Dividends to retire on

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A few weeks back, bond giant PIMCO trimmed a bunch of payouts from its closed-end funds (CEFs). Which was no bueno for income investors, who buy CEFs solely for their dividends. We don’t own any PIMCO funds in our premium portfolios currently. But readers, who rightfully recognize me as a PIMCO fanboy, have written in to ask what’s up. “Any thoughts on PIMCO recent slashing of dividends? Do you think they will also cut PDI’s dividend?” — John S John, you know me well. Maybe too well! My nightstand currently boasts a copy of The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All . (I’m 128 pages in… and would enthusiastically recommend it to fellow fixed-income geeks.) Bond nerd or not, most of us dividend investors do know the “Bond King” Bill Gross. He was Morningstar’s Fixed Income Manager of the Decade from 2000 to 2009. Gross netted 7.7% yearly returns for his investors—a big … [Read more...] about We Dumped This 13% Dividend—Time To Reconsider?

A record-setting number of Americans are pulling money from their 401(k) plans to cover emergency expenses, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing data from major investment manager, Vanguard Group. The proportion of people who pulled from their 401(k) jumped by about one-third in 2022, to 2.8%, up from 2.1% in 2021 and 2% in the pre-pandemic era, according to the WSJ. Vanguard manages roughly 5 million accounts, so the total number of people making withdrawals climbed from roughly 100,000 to roughly 140,000 in 2022, as people both struggled with financial stress ranging from credit card debt to eviction. (RELATED: What Another Fed Interest Rate Hike Means For You) The increase may also be in part due to more lenient rules implemented in 2018 that eliminated the necessity of taking a 401(k) loan before a hardship distribution can be issued, the WSJ reported. Borrowers also no longer need to submit evidence of hardship before making a withdrawal, and make some … [Read more...] about More Americans Than Ever Before Are Dipping Into Their Retirement Savings Just To Make Ends Meet

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In late January Chevron CVX announced fourth quarter and full year 2022 results. Chevron earned a record $36.5 billion profit in 2022, more than doubling 2021 earnings. In addition, Chevron increased its quarterly dividend by 6%, and announced a $75 billion stock buyback : “The Board also authorized the repurchase of the company’s shares of common stock in an aggregate amount of $75 billion. The $75 billion authorization takes effect on April 1, 2023, and does not have a fixed expiration date. It replaces the Board’s previous repurchase authorization of $25 billion from January 2019, which will terminate on March 31, 2023, after the completion of the company’s repurchases in the first quarter 2023.” The Biden Administration Responds This stock buyback announcement got immediate attention from the Biden Administration. In a series of tweets, White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan wrote: and … [Read more...] about If Chevron Can Sell Shares, Why Can’t They Buy Them Back?

The U.S. added 517,000  jobs in January, more than two and a half times what economists anticipated, as the unemployment rate nudged down to 3.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had predicted that the nation would add roughly 187,000 jobs, and that the unemployment rate would nudge up to 3.6% from 3.5%, roughly where it has lingered for the past several months , The Wall Street Journal reported . Previously, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had estimated that the unemployment rate would climb to roughly 4.6% by the end of 2023, as markets slowed in response to the Fed’s anti-inflationary campaign of interest rate hikes, in a Dec. 14 press conference . At 3.4%, the unemployment rate hit the lowest level since May 1969 , as “widespread” job growth, led by 128,000 jobs added in the leisure and hospitality sector, pushed January’s job growth past the 2022 year-long average of 401,000 jobs per month, according to the BLS. Government … [Read more...] about Jobs Market Runs Red Hot In January, But Economists Fear Downturn Is Coming

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It will be the last hurrah for “The Last Emperor”— a final fight for arguably the greatest heavyweight in MMA history. The legendary Fedor Emelianenko — a fighter who helped take the sport from sideshow spectacle to a billion-dollar mainstream industry — is finally retiring after debuting professionally 23 years ago. In his farewell match, Emelianenko will challenge heavyweight champion Ryan “Darth” Bader in the main event at Bellator 290 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday. The event will air live at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, with prelims at 6 p.m. ET on the Bellator and Showtime YouTube channels. The main card marks the promotion’s debut on CBS. Emelianenko said, even at 46 years old, he’s as hungry as ever to enter the cage. “The only extra motivation for this fight is that I will be very happy to finish it,” he said. In combat sports — as we know — no retirement is guaranteed. Emelianenko previously … [Read more...] about Fedor’s Farewell: MMA Legend Fedor Emelianenko Takes Final Bow At Bellator 290 On Saturday

