The fraud trial of former First NBC Bank CEO Ashton Ryan, Jr. is set to begin Monday in federal court in New Orleans, the culmination of a sprawling investigation by federal authorities into the local bank following its descent from post-Hurricane Katrina financial darling to the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The trial comes more…
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Economy, inflation are top of mind for financial services firms in 2023
The battle against inflation, a possible recession and a potentially flat year for life insurance sales are all top of mind for financial services firms providing critical insights for advisors as they help their clients navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Last week, President Joe Biden signed the Secure 2.0 Act into law, which not only created changes to retirement savings plans but also impacted student loan payments. For example, some companies may match 50 cents for every $1 employees contribute to their 401 s up to 6% of their salaries. So for people making $60,000 a year, 6% of their salaries is $3,600.
Question: I have a question about the family maximum SS retirement benefit. As I understand it, if the breadwinner is drawing retirement benefits or is deceased, the family maximum is calculated from a formula that yields a figure between 150 percent and 188 percent of the breadwinner's primary insurance amountā his or her monthly benefit if claimed at full…
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting show that some companies actually borrowed more in October and November, even though interest rates on their bonds have been rising. "There's always a certain percentage of debt that matures in any given year that will need to be refinanced," said Winnie Cisar, global head of strategy at CreditSights.
The New York attorney generalā s office on Thursday filed suit against the ex-CEO of cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Networks for defrauding hundreds of thousands of investorsā including 26,000 New Yorkersā out of billions of dollars. Attorney General Letitia Jamesā case against Alex Mashinsky, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses him…
Lee is president of Lee Investment Management in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The majority of small and midsize U.S. business leaders anticipate a recession in 2023, according to JPMorgan Chaseā s 2023 annual Business Leaders Outlook survey released today. In total, 65% of midsize businesses and 61% of small businesses expect a recession in the year ahead. āInflation has been a challenging headwind impacting businesses of all sizes,…
The Fed might raise interest rates higher than some investors expected and leave them higher for longer than some anticipated. This seemed to be the message from the Federal Reserve's minutes of its meeting in December. In other words, it appears that the Fed will raise interest rates higher than some investors expected and leave them higher for longer than…
Since last January, the global crypto market cap has sunk nearly 65%, falling from $2.2 trillion to $803 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Chad Harris, chief commercial officer of Riot Blockchain, which is building a crypto mining facility in Corsicana, Texas, felt the change in industry sentiment this year, he said at a recent Texas Blockchain Summit.

Study finds Gen Z plans to retire earlier than preceding generations
Study finds that the nationās youngest adults are taking significant steps to improve their financial wellbeing, with the goal of retiring at age 59 ā years ahead of the generations that preceded them.

4 reasons to take on an industry leadership role
Itās overwhelming to join any association because there are typically a lot of resources available to you, so you donāt know where to start.
The new year is a great time to conduct a financial checkup, see what assets and debts you have and make a plan with the big picture in mind. Retirement Tip of the Week: As we head into 2023, consider your financial goals, review where you are on the journey to accomplishing those goals and plan for some possible changes ā no matter how small ā that could help you achieve them.

Morningstar raises āsafeā withdrawal rate recommendation
Cash and bond yields have given accounts a ānice lift,ā leading the analysts to increase their recommended withdrawal rate to 3.8%, up from 3.3%.
MOLINE, Ill.ā Wall Street closed 2022 as the worst year since 2008. "There have been periods in my career where I have been happy to turn the page to a new year and 2022, I am glad to see it's in the rearview mirror" said Drue Kampmann with True Financial Partners in Bettendorf, Iowa. We're seeing the Federal Reserve continue to raise rates, therefore things are more…
āAsian stock markets rose Wednesday ahead of the release of minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting that investors hope might show the U.S. central bank is moderating plans for more interest rate hikes to cool inflation. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney advanced. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% to 3,126.51 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 1.3% to…
That exodus also ranked as the largest among U.S. issuers in 2022, a year when ETFs absorbed over $580 billion of inflows overall. Volatility rocked Pimcoā s bond-heavy ETF lineup in 2022 as a historically aggressive Federal Reserve attempted to combat the worst U.S. inflation in four decades. While Pimco, Allianz SEā s asset management unit, did have some success…
When Lizette Garcia was 17, she felt she had little choice but to lie on her resume to get jobs that would provide enough money to support her son and help her mother. Now an independent insurance agent, Garcia, of Palatine, values education, but strongly believes that some companies fail to recognize the person's commitment and desire to work that could make them a…
Wells Fargo& Co. and two other creditors have filed a petition to force United Furniture Industries Inc. into liquidating its assets as part of an involuntary federal bankruptcy protection case. The filing was submitted and posted Friday in the Northern District of Mississippi. "The abrupt shutdown of United Furniture Industries, Inc. by company owners has…
-For the U.S. economy, 2022 was a wild and somewhat painful year. A year of stubbornly high inflation, rapid interest rate hikes and war-driven energy shock have weakened the U.S. economy. While the job market remains remarkably strong, many economists say the U.S. is likely to slip into a recession at some point next year.