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13 Things Seniors Can Get for Free — or Almost Free

Melissa Neiman

There are many ways to get cheap or free services and goods after reaching a certain age.

Read 13 Things Seniors Can Get for Free — or Almost Free from Money Talks News.

Latest Stories

  • Hedge-Fund Titans Lose Billions to Reddit Traders Running Amok

    (Bloomberg) -- For once, Main Street is beating Wall Street.In a matter of weeks, two hedge-fund legends -- Steve Cohen and Dan Sundheim -- have suffered bruising losses as amateur traders banded together to take on some of the world’s most sophisticated investors. In Cohen’s case, he and Ken Griffin ended up rushing to the aid of a third, Gabe Plotkin, whose firm was getting beaten down.Driven by the frenzied trading in GameStop Corp. and other stocks that hedge funds have bet against, the losses suffered over the past few days would rank among the worst in some of these money managers’ storied careers. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management has declined 10% to 15% so far this month, while Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners, one of last year’s top-performing funds, is down about 20%. Melvin Capital, Plotkin’s firm, had lost 30% through Friday.It’s a humbling turnaround for the hedge fund titans, who in 2020 staged a comeback by pouncing on the wild markets caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But that crisis helped push thousands if not millions of retail traders into the U.S. stock market, creating a new force that for now the professionals seem powerless to combat.Their assailants are a collection of traders using Reddit’s wallstreetbets thread to coordinate their attacks, which seem to be focused on stocks known for being held short by hedge funds. The most prominent is GameStop, the beleaguered brick-and-mortar retailer that’s soared more than 1,700% this month, but other targets include AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.The pain is likely spreading across the hedge fund industry, with rumors swirling among traders of heavy losses at multiple firms. The Goldman Sachs Hedge Industry VIP ETF, which tracks hedge funds’ most-popular stocks, tumbled 4.3% on Wednesday for its worst day since September.Fund managers covered their money-losing short sales while trimming bullish bets for a fourth straight session Tuesday. Over that stretch, their total outflows from the market reached the highest level since October 2014, data compiled by Goldman’s prime-brokerage unit show.D1, which was founded in 2018 and had about $20 billion in assets at the start of the year, is buffeted to some degree from the attacks because private companies account for roughly a third of its holdings, and the firm has been reducing its exposure, according to people familiar with the matter. The fund is closed to new investments and has no plans to open for additional capital, one of the people said, asking not to be named because such decisions are confidential.D1’s loss, described by people briefed on the situation, contrasts with a 60% gain for Sundheim, 43, during last year’s pandemic turmoil.Melvin on Monday took an unheard-of cash infusion from its peers, receiving $2 billion from Griffin, his partners and the hedge funds he runs at Citadel, and $750 million from his former boss, Cohen.“The social media posts about Melvin Capital going bankrupt are categorically false,” a representative said. “Melvin Capital is focused on generating high-quality, risk-adjusted returns for our investors, and we are appreciative of their support.”Until this year, Plotkin, 42, had one of the best track records among hedge fund stock pickers. He’d worked for Cohen for eight years and had been one of his biggest money makers before leaving to form Melvin. He’s posted an annualized return of 30% since opening, ending last year up more than 50%, according to an investor.Another fund, the $3.5 billion Maplelane Capital, lost about 33% this month through Tuesday in part because of a short position on GameStop, according to investors.Representatives for Point72, D1 and Maplelane all declined to comment.The struggles at some of the biggest hedge funds may have contributed to Wednesday’s 2.6% drop in the S&P 500, its worst decline since October. One theory behind the decline is that funds are selling long bets to get the cash they need to cover their shorts.Cohen, 64, is perhaps the best-known victim of this year’s turmoil so far. The new owner of the New York Mets, whose fund gained 16% in 2020, has become a national figure after beating competition from Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez to buy the ball club.Late Tuesday, Cohen broke his usual habit of only tweeting about the Mets. “Hey stock jockeys keep bringing it,” he wrote on the social media platform.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Elon Musk Says Discord Gone 'Corpo' After It Takes Down WallStreetBets

    Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk expressed his disappointment with Discord after the platform took down WallStreetBets from its platform. What Happened: “Even Discord has gone corpo ...,” the world’s richest person said in a tweet late Wednesday. Discord had taken down WallStreetBets earlier in the evening, saying the community continued to allow hateful and discriminatory content despite repeated warnings. The company said the action didn’t have any relation to WallStreetBets’ role in the surge of GameStop Corp.’s (NYSE: GME) stock. WallStreetBets moderators described the Discord action as “pretty unethical.” “I am not impressed with them destroying our community instead of stepping in with the wrench we may have needed to fix things, especially after we got over 1,000 server boosts,” one of the group moderators said. The community also went briefly private on Reddit as it looked to ramp up moderation and avoid a similar fate on the platform as Discord. “We've got so many comments and submissions that we can't possibly even read them all, let alone act on them as moderators,” u/zjz, a community moderato, added. Why It Matters: Musk had earlier touted support for the WallStreetBets community on Tuesday evening, sending the stock soaring further. Gamestonk!! https://t.co/RZtkDzAewJ — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 26, 2021 GameStop, BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB), Nokia Oyj (NYSE: NOK), AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) and other stocks seeing the short-squeeze interest of the Reddit community tanked in the after-hours session Wednesday after Discord’s action. Price Action: GameStop traded 16% lower at $292 after a 134.84% surge during the regular session. BlackBerry tanked 9.8% at $22.6 after a 32.6% spike during regular hours. Nokia traded 9.5% lower at $5.93 after a 38.5% surge during the regular session. AMC shares tanked 26.6% after a 301.21% surge during the regular session. Photo courtesy: Forbes via Wikimedia See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaDeFi Cryptocurrencies Refuse To Take A Backseat Amid GameStop Mania, Hit All-Time HighWhy Scaramucci Sees GameStop Rally As A Positive Backdrop For Bitcoin© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Why the stock market just got clobbered

    Did the stock market bubble just pop?

  • It isn’t just GameStop: Here are some of the other heavily shorted stocks shooting higher

    The dynamic that has seemingly contributed to a short squeeze in the stock of videogame retailer GameStop Corp. also appears to be affecting shares in a host of other heavily shorted companies.

  • GameStop Stock Drops After SEC Announcement. An Expert Says the Agency’s Statement Means Little for Now.

    Shares of highly shorted companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, National Beverage, and AMC Entertainment have surged alongside GameStop in recent trading.

  • Apple reports record earnings powered by iPhone 12 sales

    Apple posted record Q1 earnings on the strength of iPhone sales.

  • Dow Jones Dives After Fed Decision; GameStop Stock Surges; Apple Earnings Due

    Stocks sold off hard after the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 600 points.

  • Plug Power Is a Winner, but Wait for a Better Entry Point, Says J.P. Morgan

    Plug Power (PLUG) shares have kicked off 2021 with a bang, rising nearly 90% since the turn of the year. The PLUG narrative is benefiting from favorable macro conditions; A new U.S. administration intent on forwarding the case for clean energy is acting as a strong catalyst, driving positive investor sentiment toward the stock. Adding to the good news, the company said it has exceeded its 2020 gross billings target, while it expects to beat its previous 2021 estimates. The company previously guided for $450 million in billings in 2021, but now anticipates $475 million, a 5.5% increase. Further ahead, by 2024, PLUG is targeting $1.7 billion in sales, 40% above the previous estimate. Add into the mix a recent $1.5 billion investment in return for a 10% stake in the company from South Korea’s SK Group, and a joint venture with French automaker Renault to develop hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles, and it’s no wonder J.P. Morgan analyst Paul Coster calls the company a “best-in-class long-term idea.” “A good story keeps getting better,” Coster said. “With PLUG capitalizing on its leadership position in Hydrogen energy and mobility solutions by nailing down customers and partners that expand the TAM, improve visibility and de-risk execution. The firm is also capitalizing on its soaring market cap to issue shares, building a balance sheet that will permit the company to execute its growth strategy with confidence.” However, while the analyst anticipates “meaningful profitability in 2023-24,” the stock appears “richly valued” compared to peers. As a result, Coster rates PLUG shares a Neutral (i.e. Buy), along with a $70 price target. This figure implies ~9% upside from current levels. (To watch Coster’s track record, click here) “We look for a pullback as an opportunity to get into this stock,” the analyst summed up. While Coster sits on the sidelines waiting for PLUG stock to reset itself, most analysts remain on board. According to TipRanks analytics, out of 12 analysts, 10 say Buy while 2 suggest Hold. But there’s a catch; the analysts, while keen on the company, evidently think shares have soared enough as the $60 average price target indicates. (See PLUG stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

  • GameStop mania may have ruined this hot Wall Street trade

    And there goes Wall Street's reflation trade.

  • GameStop slugfest spreads as calls for probe build

    The battle between small-time traders and hedge funds that has shaken U.S. and European stock markets moved into Asia on Thursday, with surges in several Australian companies squeezing another batch of financial institutions that have bet on the stocks falling. In Europe, where the trend has already shown up in a jump in the value of Finnish technology company Nokia Oyj, shares in the video game chain at the centre of the U.S. action, GameStop, dipped 16%. That move, roughly in line with an overnight fall in New York and derivatives market changes, suggested at least a pause in a dramatic rally that has seen GameStop jump as much as 1,700% in two weeks and fund investors lose billions.

