Rate hike coming

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin TL;DR The Fed elected to raise base interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, sticking to the script despite financial uncertainty from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank AI continues to make headlines as both big and small tech companies release new products and features almost daily Crypto has been quietly picking up big gains, and some believe the current financial wobbles could mean it has further to run Top weekly and monthly trades Subscribe to the Forbes AI newsletter to stay in the loop and get our AI-backed investing insights, latest news and more delivered directly to your inbox every weekend. And download Q.ai today for access to AI-powered investment strategies. Major events that could affect your portfolio A month ago, it was all but guaranteed that the Fed would be raising rates by 0.25 percentage points in their March meeting. Some analysts were even … [Read more...] about Tech Companies Big And Small Look To Include AI Technology And Crypto Picks Up Big Gains – Forbes AI Newsletter March 25th

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Business leaders across the globe are regularly asking themselves some form of the following four questions: How do I navigate today’s environment of extraordinary uncertainty? How likely are inflation and recession in major markets? What scenarios should I therefore be planning for? Amid all this uncertainty, what are long-term themes and opportunities I should invest in? As the prepandemic world fades, executives are left to navigate what some are calling a “polycrisis”—a set of smaller crises, both geopolitical and macroeconomic, that together add up to more than the sum of their parts. Covid. Supply chain insecurity. War in Europe. Energy transition. Low consumer and business confidence. Trying to isolate the impact of any one of them is like attempting to pull ingredients out of a baked cake. Karen Harris, managing director of Bain & Company’s Macro Trends Group, argues that in an era of such … [Read more...] about Leaders Navigating An Uncertain World

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In healthcare, as in life, people devote a lot of time and attention to the way things should be. They’d be better off focusing on what actually could be. As an example, 57% to 70% of American voters believe our nation “should” adopt a single-payer healthcare system like Medicare For All. Likewise, public health advocates insist that more of the nation’s $4 trillion healthcare budget “should” be spent on combating the social determinants of health: things like housing insecurity, low-wage jobs and other socioeconomic stresses. Neither of these ideas will happen, nor will dozens of positive healthcare solutions that “should” happen. When the things that should happen don’t, there’s always a reason. In healthcare, the biggest roadblock to change is what I call the conglomerate of monopolies , which includes hospitals , drug companies , private-equity-staked physicians and commercial health insurers . These … [Read more...] about In Healthcare’s Game Of Monopoly, One Player Will Control The Board

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bitcoin BTC has found its feet this year after a rocky 2022 that saw a steep price crash and the emergence of serious regulatory concerns . Subscribe now to Forbes' CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor and successfully navigate the bitcoin and crypto market rollercoaster The bitcoin price has climbed to around $28,000 per bitcoin, up from under $17,000 at the beginning of the year. The combined bitcoin, ethereum and crypto market has added over $300 billion amid rising expectations of a Federal Reserve u-turn and institutional financial giants quietly expanding into crypto . Now, some of the biggest bitcoin, ethereum and crypto bulls are predicting the ongoing banking crisis that's spread to German giant Deutsche Bank could have primed bitcoin for a fresh break out. It's at the beginning of a bull run you need up-to-date information the most! Sign up now for the free … [Read more...] about ‘Massive Shock’—New Bank Crisis And $300 Billion Fed Pump Has Primed Bitcoin After Huge Crypto And Ethereum Price Rally

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Travis Forman, Portfolio Manager at Strategic Private Wealth Counsel - Harbourfront Wealth Management . Not to alarm you, but there may be a red flag in your portfolio. You might have a sound investment plan and be adequately diversified, but how are you protecting your purchasing power? Do you have inflation-fighting assets in your portfolio? Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are in an era of higher inflation. Just a couple of years ago, inflation was low, and interest rates were at rock bottom. As we know, this has changed significantly since then. While peak inflation of 9.1% in the United States and 8.1% in Canada may no longer be a reality, a swift return to the days of 2% inflation is also unlikely. If you need to hear it from someone other than me, the multinational investment corporation BlackRock agrees. In its 2023 outlook, the firm stated, “we think we are going to be living with inflation … we see … [Read more...] about Know The Red Flag In Your Portfolio

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin MicroStrategy added $150 million worth of bitcoin to its stash at an average price per coin of $23,238 in February and March, generating an 18% gain over the past few weeks. The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company sold equity to pay for the crypto and also to extinguish debt to Silvergate Bank. The business-software maker and bitcoin investor also freed up 34,619 bitcoins (BTC) of collateral used to back a $161 million term loan, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, by repaying Silvergate, the crypto-focused bank based in La Jolla, California that is winding up its business after a run on deposits. The floating-rate loan was scheduled to mature in March 2025 and bore interest at a rate of 8.27% a year as of Friday, when the payoff was executed. The most recent purchases of 6,455 bitcoins brought MicroStrategy’s holdings to about 138,955 BTC, worth $4.14 billion and acquired at an … [Read more...] about MicroStrategy’s $150 Million Of Bitcoin Purchases Catch Rally, Jump 18%

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A biased bid selection process represents one of the biggest threats for procurement officials. Such bias leads to a bad selection decision for a government contract, wasting taxpayer money. Moreover, it may lead to a procurement bid protest. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) put out a report in 2017, which found that a “flawed selection decision” was one of the top four reasons for successful bid protests - and over 22% of bid protests succeeded that year. So how should procurement officials protect their procurement selection process from bias? Doing so requires a basic grasp of behavioral science research on cognitive biases and how to defeat them . What Do Lawyers Working on Bid Protests Say About Bias? In 2021, the US Congress commissioned a bid protest study at the Defense Department referencing the work of Dr. Christopher Yukins , a professor of procurement law at the George Washington … [Read more...] about Prevent Costly Procurement Disasters: 6 Science-Backed Techniques For Bias-Free Decision Making

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The doomsayers who predicted the literal demise of the U.S. restaurant industry after Covid—especially at the fine dining level—proved myopic in the extreme. A new study called the “Agency Forward Restaurant Survey” compiled by Nationwide Insurance, which both insures and advises restaurants on coping with inflation to supply chain issues shows that every segment of the industry has not just survived but in many cases is thriving well past pre-pandemic levels of business. To explain the findings I spoke with Peter McMurtrie, President of Commercial Lines at Nationwide: You say reservations have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Does this apply as much to fast food and chain restaurants (which are mainly walk-in) as with higher end and fine dining? While this research study only focused on fine dining, fast casual and family-style restaurants, recent research as well as our interactions with customers have shown fast food … [Read more...] about The US Restaurant Industry Has Bounded Back from Covid At Every Level From Fast Food To Fine Dining

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

PHOTO: Unsplash As the world continues to embrace the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, we find ourselves at the forefront of a new era. With its legalization in Thailand in June 2022, cannabis has been a topic of great interest and discussion, particularly for those seeking natural remedies for depression. After careful research, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 cannabis strains for depression , from sativa to indica. So sit back, light up, and let’s dive into the world of cannabis therapy. Jack Herer Among the numerous strains available, one that stands out is the beloved cannabis sativa strain named after the famous cannabis activist, Jack Herer. Jack Herer is known for its uplifting and cerebral effects that can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. With its high THC levels and primary terpenes such as Terpinolene, caryophyllene, and pinene, it provides an invigorating energy boost. Thus, it can help inspire happiness and creativity. In … [Read more...] about From the Garden of Eden: The best cannabis strains to combat depression