Asian shares rise as 'phase one' trade deal fans confidence

Asian shares ticked higher on Monday as investors cheered an announced trade agreement between Beijing and Washington over the weekend although jubilation was capped by prevailing scepticism about the deal. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Sunday said a deal was "totally done", notwithstanding some needed revisions, and would nearly double U.S. exports to China over the next two years. The small drop in Japanese shares also reflected continued investor trepidation over the specifics of the trade deal.

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  The Pound Is Only Heading in One Direction

  Bloomberg
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  China suspends planned tariffs scheduled for December 15 on some U.S. goods

  Reuters

IFF to merge with DuPont’s nutrition unit in $26.2 billion deal

International Flavors and Fragrances is merging with DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences unit in a $26.2 billion deal that would form a new company.

• IFF-DuPont deal creates $45bn flavourings giant

  Financial Times
• IFF to merge with DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences unit

  Associated Press

Dow Jones Futures: After China Trade Deal, Which Sectors Will Lead Stock Market Rally?

Futures: The China trade deal is good news for the stock market rally. But which groups will join Apple, and chip stocks like AMD as market leaders?

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  Wall Street Weekahead: Trade deal removes major hurdle for rally in Apple and tech

  Reuters
• The Dow Rose 221 Points Because a China Trade Deal Looks Done

  Barrons.com

Hey, good news America: Investors are bailing on stocks

While the market has continued to power forward and investors have been exiting equity investments, cash on the sidelines has risen.

Here’s the formula for paying no federal income taxes on $100,000 a year

The question of how much can we earn without paying federal income taxes is relatively easy to answer for most people. The standard deduction for a married couple is $24,400 in 2019 (if both are under 65 years old), and the top of the 0% capital-gains tax bracket is $78,750. With our daughter, we also qualify for the child tax credit ($2,000), so we could actually generate another $13,333 per year in dividends or capital gains, taxed at 15%.

The No. 1 highest paid, most in-demand jobs in every U.S. state for 2019

Unemployment hit a 50-year low of 3.5% in November, according to the latest government snapshot of the labor market. The site analyzed government data to project the careers most likely to be lucrative and in demand. Software developers typically require a bachelor’s degree and computer-coding skills such as Java, JavaScript, SQL, C Sharp, Cascading Style Sheets and NET Framework.

‘Back up the truck and buy, buy buy,’ because there is no risk, says MUFG economist

“All over the world, markets are falling love. Buy it. Buy it all,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG tells clients.

Here’s what JP Morgan thinks are among the top trades for next year

Buy equities, add U.S. agriculture and hedge against the 2020 U.S. presidential election — three of JP Morgan’s top trade picks for the year ahead.

These are Wall Street’s top dividend stock picks for 2020

DEEP DIVE U.S. stocks with attractive dividend yields have performed very well this year, for obvious reasons: Interest rates have declined at home and investors in Europe and Japan — where government and central-bank policies have pushed bond yields well into the negative — are desperate to find investments that will give them income.

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  AT&T Provides Update on Capital Allocation Strategy, Increases Quarterly Dividend by 2 Percent

  Business Wire
• 
  Capstead Mortgage Corporation Declares a $0.15 Per Share Fourth Quarter 2019 Common Dividend and a $0.46875 Per Share Fourth Quarter 2019 Series E Preferred Dividend

  Business Wire

IFF to merge with DuPont's $26.2 billion nutrition unit

Under terms of the agreement, DuPont shareholders will own 55.4% of the shares of the new company and existing IFF shareholders will own 44.6%, IFF said in a statement. Industrial materials maker DuPont will also receive a one-time cash payment of $7.3 billion upon closing of the deal, IFF added. Ireland's Kerry Group was also negotiating with DuPont for its nutrition unit, Bloomberg had previously reported.

Why your 401(k) isn’t making you enough money for a secure retirement — plus more top investing tips

Workers who diligently put away money from their paycheck into a 401(k) retirement plan expect that acting responsibly will provide greater financial security in old age. Read about this troubling reality for American workers, and don’t miss a report about how women can get the investment advice they want. Then, check out tips for managing a 529 college-savings plan, and learn about a contrarian stock investing strategy where one year’s losers are the next year’s winners.

• 
  Here’s proof that 401(k) plans are not working for most Americans — can you guess who they ARE working for?

  MarketWatch
• 
  4 Reasons to Borrow From Your 401(k)

  Investopedia

These Are The 5 Best Tech Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

The best tech stocks to buy and watch are strong price performers with healthy fundamentals, thanks to a new product or service that's driving growth.

Top stock picks for 2020: The best of the biggest

DEEP DIVE (This is the first in a three-part series listing highly rated stocks that sell-side analysts expect to rise the most over the next 12 months. This article covers large-cap stocks. Part 2 covers mid-cap stocks and part 3 covers small-caps.

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  Dividend ETFs To Buy And Watch For 2019

  Investor's Business Daily
• 
  Biggest risks for financial markets in 2020

  Yahoo Finance Video

Bearish Bets: 2 Stocks You Should Consider Shorting This Week

Using recent actions and grades from TheStreet's Quant Ratings and layering on technical analysis of the charts of those stocks, Trifecta Stocks identifies five names each Friday that look bearish. While we will not be weighing in with fundamental analysis we hope this piece will give investors interested in stocks on the way down a good starting point to do further homework on the names. Textron Inc. recently was downgraded to Hold with a C+ rating by TheStreet's Quant Ratings.

