Investing

PayPal has been around since 1998 when it emerged as a safe and secure way to pay for purchases on eBay. If PayPal wasn’t as safe or safer to use than a credit card, cash, or a check, it would have been consigned to the rubbish heap of dead websites long ago. In fact, it

An investor is issued a share certificate, also known as a stock certificate, when they buy shares of a publicly-traded company. The share certificate serves as a receipt for the stock purchase. The certificate includes important details about the investor’s stock ownership such as the number of shares purchased. But exactly how important is it

The PayPal application can be seen on a mobile phone. Felix Kästle | picture alliance | Getty Images Fintech companies are helping fuel demand for bitcoin as they open the floodgates for millions of people to trade it. By one firm’s analysis, PayPal and Square clients have been buying the majority of the new bitcoin

Impact investing is a major topic on investors’ radar screen, boasting huge growth, and widespread acceptance among those seeking to align their portfolios with their personal values. But impact investing has always been more than a fad. Key Takeaways Socially responsible investing’s origins in the United States began in the 18th century with Methodism, a

Major stock exchanges, like the Nasdaq, are exclusive clubs—their reputations rest on the companies they trade. As such, the Nasdaq won’t allow just any company to be traded on its exchange. Only companies with a solid history and top-notch management behind them are considered. The Nasdaq has four sets of listing requirements. Each company must meet

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are seated to testify before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on oversight of the Treasury Department’s and Federal Reserve’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 22, 2020. Joshua Roberts | Reuters The Federal Reserve could provide clues

Rules for Roth IRAs You can contribute to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) no matter how high your income. There are income limits, though, for contributing to Roth IRA accounts. Money saved in Roth retirement accounts is post-tax income. That is, income taxes are owed for the year in which the money is paid

A margin account lets you leverage your buying power and buy more stocks than you could with your available cash by taking on a loan from your broker. The stocks purchased themselves are then held as collateral by the brokerage firm. The brokerage firm and the investor must follow many rules when buying securities on margin. The

SpaceX prototype rocket Starship SN8 stands on the company’s launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas before an engine test. @LabPadre SpaceX is aiming to launch its latest Starship rocket prototype as early as “next week,” CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday, in what would be the company’s most ambitious flight test of the rocket to date.

Today’s seesaw markets can be worrisome to investors saving for retirement. Watching account values rise and fall can cause you to feel anxious about your simplified employee pension (SEP) plan. However, your SEP has more advantages than disadvantages, even during times of market volatility. Key Takeaways A simplified employee pension (SEP) is a type of individual retirement

This year has been a challenging one, as financial advisors and their clients have had to navigate unprecedented issues. As we near the Thanksgiving holiday, we asked several of our top advisors to share what has been most meaningful for them this year and how it has shaped their professional outlook. “I’m incredibly grateful for

Richard Newstead | Moment | Getty Images Drones have arrived on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs, the world’s top mergers advisor, is among investment banks using drone technology to give its clients a bird’s-eye view of the companies they are bidding on, according to Stephan Feldgoise, the firm’s global co-head of mergers and acquisitions. After Covid-19

If it seems like free checking accounts are becoming a thing of the past, you’re not totally wrong. A number of large banks have either given them up altogether or started charging a fee if your account balance doesn’t exceed a minimum level. Bank of America was the latest domino to fall. In January, it

Black Friday is the name given to the first day after Thanksgiving. It is one of the most important retail and spending events in the United States. Every holiday season prognosticators make predictions about the level of sales on Black Friday, and investor confidence may be affected by whether or not those expectations are met or

Jim Cramer Scott Mlyn | CNBC CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday that some of the stock gains in the market are “insane,” with investors recently buying certain names from Tesla to Royal Caribbean seemingly without regard for fundamentals or the state of the coronavirus pandemic and holding onto them. “Where are the profit takers” after

The utilities sector encompasses all companies whose core business involves producing, generating, or distributing basic utilities: gas, electricity, and water. The average debt-to-equity ratio, or D/E ratio, for the utilities sector in the first quarter of 2020 was 0.08. In the fourth quarter of 2018, it reached .15, which was enough for Moody’s Investors Service

The Simplified Employee Pension IRA (SEP IRA) offered by the Vanguard Group is considered one of the best individual retirement account (IRA) products available. Though SEP IRAs are a popular retirement savings vehicle and are offered by many different financial institutions, the Vanguard SEP IRA offers a unique combination of affordability, diverse investment options, high-quality customer

Relativity Space Relativity Space wants to use enormous 3D-printers to revolutionize the way rockets are built – and CEO Tim Ellis told CNBC that the company now has a “war chest” of capital to do so. “We’re excited to announce a $500 million Series D funding round at a valuation above $2 billion from top

The periodic table represents the earth’s known chemical elements, and some of them make excellent investments. Rare earth metals, along with a selection of elements known as base and precious metals, provide today’s investors and active traders with a variety of trading opportunities. They’re also often formed into ingots for physical purchases. Key Takeaways Investors

Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images Out on Wall Street, stocks are taking a breather from this month’s rally. Despite encouraging updates on a potential coronavirus vaccine, disappointing unemployment data and a spike in coronavirus cases have spooked investors. Not helping investor sentiment, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that schools would

What Are Costco’s Top 4 Subsidiaries? Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) often brags that it was the first company in history to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years.  That was a while ago. The company’s net sales totaled $163.22 billion for its fiscal year 2020. The company

With the proliferation of plastic and digital alternatives to hard currency, many people consider carrying cash a throwback to an earlier age. In the modern age, it’s all about fast transactions provided by credit cards. Cash may be king, but “buy now, pay later” reigns supreme. While there are many benefits to purchasing with a debit

Game Stop store in New York City. Michael Brochstein | LightRocket | Getty Images The shift away from brick-and-mortar retailers in favor of online shopping has hurt GameStop over the past decade, pushing the company’s stock down nearly 40% in that time period. But Ryan Cohen, the former CEO of Chewy, thinks the maligned video-fame

U.S. equity markets closed out the week with all three major indexes in the red. The U.S. logged another daily record for coronavirus cases Thursday with 187,833 and reported record hospitalizations for the 10th day in a row. This article is an excerpt from our free The Market Sum newsletter. Sign up here to receive it in

A new report by the Federal Reserve has put into question whether life insurance companies in the U.S. have enough cash to pay claims amid the coronavirus pandemic. The main concern is that in a low interest rate environment, insurers are investing in assets with less liquidity. An inability to cope with a sudden rush of

Here’s the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day: 1. Investors assess vaccine news against Covid-19 case spikes Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open Friday, in an investor sentiment tug-of-war between more encouraging

Diversification is a familiar term to most investors. In the most general sense, it can be summed up with the phrase: “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” While that sentiment certainly captures the essence of the issue, it provides little guidance on the practical implications that diversification plays as part of an

For building retirement savings​, 401(k) savings plans have become one of the better deals. Traditional 401(k)s allow you to save pre-tax dollars right out of your paychecks to build a retirement nest egg. The Roth 401(k) has been added to many workplace plans; it allows you to build savings that you can withdraw tax-free in retirement

John Malone chairman of Liberty Media Michael Kovac | Getty Images | Vanity Fair) Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Amazon, Apple or Roku could potentially dominate in the crowded streaming space given their ability to scale globally. “I think these global platforms will be enormously powerful. And most product creates will be selling wholesale through these

A fiduciary duty exists in law when a person or entity places trust, confidence, and reliance on another to exercise discretion or expertise in acting on behalf of the client. The fiduciary must knowingly accept that trust and confidence. In the U.S. legal system, a fiduciary duty describes a relationship between two parties that obligates