worth about $29 billion, still well behind tech giant Apple, Berkshire's largest investment with a $51.7 billion market value, but a firm second place in front of Coca-Cola, a $21.2 billion investment.

Here's why this is so important. Thanks to a combination of the increased Berkshire investment and Bank of America's aggressive share buybacks, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 10.4% of the bank's outstanding shares.

The 10% ownership level is significant, especially when it comes to banks. In the past, Buffett has actively avoided owning more than 10% of most of his bank stocks -- even selling significant amounts of Wells Fargo stock to remain under this threshold. Without going too deep into the implications of owning more than 10% of a bank, the point is that Buffett's willingness to deal with additional regulatory headaches in order to own a bigger piece of Bank of America shows extreme confidence in the stock.

Why might Buffett be so confident in Bank of America?

A look at Bank of America's recent results shows why Buffett might be especially eager to invest. For one thing, Bank of America is doing a better job of growing than the rest of the big banks.

Bank of America's loan portfolio and deposit base grew by 4% and 6%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2019 on a year-over-year basis. The second-highest loan growth among the "big four" U.S. banks was just 2%.

Furthermore, Bank of America has done a fantastic job of improving efficiency and continues to increase its profitability. The bank's 11.6% return on equity (ROE) and 1.23% return on assets (ROA) would have seemed ludicrous just a few years ago.

From a value-investor's standpoint, Bank of America looks like a bargain. At just 1.15 times book value and 10.8 times trailing-12-month earnings, Bank of America is performing well and continues to improve, but the improvements haven't been reflected in the stock price.

Is Buffett buying other bank stocks, as well?

To be clear, the only reason we know about Berkshire's latest Bank of America investment is because it caused the 10% ownership threshold to be exceeded. In recent quarters, Berkshire has added to several of its bank stock investments, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, just to name a couple.

Since Berkshire isn't even close to a 10% ownership stake with these and several other bank investments, when Berkshire's next 13-F filing is available in mid-August, it's entirely possible that we'll discover that Bank of America isn't the only bank stock Warren Buffett has been buying recently.

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Matthew Frankel, CFP owns shares of Apple, Bank of America, and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple, short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, and long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-now-betting-29-113300403.html

2019-07-27 11:33:00Z
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