  • Another GameStop? Here Are the Next 10 Most Shorted Small-Caps.

    Highly shorted stocks are being targeted by some investors trying to force people who have bet the prices will fall into covering. Watch Dillard’s and AMC Entertainment.

  • How trading apps are responding to the GameStop fustercluck

    The furor surrounding GameStop and its stock price has consumed social media, business television, and the hopes and dreams of many retail investors. After noting reports that some traditional brokers were limiting access to GameStop and other so-called meme stocks, TechCrunch was curious what the newer, app-based investing services were doing for their own users. A spokesperson for M1 Finance, a Midwest-based consumer fintech player that offers a basket of banking and investing services -- more on its growth here and here -- told TechCrunch via email that it wasn't taking "specific" steps regarding individual stocks.

  • Tesla Slumps After First Results as a Blue Chip Disappoint

    (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. reported lower-than-expected profit and record revenue, mixed results that disappointed investors used to razzle-dazzle from the newly minted member of the S&P 500 Index.The electric-vehicle market leader reported an adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 80 cents a share Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ consensus for $1.03 and well below the blowout result a year earlier -- before the global pandemic set in. The results marked a sixth straight profitable quarter but also the first time the company missed Wall Street’s estimate for earnings per share since July 2019.Tesla shares fell as much as 8.1% to $794 before the start of regular trading Thursday. The stock had soared 933% since the beginning of last year.“Given the run in the name, an earnings ‘miss,’ no specific 2021 guidance and potential supply constraints, we could see the stock take a breather,” Joe Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a report. “But, to long-term believers, there is likely little to deter their thinking.”The Palo Alto, California-based company, which joined the S&P 500 last month, said operating margins shrank to 5.4% in the latest quarter, down from 9.2% the previous three months. It blamed price cutting in China, supply-chain costs and a big pay package for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and other executives.“It was a mixed bag,” Gene Munster of Loup Ventures said in an interview, noting the dip in margins was accompanied by price reductions to win market share. “It’s negative for today but good for the long term, given the EV market is nascent.”A ‘Noisy’ QuarterThe results capped Tesla’s first full-year profit. The company has defied skeptics by achieving sustained growth and been rewarded with an $819 billion market capitalization, dwarfing other carmakers. Its success has helped spur a rally in shares of other companies with lofty EV strategies, both old and new.“2020 was a defining year for us on many levels,” Musk said on the quarterly earnings call. “We delivered almost as many cars last year as we have produced in our entire history, really an incredible growth rate despite a very challenging 2020.”Tesla did not give a specific number for how many cars it expects to deliver in 2021, but said that it anticipates beating last year’s 50% growth rate, which would require handing over roughly 750,000 vehicles. It delivered almost 500,000 globally in 2020.But that growth is coming at a cost. Tesla said the average selling price of its vehicles in the fourth quarter was 11% less than a year ago. That compares with a 3.1% gain in average transaction prices for all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year to a record $36,786, according to market researcher TrueCar.Musk has said he would be willing to sacrifice profitability to sell more and cheaper cars. But the CEO warned employees in an internal email last month that Tesla’s shares could get “crushed” if investors start to worry about its ability to deliver on profit expectations.Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn indicated the “noisy” quarter -- due in part to higher executive compensation tied to the rally in Tesla’s shares -- was more of an anomaly than the new normal. “Operating margin will continue to grow and remain industry leading,” he said on the call.Credit-Fueled RevenueTesla’s revenue hit $10.74 billion in the quarter, surpassing analysts’ estimate for $10.38 billion and up from $7.38 billion in the year-earlier period.The company earns money by selling regulatory credits to automakers that need them to comply with carbon-emissions standards in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. Investors view this revenue as a double-edged sword because they want to know Tesla can be profitable from its core business: making and selling cars. Sales of regulatory credits rose to $401 million in the last three months of the year, from $397 million in the third quarter.Tesla did not specify its supply-chain cost issues, but Kirkhorn said the company is working “extremely hard” to mitigate the impacts of a global semiconductor shortage.Read More: Carmakers Face $61 Billion Sales Hit From Pandemic Chip ShortageTesla’s surging market valuation allowed it to raise cash repeatedly last year and accrue what Musk has called a “war chest” for investment in new factories and battery technology. The automaker is building two assembly plants in Germany and Austin, Texas, which will dramatically increase its production capacity.Kirkhorn said Tesla can now afford to expand to meet expected demand in a way it hasn’t been able to previously. “This is an important point on capital efficiency that we haven’t had the luxury to do in the past,” he said.Battery Supply BottleneckTesla has been upgrading its factory in Fremont, California, to launch refreshed versions of its S and X models with new powertrains and interiors. A photo in the shareholder letter shows a small screen for passengers in the back seat. The first deliveries of the Model S began in 2012, and speculation about a refresh has circulated for months.While Musk has promised to launch a $25,000 model by 2023, he’s not ceding ground on high-margin luxury cars. Tesla said a “Plaid” version of its flagship S sedan will go on sale next month, followed by the updated Model X in April. The company claims the high-performance version of the S will the fastest-accelerating car in the world, beating out the Porsche 918 Spyder and Bugatti Chiron.The much-anticipated Cybertruck pickup is on track to debut later this year, but Musk said high-volume production won’t begin until 2022. He also said Tesla plans to join others racing to build electric vans but cautioned that battery-supply constraints will force the company to pace its debuts of new vehicles.“We will take as many batteries as they can produce,” the CEO said, mentioning leading suppliers such as Panasonic Corp., LG Chem Ltd. and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. “We urge them to increase their production, and we will buy as much as they can send to us.”(Updates with premarket trading in the third paragraph. An earlier version corrected the title of Kirkhorn in 12th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Penny Stocks to Watch for February 2021

