The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Stock market juggernauts Nvidia and Broadcom have pulled back slightly from their all-time highs, but their market capitalizations are still up enormously this year on investor excitement over artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia completed its latest stock split in June while Broadcom is scheduled to split its stock 10-for-1 on July 15. Those two are helping lead the tech sector to new heights, but they aren't alone.

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 9, 2024

Greg Ip at The Wall Street Journal penned a piece recently that warned potential homebuyers about the prospect of low returns from current levels: I don’t need to offer any more details from the story because you already know them. Housing prices are up a lot. Mortgage rates are also up a lot. This is a fair warning. We essentially pulled forward a decade’s worth of housing returns into the first few years of.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Inflation has moderated over the past year, but many retired workers are still struggling to make ends meet. Less than 50% of Americans in retirement believe they have enough money, and nearly 90% are worried about rising prices devaluing their savings, according to the 2024 U.S. Retirement Survey from investment manager Schroders. "Whether it's a trip to the gas station, grocery store or pharmacy, prices in the U.S. have increased noticeably in recent years, and that is particularly challenging

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Accounting Investing 246

The Big Picture

JULY 9, 2024

A quick break from book duty and doing our quarterly client call to share this fascinating discussion from tennis great Roger Federer: “In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches… What percentage of the POINTS do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%.” -Roger Federer This is one of those great commencement addresses that will only gain stature over time.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Microsoft , Apple , and Nvidia are the world's three most-valuable companies, and they are the only ones in history to surpass $3 trillion in market capitalization. They will probably continue to grow long into the future, especially if artificial intelligence (AI) lives up to expectations. The global economy generated $105 trillion in output last year, but Wall Street thinks AI could significantly boost that figure: Goldman Sachs believes AI will create $7 trillion worth of economic activity wi

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FinSMEs

JULY 9, 2024

Accend, a NYC-based company helping fintechs and banks accelerate business customers’ onboarding process, raised $3.2M in Seed funding. The round was led by Adverb Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, 645 Ventures, and angels from Brex, Stripe, and Carta. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts Co-founded by Joseph Zhou, Pranjal Daga and Yutong […] The post Accend Raises $3.2M in Seed Funding appeared first on

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FinSMEs

JULY 9, 2024

Enso, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based ecosystem of Guided AI Agents offering small to medium-sized business (SMBs) AI-powered Service-as-a-Software, raised $6M in Seed funding. The round was led by NFX with participation from angel investors, including Yossi Matias, and Shmil Levy. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

This will be a big year for artificial intelligence (AI). Rapid improvements in technologies like machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and AI chips make AI systems more capable, efficient, and versatile. Unsurprisingly, a growing number of new AI-driven applications and services -- such as ChatGPT -- are debuting in the market. Investors, understandably, are rushing to get on board the AI trend by investing in companies like Nvidia and Palantir.

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FinSMEs

JULY 9, 2024

Maximum Fidelity Surgical Simulations (MaxFi), a St. Louis, MO-based company providing lifelike cadavers to create highly realistic surgical simulations for medical education, raised $2.25M in Seed funding. The round was led by St. Louis Arch Angels, BioGenerator Ventures and Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC). The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Retirement savings are personal, and you can't really compare your journey to anyone else's. However, if you're curious about how you stack up against your peers, we've delved into the Federal Reserve's survey data from late 2022 to give you a better idea of how other Americans are doing. Image source: Getty Images. A look at average retirement savings by age The median retirement savings for American households as of 2022 is $87,000, meaning half have more than this amount and half are on the o

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FinSMEs

JULY 9, 2024

The Lasso, a NYC-based provider of an online car bidding platform, raised $9.8M in funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital and Manresa Ventures with participation from Contour Venture Partners, Liquid2 Ventures, Ritual Capital, Correlation Ventures, and others. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Retirement requires loads of preparation, and one of the most important parts is planning for how Social Security will fit into the picture. Most retirees will rely on their benefits to some extent, and for many, it's a significant source of income. The more you can plan for Social Security, the better your chances of maximizing your benefits. While the program can be complex and confusing, there's one crucial -- but often misunderstood -- aspect to know before you file.

