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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin MicroStrategy MSTR , the business-software company that has a thing for bitcoin still loves the cryptocurrency even though it sold some for tax purposes last month, employing a tactic that could help other long-term fans ease the pain from the asset’s months-long slide. As part of a flurry of late-year transactions, MicroStrategy sold about 704 bitcoins at an average price of $16,776 on December 22, the first time the company had divested any holdings of the leading cryptocurrency. But that followed purchases of about 2,395 tokens for about $17,871 each from November 1-December 21. The company said in an SEC filing that it planned to use losses generated by the sale to diminish previous capital gains, which could result in tax benefits. It also said it turned around and bought 810 bitcoins on December 22 at about $16,485 each, meaning MicroStrategy had a net increase of about 2,501 in its bitcoin hoard since the … [Read more...] about MicroStrategy Sticks With Long-Term Bitcoin Strategy But Uses Short-Term Sale For Tax Benefit

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Experts attribute that the fascination with Japanese food in the U.S. started in New York City back in 1964 when wrestler turned restaurateur Hiroake “Rocky” Aoki launched Benihana. Its hibachi steak was prepared right in front of guests on a grill at the table and created quite the stir. In fact, Benihana is still going strong with about 75 eateries in about 25 states. Since then, a slew of Japanese restaurant chains such as Jinya Ramen Bar and Kura Sushi, regaled for its serving sushi on its revolving conveyor belt, have flourished in the U.S. But the Japanese restaurant chain that has been most adept at expanding has been Teriyaki Madness, based in Denver, Co. It has grown due to the power of franchising since 129 of its 130 restaurants are franchised. For example, in 2022 it expanded by 29 locations; every one of which was franchised. Of those 130 locations, 126 of them are based in the U.S., spanning 26 states. … [Read more...] about Teriyaki Madness: Building A Japanese Restaurant Powerhouse Through Franchising

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bruce V. Roberts, CEO of Carofin , arranges direct private investments in growth companies by family offices and high net worth individuals. For over 100 years there has been debate among historians, and a few eccentric mathematicians, over the origin of the quote, “There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” If you’re English, you could go with the 1st Earl of Balfour in 1892 or Benjamin Disraeli, a leading politician at that time. If you’re American, you’re probably thinking Mark Twain came up with it (he didn’t). Either way, it’s time to update this clever phrase—given today’s technologies. Spreadsheets, created on personal computers, now generate most of the financial reports and other more challenging computations used worldwide, including the statistics our forebears were so suspicious of. Complex analysis doesn’t necessarily lead to better conclusions. Monster spreadsheets, … [Read more...] about Lies, Cursed Lies, And Spreadsheets: A History Of Financial Calculations

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Michael Saylor’s new job looks a lot like his old job: adding bitcoin to the balance sheet of his business-software company with religious fervor. “I'm a bitcoin maximalist, I happen to believe that bitcoin is an instrument of economic empowerment, it'll be beneficial to eight billion people,” Saylor told Forbes in an interview. “I also happen to believe that bitcoin is unique,” he continues, because of “the Immaculate Conception, decentralization, and its commodity status. All of these things make it the superior asset in the space.” The Immaculate Conception he means is the founding of bitcoin, as explained in a 2008 white paper by one or more people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Saylor stated that bitcoin is the only crypto asset which is truly decentralized and without an issuer. He backs bitcoin as a corporate investment in part because he believes there is regulatory agreement among U.S. regulators that bitcoin … [Read more...] about Bitcoin ‘Maximalist’ Saylor Makes Crypto His Only Job

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Key takeaways Bank stocks sold off heavily last week, as nervous investors ran for the exits over - well, basically nothing With no fundamental reasons for the sell off, they’ve rebounded swiftly on Monday First Citizens Bank is up over 45%, on news that it has acquired over $72 billion of assets from collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, at a discount of $16.5 billion After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as well as the weekend fire sale of Credit Suisse to rival UBS, Deutsche Bank was in the headlines last week as the latest in the financial sector to come under pressure. There have been numerous analysts and public commentators expressing concerns over the banking sector, worried about whether the initial collapses were a sign of a financial crisis brewing underneath the surface. As well as large banks like Deutsche Bank, regional banks have been hit particularly hard. First … [Read more...] about How Investors Can Navigate Banking Uncertainty As Deutsche Bank, First Citizens Bank And First Republic Bank Stock Seesaws