The budget managed to keep the focus intact on infrastructure, long-term capacity building, and much-needed tweaks to the taxation framework to optimise tax mobilisation. Given the needs of the Indian economy and the government’s previously outlined economic vision for the next 25 years, expectations were indeed high from Budget 2023. However, there were other realistic aspects like the lingering fiscal impact of COVID-19 relief measures, persisting global inflation in the last few quarters, rising interest rates and slowing economic growth, that kept the expectations in check. In such a situation, the Budget presented by the Finance Minister successfully tread the tightrope and checks all the right boxes. Most importantly, the Budget has affirmed the government’s resolve to stay on the fiscal consolidation course. Other than maintaining macroeconomic stability by operating within means, the budget managed to keep the focus intact on infrastructure, long-term capacity building, … [Read more...] about Tax changes in Budget 2023 to boost consumption & savings

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) told potential donors he was a producer on the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark , which ran on broadway from 2011-2014, Bloomberg reported Friday—the latest apparent lie from the freshman congressman, who is facing calls to resign over his fabricated resume and questionable financial statements. Key Facts Broadway producer: Santos allegedly told potential donors during the 2021 campaign that he was a producer on the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark , Bloomberg reported Friday, but his name never appeared in the show’s playbill and lead producer, Michael Cohl told Bloomberg the congressman wasn’t involved. An illustrious modeling stint: Santos told his former roommate in 2013 that he was a model who would soon appear in Vogue and had worked at New York Fashion Week, New York Magazine reported Wednesday, citing an interview with Santos’ … [Read more...] about George Santos Reportedly Claimed To Be A Broadway Musical Producer: Here’s Everything The Embattled Congressman Has Lied About

(CTN News) – The Los Angeles Lakers currently hold a 25-28 record in 12th place in the Western Conference. As the trade deadline approaches, Los Angeles Lakers will still be active, despite having already traded Kendrick Nunn for Rui Hachimura. The Lakers and Utah Jazz have engaged in exploratory talks regarding potential Sixth Man of the Year award winner Russell Westbrook, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes . Currently, the Lakers are in discussions with a majority of teams regarding their potential options. Westbrook, 34, has transitioned from being a starter to being the first player off the bench each week. It is likely that the team will be able to make a significant move within the next week if they unload his contract. Due to Westbrook’s expiring contract, teams looking to create cap space will be interested in him this offseason. Additionally, the team would lose Westbrook for no reason. It’s time for the Jazz. Currently in the play-in tournament, the … [Read more...] about Utah Jazz And Los Angeles Lakers Discuss Big Russell Westbrook Trade

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin What Women Need to Know About SECURE Act 2.0 On December 23, 2022, while most of the country was out of the office enjoying a nice holiday break, Congress passed an update to the retirement bill known as the SECURE Act, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (now referred to as SECURE Act 2.0). While the original SECURE Act, passed nearly three years prior in December 2019, had a net negative impact by eliminating the “stretch IRA” (the ability for a non-spouse beneficiary of a qualified retirement account to take distributions over their lifetime), SECURE Act 2.0 had an overall net positive impact, making numerous small changes to retirement plan savings rules in an effort to encourage Americans to save more for their retirement. In total, there are over 90 provisions in SECURE Act 2.0. Below, I highlight a few revisions that are particularly meaningful for women. Why focus on women, in … [Read more...] about What Women Need To Know About SECURE Act 2.0

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The US Federal Reserve System is living in the past and undoing the future. Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues have wielded interest rates like a sledgehammer, hoping to crush inflation the way Paul Volcker did in the 1980s. At this point, however, each additional swing of the sledgehammer hurts our chances of a “soft landing” in 2023 and a habitable planet in 2100. The sledgehammer cannot distinguish between companies that are building a clean, sustainable economy and those that keep us hyper-distracted by devices, hyper-addicted to fossil fuels and hyper-apathetic to inequality. It cannot distinguish between the haves who can weather a recession and the have-nots who will suffer most. Moreover, the Fed’s 2% inflation target is arbitrary. It was invented offhand in 1989 by Don Bash, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, in response to a law mandating that the country’s central bank have a target. It’s … [Read more...] about Mr. Powell, Drop The Sledgehammer And Start Innovating