Singtel third-quarter net profit falls 14 percent hurt by regional associates

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd on Thursday reported a 14 percent drop in third-quarter net profit, due partly to intense competition in India and the impact of network investments by regional associates, and forecast a small decline in full-year earnings. Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, posted net profit of S$823 million ($605 million) for the three months ended in December, compared with S$959 million a year ago. Underlying net profit, which excludes one-time items, fell 28 percent to S$680 million, with its results also hurt by the rising shift from voice to data and margin erosion in traditional carriage services, the company said.

• 
  Waste Management Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2018 Earnings

  Business Wire
• CME Group fourth-quarter profit rises 63 pct

  Reuters

Radian takeover talks reportedly squashed by potential deal price

Radian Group had discussions about being acquired by an investor group last week before talks broke down over a potential deal price, according to a Friday story from Bloomberg.  Radian (NYSE: RDN) declined comment. Apollo's senior managing director and co-founder is Joshua Harris, who leads the ownership group of the Philadelphia 76ers.  During Friday trading, Radian's stock rose by as much as 9 percent after the news broke.  In a note to investors, analyst Harry Fong of MKM Partners said that shares of Radian and all of its chief competitors in the private mortgage insurance space — MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG), Arch Capital Group (NYSE: ACGL) and Radnor's Essent Group (NYSE: ESNT) were up by a higher rate than the S&P 500 because of the story.  Fong said he has thought the valuation of the PMI group was too low for a long time.

Berkshire Hathaway's Munger on buybacks and Apple shares

CNBC's Becky Quick reports from the Daily Journal Annual Meeting on Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger's comments on the company's buybacks.

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  Amazon cancels plans to build second headquarters in New York after local protests

  The Independent
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  Amazon pulls out of New York City deal

  ABC News Videos

Credit Card Merchant Fee Hikes Could Mean Higher Prices for Everyone

Credit card companies Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, will raise their processing fees in April, according to the Wall Street Journal. The card networks authorize banks to issue credit cards to people. Separately, businesses get merchant accounts that let them present credit card transactions with their customers for payment.

Losing a job in your 50s is especially tough. Here are 3 steps to take when layoffs happen

This is one of the many reasons why I believe our 50s can be the most challenging decade of our lives. Assuming you can clear the mental challenges, the financial and administrative obstacles can leave you feeling like a Rube Goldberg machine. Income, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, bills, expenses, short-term savings and retirement savings are all immediately important in the face of a job loss.

GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound continues to grind

The British pound fell again during the trading session on Thursday, as we are now testing the 50% Fibonacci retracement from the recent surge higher. I think at this point, we are continuing to see value hunters coming back into this market place, but the reality is that this is going to be a very difficult market to deal with going forward as the headlines will continue to be manipulated by the various politicians trying to get in front of the cameras. Because of this, we will be held hostage to the occasional tweet or headline, but keep in mind that we are at technical levels that should be important in general.

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  GBP/USD Price Forecast – Brexit Angst Continues To Pressure GBP

  FX Empire
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  GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Continues To Suffer Loss On Account of Brexit

  FX Empire

Berkshire Trims Apple, Sells Oracle and Buys Big Banks

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), the conglomerate run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, sold some of its giant stake in Apple Inc. (AAPL), called it quits on Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and used some of its freed-up capital to top up on bank stocks in the last three months of 2018. Berkshire also boosted its stake in regional lenders, including PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) and US Bancorp (USB). Share price across the industry have been lifted by speculation that the recent merger between SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) and BB&T Corp. (BBT) could pave the way for more deals, reported Bloomberg.

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  Why Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Took a Stake in Canadian Oil Giant Suncor

  Motley Fool
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  Buffett's Berkshire dumps Oracle after holding it for less than a year

  Yahoo Finance

These New Exemptions Can Get You Your Biggest Refund This Tax Season

Whether you're planning to do your taxes online or work with an accountant, it helps to know which deductions and exemptions you are entitled to, so you have a rough idea of how big of a refund you might get — or how much you could owe to Uncle Sam. So we spoke to Brittany Turner, CPA, the founder of Countless, a New York City–based accounting firm for creatives. Brittany compiled a list of ten tax credits and deductions to be aware of while heading into tax season this year.

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  Expecting a Tax Refund This Year? Here's 1 Trap You Must Avoid

  Motley Fool
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  U.S. tax refunds down nearly 9 percent vs year ago: IRS data

  Reuters

How to Make Your Retirement Savings Last Forever

With life expectancy and inflation rates rising, Americans are increasingly delaying retirement as they fear their nest egg running out. Well, you could always plan for a shorter retirement, simply because it would be easier to manage costs over a shorter time frame. You could also take up a part-time job during retirement, and make small investments from any accumulated wealth to ensure a steady source of income.

E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – February 15, 2019 Forecast

March E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are trading lower early Friday in response to weaker markets in Asia. At 06:04 GMT, March E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index futures are trading 6988.50, down 31.25 or -0.45%. The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart, however, momentum shifted to the downside with the formation of a closing price reversal top at 7069.75 on February 13 and the subsequent confirmation of the chart pattern on Thursday.

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  E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – February 15, 2019 Forecast

  FX Empire
• 
  Forex Daily Outlook – February 14, 2019

  FX Empire

I'm 33, Make $135k & Finally Paid Off My Student Loans

In our series My 6-Figure Paycheck , women making more than $100,000 open up about how they got there and what exactly they do. We take a closer look at what it feels like to be a woman making six-figures — when only 5% of American women make that much, according to the U.S. Census — w ith the hope it will give women insight into how to better navigate their own career and salary trajectories. Today, we chat with a senior marketing manager in fashion from San Francisco, CA.