    The past year or so has thrown a lot of people for a loop, but these penny stocks could weather the tumultuous environment.

  • What is Wall Street Bets, the upstart Reddit group that is pummeling Wall Street?

    Here's an FAQ about what's going on with the market and what "Wall Street Bets" is.

  • Robinhood CEO: The retail investors that have felt 'talked down to' are now 'empowered'

    Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev explained how many retail investors on his platform feel — and how that relates to the GameStop trade. What's happening now, he says, is also not representative of the company's user base.

  • GameStop, other retail darlings dented after Reddit group briefly shuts doors

    A slugfest between Wall Street and Main Street took an unexpected turn late on Wednesday after moderators of a stock trading forum that has helped fuel massive rallies in the shares of GameStop temporarily closed its doors. Shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry all dropped at least 20% moments after the shuttering of the forum, highlighting the role it has played in fueling stock rallies that many say have been driven primarily by retail investors.

  • American Airlines Surges After Mention in Reddit Stock Forum

    (Bloomberg) -- American Airlines Group Inc., the most shorted major U.S. carrier, surged after a mention on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum.“AAL the next GME?” said Reddit user u/cardiffgiantthe1st in an online discussion Wednesday, referring to the stock tickers of American and GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer that has quintupled in value this week alone.American’s stock gain adds to a flurry of share increases this week as Reddit-fueled retail traders take on short sellers and drive up prices. With stock after stock, legions of day traders have identified companies with high levels of short interest and piled in. In the case of GameStop, the soaring price has forced many short sellers to give up their positions.American rose 6.6% to $16.56 at the close in New York, the most since Dec. 3, after paring gains from an intraday surge of as much as 15%. Other companies on a Standard & Poor’s index of big U.S. airlines fell.The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier declined to comment.The gain isn’t “justified by anything fundamental,” Darryl Genovesi, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in an email. He expressed the same view about the stock surge during the session of another company he covers, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.Short-Squeeze RiskShort interest as a percentage of American’s free float is about 29%, according to data from S3 Partners. No other major U.S. airline has short interest of more than 5%.American is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Like its rivals, the airline has been contending with the unprecedented collapse of air travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.Following American’s advance, CFRA Research changed its recommendation on the shares to hold from strong sell and lifted its price target to $19 from $8.“We think the stock is a high risk for one of the recent retail-investor-driven short squeezes we’ve seen play out,” CFRA analyst Colin Scarola wrote in a client note.The firm also elevated Spirit Airlines Inc. from sell to hold for the same reason. Short interest is about 16% of Spirit’s free float, according to Vertical Research.(Updates from 8th paragraph with CFRA comments on American, Spirit.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • 'Fighting 100 mini Mike Tysons': The powerful influence of Reddit trade

    Reddit and its r/wallstreetbets forum have become powerful, unpredictable forces in the market, sending certain stocks unexpectedly to the moon.

  • Fastest-Growing Stocks To Watch: Etsy, Crocs Among 17 Stocks Expecting Up To 966% Growth

    What are the fastest-growing stocks to watch for Q4 earnings season? Here's a list of 17 stocks expecting up to 966% EPS growth.