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Financial Times M&A

JULY 9, 2024

High interest rates and hybrid working thwart efforts to kick-start dealmaking

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Nvidia has been on an impressive tear lately, but many investors are concerned about the longevity of Nvidia's current position. It's known to be a cyclical company, so a demand reduction in its GPUs (graphics processing units) is coming, although no one knows when. With Nvidia trading on much of its future prospects, there isn't much room for error.

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FinSMEs

JULY 9, 2024

Gymdesk, an Austin, TX-based provider of member management software for fitness and wellness businesses, raised $32M in funding. Five Elms Capital made the investment. The company intends to use the funds to expand and strengthen its solutions for the fitness industry and widen its customer base across new verticals. Led by CEO and Founder Eran […] The post Gymdesk Raises $32.5M in Funding appeared first on FinSMEs.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Although I recognize that taxes are a part of life, I typically try to do my best to pay as little of them as possible. To that end, I make a point to max out my 401(k) every year. And I also try to max out the HSA my family became eligible for a few years ago when our health insurance plan changed. But even though I love the tax breaks that come with IRAs and 401(k)s, I'm keeping a pretty large chunk of my retirement nest egg outside of these accounts and in a regular brokerage account with no

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JULY 9, 2024

Today’s Talk Your Book is brought to you by Polen Capital: We are joined by Ben Santonelli, Lead Portfolio Manager of Polen Capital’s Credit Opportunities Strategy to discuss investing in high-yield credit. On today’s show, we discuss: How an interval fund works How Polen navigated the dramatic rise in interest rates Understanding interest rate risk What Polen is doing to actively manage the portfolio.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Image source: Getty Images It's your money, and generally, you have the right to withdraw as much -- or as little -- as you desire from your bank account. However, under a law called the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), banks must report any deposits or withdrawals of $10,000 or more. Here, we'll cover why the BSA exists and if it's anything you need to be concerned about.

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Banks Accounting Financial Institutions Legal 245

Private Equity Wire

JULY 9, 2024

Norwest Capital Advisors (Norwest Capital) has held the final close of Norwest Equity Partners XI and Norwest Mezzanine Partners V with approximately $1.0bn and $400m of of total capital commitments, respectively. The funds, which will focus on investments in middle market buyout and mezzanine opportunities, attracted several large institutional investors as limited partners.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

When Berkshire Hathaway 's (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) billionaire CEO Warren Buffett speaks, Wall Street and the investment community are compelled to pay close attention. Since taking the reins of Berkshire Hathaway in the mid-1960s, the Oracle of Omaha, as he's come to be known, has overseen just shy of a 5,000,000% aggregate return in his company's Class A shares (BRK.A).

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Stakes Shareholders Portfolios 244

Private Equity Wire

JULY 9, 2024

MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife, has formed a new $1.2bn private equity fund of funds, significantly boosting the amount of private capital the insurer manages for outside investors. The new fund, MetLife Investment Private Equity Partners II, purchased a portfolio of approximately $860m of private equity and equity co-investment interests with funded and unfunded commitments totalling $975m from MetLife affiliates as part of a managed

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Helping to found Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) nearly 50 years ago, Bill Gates is widely recognized as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. Forbes , for example, estimates Gates's net worth at about $135 billion. He's also one of the most philanthropic. Valued at $46 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2024, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation performs charitable work in more than 130 countries -- from assisting with agricultural development to improving financial resources for

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AltAssets

JULY 9, 2024

KKR is reportedly planning to cut its stake in Japanese semiconductor maker Kokusai Electric after a surge in the company’s share price. Kokusai was trading at JPY3,795 per share towards the end of May, but has since boomed to JPY5,820 per share amid the growing appetite for AI applications. KKR plans to sell about half […] The post Deal Roundup: KKR eyes Kokusai Electric stake sale after share price boom, Inflexion seals 5.5x return first appeared on AltAssets Private Equity News.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

If you are looking for the next big idea that could change the world, then Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) might just pop up on your radar screen. While the company isn't actually working on technology that is revolutionary per se, it is trying to do something that could change the lives of a lot of people in a very positive way. But here's what you need to know about Archer Aviation before you go in thinking it is a no-brainer millionaire maker.