China's market is like a 'Black Friday' sale now: Investor

Eric Moffett of T. Rowe Price says a lot of babies have been thrown out with the bathwater in China's stock market and some "fantastic" companies are trading at "fire-sale valuations."

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  U.S.-China trade talks to resume next week, Trump hints at extension

  Reuters
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  China And The US Will Move Forward With Trade Talks

  Yahoo View

Here's The Problem With Sears' New Strategy

Sears and Kmart have a new strategy, post-bankruptcy: more tools and appliances but less clothing and smaller locations. Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund king who bought Kmart out of bankruptcy in 2004 and melded it with Sears a year later, told the Wall Street Journal that the leaner company, which has closed hundreds of stores under each brands in recent years, would allocate more space in stores to areas like tools and appliances, where Sears remains a contender despite years of market share loss, and shrink store size. The new company, which will have 223 Sears stores and 202 Kmart locations, gives two iconic retailers another chance at life thanks to a $5.2 billion offer by Lampert earlier this month in a bankruptcy court auction.

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  Eddie Lampert details plans for Sears after bankruptcy

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Eddie Lampert steps down as chairman of Sears' board

  Reuters

Amazon Leads $700 Million Bet on Electric Truck Maker Rivian

The backing from Amazon will bolster Michigan-based Rivian's plans to bring an electric truck to market late next year. Rivian remains in talks with General Motors Co. about the largest U.S. automaker also making an investment, people familiar with the matter said. Chief Executive Officer R.J. Scaringe said in his first interview since reports of Rivian's talks with Amazon and GM surfaced earlier this week that he was seeking companies that could help the electric-vehicle maker grow.

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  Rivian EV truck maker gets big money from Amazon

  Reuters
• 
  Newsflash: Amazon Leads Massive $700 Million Funding Round in Tesla Competitor Rivian

  CCN

Charlie Munger targets active managers, Elon Musk; praises China

Charlie Munger, the longtime business partner of Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc, on Thursday criticized active fund managers, bankers and even Elon Musk as he urged investors to court simplicity and temper expectations for future returns. Munger, 95, often provoked laughter as he fielded questions at the annual meeting of Daily Journal Corp, the Los Angeles newspaper publishing company he chairs, though he is better known for his four decades as a Berkshire vice chairman. Berkshire now owns more than 90 businesses in the insurance, energy, railroad and other sectors, along with dozens of stocks.

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  Amazon cancels plans to build second headquarters in New York after local protests

  The Independent
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  Amazon pulls out of New York City deal

  ABC News Videos

Retirement Account: Pros and Cons of Naming a Trust as a Beneficiary

Qualified retirement savings accounts are a great way to build a retirement nest egg. In the financial community, this has been a topic of an ongoing debate between estate planning attorneys and financial advisors. Since qualified retirement plans such as a 401(k) or 403(b), an IRA or a Roth IRA pass by way of contract directly to a named beneficiary, the often lengthy probate process, attorneys' fees and other costs associated with wills and settling estates are avoided.

• 
  How to Convert a Non-Deductible IRA Into a Roth IRA

  Investopedia
• 
  How to Save for Retirement in Every Decade of Your Life

  Men's Health

U.S.-owned utility to close two coal plants, in blow to Trump

The Tennessee Valley Authority voted on Thursday to close two aging coal-fired power plants, including one supplied by a company led by a major supporter of President Donald Trump, who had urged the U.S.-owned utility to keep it open. This decision is about economics," said President and Chief Executive Bill Johnson, who is retiring from the TVA. The 870-megawatt Bull Run coal plant in Tennessee will close by December 2023 and the 971-MW Paradise 3 plant in Kentucky will be shut by December 2020.

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  Trump's Love for Coal Not Enough to Save Money-Losing Plant

  Bloomberg
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  Trump-dominated board to close coal plant, despite his plea

  Associated Press

Bear Signal Flashing for This Healthcare Stock Before Earnings

Medical supply distributor Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) has taken a beating from analysts this week, with Baird, J.P. Morgan Securities, UBS, and RBC all issuing price-target cuts. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, this signal has flashed seven other times in the past three years. Henry Schein is slated to report earnings next Wednesday, Feb. 20.

Amazon has a big problem now that it has scrapped plans for a New York City headquarters

To support its ambitious future of signing up more corporate clients for its Amazon Web Services and offering Prime members same-day delivery, Amazon will need more high-skilled tech workers than ever before. Unfortunately, those well-paid workers will not come from New York City, at least right now. The internet and cloud services beast said Thursday it will pull out of its New York City development project after significant outcry from locals and various other parties fearing big rent hikes and epic wage inflation.

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  Amazon's break-up with New York sets other cities up for gains

  Yahoo Finance
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  Amazon will abandon plans to build HQ2 in New York

  Reuters

Pension vs. 401(k): Comparing Retirement Plans

A pension plan is a defined benefit plan in which an employer sets money aside for an employee and invests it on the employee's behalf. When the employee retires, she receives the return from that investment as retirement income. This can be in a lump sum, but it's much more likely to be in regular payments.

• What To Do With An Old 401(k)?: 4 Choices To Consider

  Benzinga
• 8 Things to Remember When Reviewing Your 401(k)

  U.S.News & World Report