During the campaign President-Elect Trump promised to eliminate the federal income tax on Social Security retirement benefits. While doing so would benefit millions of Americans, it could leave a gaping hole in federal government revenue. Is this policy viable? First, we’ll look at a brief history of Social Security. Then we’ll examine how and when Social Security became taxable. Finally, we’ll take a brief look at the impact of making Social Security retirement benefits nontaxable. Social Security: A Brief History, Including Taxation The Social Security Act of 1935 was signed into law by FDR 89 years ago. For nearly 50…

Ethereum has broken an eight-year support trend against Bitcoin, raising questions about the second-largest cryptocurrency’s future. “Dying a slow death”—that’s how Tuur Demeester, founder of Bitcoin hedge fund Adamant Capital, described Ethereum, pointing to the broken trendline to a canary in the coal mine. Crypto analysts blame Ethereum’s setback on slow institutional adoption, where Bitcoin continues to dominate. This could have deeper implications for the token’s positioning as an asset class. Ethereum’s struggles come during a mixed week for the broader crypto market. Bitcoin’s price is flat Monday, hovering around the $90,000 mark, while Ethereum has dropped 0.3% to $3,080.…

Fifteen months ago, we contrarians started the bond bandwagon. It’s hard to believe now, but back then the financial suits hated fixed income. We faded their fears, bought bonds and benefited. Now, however, I’m cautious on bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield has been on a tear since Jay Powell first cut the Fed Funds Rate. You can’t make this stuff up. On September 18, Powell cut rates by 50 basis points. However, this was only the “short end” of the yield curve. The 10-year yield meanwhile (the “long end”) popped from 3.7% to nearly 4.5% in a matter of weeks!…

Yes, the “Trump” name remains, but DJT’s brand valuation is slipping. No longer does Donald Trump need Truth Social for communication or DJT stock for clout. So, why is that bad news? Because Trump Media’s weak fundamentals are beginning to outweigh the former Trump-brand, meme-stock popularity. This about-face valuation shift is not unusual for SPAC-merger companies. Most are now selling well below their original $10 offering prices, with many in the low single digits. Some companies even have resorted to reverse splits (for example, a 1:5 split, that exchanges 20 new shares for 100 original shares, thus increasing the share…

Immediately after President-Elect Donald Trump won his second term last week, the US dollar surged, while US Treasuries fell. Both moves are opposite sides of the same coin: Investors believe Trump’s policies will be inflationary. The theory suggests this would happen for a couple of reasons: The US government will spend more, and interest rates will rise higher than rates elsewhere in the world in response. That will attract foreign capital to America while making it less attractive for capital to leave the US. All of that extra capital in America will boost economic activity and demand for the dollar.…

If fiscal theory is right, even bigger federal deficits under President Trump could reignite inflation. It’s a good time to buy TIPS. By William Baldwin, Senior Contributor What drives inflation? Too much money, say the monetarists. When growth in the money supply exceeds growth in output, Milton Friedman declared, prices go up. That’s not quite right, say some dissident economists gathering under the banner of “fiscal theory.” The bigger factor, they say, is deficit spending. More precisely: federal deficits unaccompanied by any prospect of an eventual paydown. If the fiscal theorists are right, the future for holders of the usual…

Mega-caps have been in the spotlight, but the so-called Trump trade is making America great again for small cap stocks. Some could be attractive takeover targets for flush private equity firms. By Hank Tucker, Forbes Staff Donald Trump won the presidency and Republicans took control of the Senate last week in part by constantly reminding Americans of how much more they’ve paid for basic groceries during the last four years of high inflation, so it may come as a surprise that one of the fastest-growing small-cap companies in the U.S. sells the most expensive eggs in the supermarket. Since it…

Fresh off last month’s successful catch of a rocket booster, SpaceX’s second-in-command voiced her support for regulatory reform Friday. At the same time, she called for more competition in the space industry. “Regulation in the United States—and globally, with the exception of maybe China—is slowing technology down,” SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said at the 2024 Baron Investment Conference at New York City’s Lincoln Center. “We’ve got to move faster.” SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest person in the world with a net worth topping $300 billion, has been a longtime critic of what he contends is…

The insurance titan released its 3rd-quarter portfolio update, revealing new buys in a pizza chain company and a pool supplies company By GuruFocus Insights into Berkshire Hathaway’s Latest 13F Filing Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), often referred to as “The Oracle of Omaha,” is a towering figure in the world of investing. As the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, he transformed a modest textile company into a colossal conglomerate, primarily focusing on insurance and other diverse investments. Buffett’s investment philosophy, deeply influenced by Benjamin Graham, emphasizes understanding a business deeply, investing in companies with favorable long-term prospects, and purchasing at a significant…

Week in Review Asian equities were mixed for the week as Hong Kong and Korea underperformed and Pakistan and Singapore outperformed. Singles Day ended this week with a bang as parcel deliveries increased +9.7% year-over-year (YoY) during the sales festival. Tencent reported Q3 earnings this week, meeting analyst expectations, as Alibaba, JD.com, Bilibili, and NetEase also reported. The founder and Chairman of battery giant CATL said that he would open a US facility, if the US government would allow it, nodding to the incoming Trump administration. Alibaba Earnings Overview Alibaba announced results for the third quarter this morning. The company’s…