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Capital Investments Returns Investors Capital 242

Private Equity Wire

JULY 9, 2024

Software focussed private equity firm Vista Equity Partners has lead d strategic majority growth investment in Nasuni, an enterprise data platform for modern hybrid cloud environments, which values the business at approximately $1.2bn. TCV and KKR also participated in the new investment, although further financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) have a lot in common. Besides serving up caffeinated drinks to a thirsty world, both companies also have shareholder-friendly dividend policies -- and their stocks have underperformed the stock market over the last year. Coca-Cola's total return over that period is just 8.7%, while Starbucks saw a 20.5% value drop instead, and the S&P 500 gained 28.6%.

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Financing Finance Shareholders Returns 238

AltAssets

JULY 9, 2024

Private markets placement agent and advisory firm Campbell Lutyens has named Gordon Bajnai as CEO to replace veteran incumbent Andrew Sealey. The post Placement agent major Campbell Lutyens names Bajnai as incoming CEO to replace veteran Sealey first appeared on AltAssets Private Equity News.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

The stock market has soared in recent years, with the S&P 500 up by more than 55% since its lowest point in late 2022. But stock prices can't keep surging forever, and there will be a pullback sooner or later. Around 26% of investors are feeling pessimistic about where the market will be six months from now, according to a July 2024 survey from the American Association of Individual Investors.

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Private Equity Wire

JULY 9, 2024

Baird Capital, a global private equity and venture capital arm of Baird, has promoted Louise Kingston to Partner. Kingston, who is part of the firm’s Portfolio Operations team, joined Baird Capital in London as a Director in January 2022. According to a press statement, Kingston leads Baird Capital’s internal data projects, which involve “synergising reporting processes and managing data” She is directly involved with portfolio companies Aura, ecube and JMAN, as well as the rec

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The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Since the internet first began to proliferate three decades ago, Wall Street and investors have been waiting for the next big innovation that can alter the growth trajectory of corporate America. The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution appears to be answering the call for game-changing growth. With AI, software and systems are used in place of humans to oversee or undertake tasks.

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Private Equity Wire

JULY 9, 2024

Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC), a US middle-market infrastructure manager, has held the final close of its inaugural infrastructure growth fund with over $370 million in commitments, surpassing its initial target of $350m. The fund attracted strong support from existing OIC investors who accounted for over 80% of the capital raised, while also adding new investors from Europe and North America.

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Pension Funds Funds Legal Capital 92

The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Shares of audio mixed-signal chipmaker Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) were rising on Tuesday, up as much as 6.3% at one point before pulling back to a 4.1% gain as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Cirrus rose on the back of a positive analyst note, which had good news for this smartphone-related chipmaker, as well as others. Keybanc's checks leave its chip analyst optimistic In a research note published today, Keybanc analyst John Vinh raised his price target on Cirrus to $155, up from a prior target of $120.

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Financial Times M&A

JULY 9, 2024

UK-based ‘magic circle’ law firm posts record annual profits on pick-up in dealmaking

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Law Firms 89

The Motley Fool

JULY 9, 2024

Shares of Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) were plunging in Tuesday trading, down 27.4% as of 12:53 p.m. ET. The consumer products company, which produces brands such as OXO kitchen supplies and Braun shaving products, reported its first fiscal quarter 2025 results today. As you can probably tell from the market's reaction, it wasn't good news. The consumer is pulling back, as are retailers In the first quarter, Helen of Troy reported revenue was down 12.2% to $416.8 million, with adjusted ( non-GAA

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