Hate Paying Income Taxes? These 9 States Don't Have Them

These places promise that you'll keep more of your paycheck.

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  What could the US afford if it raised billionaires' taxes? We do the math

  The Guardian
• 
  Here’s the formula for paying no federal income taxes on $100,000 a year

  MarketWatch

Here’s how much stock you should own when you retire

You’ve put money aside for retirement year after year, sometimes the max, sometimes less when you had expenses to pay. You’ve invested it well, so now you have a good enough nest egg to carry you through the next phase of your life — retirement. There are plenty of vehicles aimed specifically at investing for retirement, especially target-date funds, where fund managers reduce your stockholdings as your chosen retirement date draws near.

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  Retirees Should Know These 3 Facts About Required Minimum Distributions - December 13, 2019

  Zacks
• 
  Don't Let Unexpected Taxes Diminish Your Retirement Dreams

  Kiplinger

Amarin stock heads toward highest prices in more than a decade after new Vascepa FDA approval

Amarin Corp.’s stock rises in the extended session Friday after being halted for half the trading day as the pharmaceutical company hikes its sales outlook following a Food and Drug Administration marketing approval that gives its drug Vascepa a wider use.

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  This Biotech Stock Just Got A Highly Anticipated FDA Approval

  Investor's Business Daily
• 
  Sarepta’s surprise FDA approval for rare disease drug excites investors

  MarketWatch

Brace yourself for mediocre stock market returns in the next decade

This past decade has delivered some of the best stock market returns in history, which unfortunately is a bad sign for the next 10 years, Mark Hulbert reports.

PG&E Faces a Sprint to Fix Restructuring After Governor’s Rebuke

(Bloomberg) -- California Governor Gavin Newsom has long called for PG&E Corp. to emerge from its bankruptcy radically transformed. Now, the beleaguered utility has to race to meet his demands -- or else see its restructuring plan blow up.The state’s largest power company has until Tuesday to address conditions that Newsom laid out in a letter late last week rejecting its reorganization proposal. The governor said the current plan falls “woefully short” of meeting requirements of a key state law and insisted on changes that could reshape PG&E, including an entirely new board and the option for a takeover.Newsom’s rebuke upends PG&E’s restructuring just as the path toward a smooth exit next year seemed to be clearing. The San Francisco-based company, in bankruptcy after its equipment caused massive wildfires, earlier this month reached a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of the blazes. The deal, however, is dependent on the governor’s support and his determination that the reorganization complies with a state law that would provide financial assistance for future fire costs.“His list of demands might be hard for the company to accept, putting the whole Chapter 11 timeline in jeopardy,” said Jared Ellias, a bankruptcy law professor at the University of California, Hastings. “He could have asked for something akin to changing the drapes. Instead it’s more like he is asking them to change their floor plan.”In his letter to PG&E Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson, Newsom said the bankruptcy resolution “must yield a radically restructured and transformed utility that is responsible and accountable.” He called for a better financial plan, clearly defined safety metrics and a “streamlined process” for a state or third-party takeover if warranted. He also said he doesn’t expect that the post-confirmation board will include any current directors.PG&E said its plan meets state law and “is the best course forward for all stakeholders.”“We’ve welcomed feedback from all stakeholders throughout these proceedings and will continue to work diligently in the coming days to resolve any issues that may arise,” the company said in a statement Friday.Under the settlement agreement, the company has to modify the plan in a manner “acceptable to the governor” by Tuesday.Political PressureNewsom, who took office just weeks before PG&E filed the largest-ever utility bankruptcy in January, faces political pressure to show dramatic changes. The company’s role in deadly wildfires has provoked widespread public outrage, which was exacerbated in October after a series of mass blackouts designed to keep its power lines from sparking wildfires during dry, windy conditions. The governor threatened a state takeover of the company after the outages if it couldn’t improve its operations.“After the company exits bankruptcy, Newsom really needs it to succeed,” Ellias said. “It could put his entire career as governor in jeopardy if this company isn’t successful.”A recent poll by the University of California at Berkeley showed that a majority of the state’s voters are in favor of changing the way PG&E operates, with one-third wanting an end to it as an investor-owned utility.Already, a California lawmaker is planning to introduce legislation that would turn PG&E into a government-owned utility. And a group of mayors and local officials have floated a proposal to make it a customer-owned cooperative.Rival BidNewsom’s demands could give activist investor Elliott Management Corp. and Pacific Investment Management Co. another shot at rallying support around a rival restructuring plan. They’re leading a group of bondholders that have offered to inject $20 billion in cash into PG&E in exchange for most of the equity in the company.In a statement Thursday, Elliott blasted PG&E’s own restructuring proposal, saying it would saddle the company with an additional $10 billion in debt, limit its safety investments and turn the utility into a “junk-bond issuer.”In his letter, Newsom raised similar concerns that PG&E’s debt-heavy plan wouldn’t allow for the company to make billions of dollars of needed safety investments.“All of this contributes to a reorganized company, that, in my judgment, will not be positioned to provide safe, reliable, affordable electric service,” he said.\--With assistance from Steven Church.To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Kara Wetzel, Virginia Van NattaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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  California governor rejects troubled utility's bankruptcy plan

  AFP
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  California governor declines $13.5 billion PG&E settlement

  Yahoo News Video