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin What Happened It has been a rough 2022 for cryptocurrency holders who had to face the collapse of luna and its associated stablecoin terraUSD, the meltdown of several digital-asset exchanges, and a brutal financial winter that cut the market value of all coins and tokens to $800 million from the January high of $2.4 trillion. With the year coming to an end, U.S. investors–most of whom are likely to be sitting on losses – have some room to optimize their tax situations and get ready for the upcoming filing season. Anyone following crypto knows how volatile the market can be. Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor looks at the universe of viable crypto assets with proprietary analysis and insider crypto knowledge to guide you to the best choices. Key Concepts Below are some strategies and best practices you can follow before the end of the year to save on taxes and have a smoother filing experience in … [Read more...] about Year-End Tax Tips After Crypto’s Dismal 2022

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Recently, we interviewed Long Ouyang and Ryan Lowe, research scientists at OpenAI . As the creators of InstructGPT – one of the first major applications of reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) to train large language models – the two played an important role in the evolution of RLHF models and paving the way for GPT-4. Here are some highlights from the conversation. What's the motivation behind InstructGPT? And what are the problems with GPT-3 that inspired InstructGPT? Long Ouyang: I think one of the main issues we’re trying to solve is that when GPT-3 came out there was a lot of excitement about using it to do useful cognitive work, for example, summarizing a news article. Out of the box it’s not exactly designed to do that, it’s designed to predict what someone on the internet might say in a given setting. And it turns out that you can kind of trick the model into performing useful work for you … [Read more...] about Ten Questions With OpenAI On Reinforcement Learning With Human Feedback

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There are many financial planning considerations before, during, and after a divorce. A key part of the process from a financial standpoint is dividing the assets. Generally, couples split the value of their assets 50-50 (though not always). But that doesn't mean the actual assets are just split down the middle, and some assets are much more favorable from a tax perspective than others. Once the divorce is finalized, a crucial (but often overlooked) part of the process is updating estate documents and beneficiary designations. Here are some key considerations when financial planning for a divorce. Money and divorce This article solely focuses on some of the general financial planning aspects of divorce and is not personal legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. When getting a divorce, it's important to assemble your team of professionals. During the divorce, your attorney is the star quarterback. … [Read more...] about Financial Planning For A Divorce

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin An image circulated around social media after England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine that depicted Bukayo Saka skipping away from Mykhailo Mudryk, pained expression, sat on the ground. Arsenal fans took delight in the sight of their winger prompting such a moment of reflection from a player who could have joined them in January. Mudryk was Arsenal’s top target for months before Chelsea swooped in. Now at Stamford Bridge instead, the 22-year-old has struggled to find his feet for his new club, going six Premier PINC League matches without finding the back of the net. Substituted after 60 minutes against England, Mudryk looked low on confidence. Potter has settled on a front three of Joao Felix, Kai Havertz and one other with Christian Pulisic possibly ahead of Mudryk in the pecking order as things currently stand. This raises the question - what is Chelsea’s plan for the Ukrainian winger? How will Mudryk fit into Potter’s … [Read more...] about What Is Chelsea’s Plan For Mykhailo Mudryk And Is He Doing Enough To Impress?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Milwaukee Bucks are in the stretch run of the 2022-23 NBA regular season. And their work is far from done with eight games and two weeks remaining. It’s been a roller coaster ride for Milwaukee all season, who has rarely had their entire team available simultaneously. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has juggled a roster that’s seen Khris Middleton, Joe Ingles, Pat Connaughton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jae Crowder go in and out of the lineup at various times. It’s a massive credit to the team that they sit in first in the Eastern Conference at 53-21 and 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics. Before we dive into five keys for the Bucks in the regular season’s final two weeks, let’s peep at their remaining schedule: 3/27 at Detroit Pistons 3/29 at Indiana Pacers 3/30 vs Boston Celtics 4/2 vs Philadelphia 76ers 4/4 at Washington Wizards 4/5 vs Chicago Bulls 4/7 vs Memphis Grizzlies 4/9 at Toronto … [Read more...] about 5 Keys For Milwaukee Bucks In Final Two Weeks Of Regular Season