Key Points It's common for employers to match 401(k) contributions. Giving up that match for even a single year could have major long-term consequences. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › One of the best retirement savings tools available to workers today is none other than the 401(k). The nice thing about these accounts is that they come with generous contributi...
Key Points It's common for employers to match 401(k) contributions. Giving up that match for even a single year could have major long-term consequences. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › One of the best retirement savings tools available to workers today is none other than the 401(k). The nice thing about these accounts is that they come with generous contribution limits and make funding a nest egg seamless. With a 401(k), you simply tell your employer what you want to contribute toward retirement each year, and that money gets pulled from your paycheck before you even get a chance to miss it. It's that simple. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Another huge perk of having a 401(k) plan is getting access to an employer match. But if you leave that match on the table, you might sorely regret it down the line. Don't pass up free money -- ever There's a reason many employers offer a matching 401(k) contribution as part of their benefits package. That free money for retirement can be a huge incentive to stick with the company, as opposed to job-hopping often. Now, there's no single formula for calculating a workplace match. Some companies offer their matches as a percentage of salary. Others offer a flat dollar amount. No matter what your 401(k) match looks like, it's important to try to claim it in full. That's because giving up that money for even a single year could leave you short on retirement savings down the line. Let's say you're 27 years old and are eligible for a $4,000 match in your 401(k). If money is tight, you may be inclined to skip retirement plan contributions that year and catch up the year after. That may not seem like an unreasonable thing to do. But giving up a free $4,000 could hurt you more than expected. Remember, the money in yo...
Virtual private network apps have skyrocketed up the app charts in Australia after a number of adult sites began blocking Australian users in compliance with new online safety codes in effect from Monday. VPN Super Unlimited Proxy moved from 40th in free iPhone apps in Australia on 2 March to 7th place as of Sunday, according to the most recent data from Sensor Tower. Proton VPN moved from 174th t...
Virtual private network apps have skyrocketed up the app charts in Australia after a number of adult sites began blocking Australian users in compliance with new online safety codes in effect from Monday. VPN Super Unlimited Proxy moved from 40th in free iPhone apps in Australia on 2 March to 7th place as of Sunday, according to the most recent data from Sensor Tower. Proton VPN moved from 174th to 19th, and NordVPN went from 189th to 13th. Sign up: AU Breaking News email VPN apps allow a user’s location to appear as somewhere other than where they reside, meaning users trying to access adult sites could use the apps to appear as being outside Australia, to gain access to the sites. On Friday, Guardian Australia reported Aylo-owned sites including RedTube, YouPorn, and Tube8 all had notices on their sites when visited from an Australian IP address, stating they are “not currently accepting new account registrations in your region”. As of Monday, the largest porn site in the world, Pornhub, which is also owned by Aylo, only displayed safe-for-work content on its home page for Australian users who had not logged in. From Monday, adult sites and a range of other services, including AI companion chatbots and app stores, are required to implement age verification for users attempting to access pornography, extremely violent material or self-harm content. The Australian online safety regulator has warned platforms that are not in compliance with the codes could face fines of up to $49.5m for each breach. The codes also extend to social media sites where adult content is allowed. On Elon Musk’s X, users in Australia reported on the weekend that they were being asked to verify their age each time they viewed a post on the social media platform containing adult content. The platform’s regulatory policies for Australia page states the age verification method used is similar to that which it uses for complying with Australia’s under-16s social media ban. That includes a mix of...
Key Points At a current price of $71,000, prediction markets give Bitcoin just a 5% chance of hitting $150,000 by the end of June. Historically, Bitcoin has averaged a return of 27% in the second quarter. Sentiment in the Bitcoin options market is not nearly as bearish as that in online prediction markets. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Given the recent price performance of Bitcoin (CRYPT...
Key Points At a current price of $71,000, prediction markets give Bitcoin just a 5% chance of hitting $150,000 by the end of June. Historically, Bitcoin has averaged a return of 27% in the second quarter. Sentiment in the Bitcoin options market is not nearly as bearish as that in online prediction markets. 10 stocks we like better than Bitcoin › Given the recent price performance of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), it's not surprising that prediction market traders are remarkably bearish on this cryptocurrency's future prospects. Right now, they are giving Bitcoin only a 5% chance (as of March 5) of hitting $150,000 by the end of June. On the surface, that makes sense. After all, Bitcoin is down more than 40% from its all-time high of $126,000 just a few months ago. At a current price of $71,000, Bitcoin would need to more than double to hit the $150,000 mark. Despite all that, there's reason to be optimistic about Bitcoin in 2026. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » What do options traders think? Prediction markets offer useful data and can be used to help estimate the statistical probability of any real-world event actually happening. Yet, there's arguably better data coming from the Bitcoin derivatives market, where Wall Street traders are making big bets on the future price of Bitcoin. There, the sentiment appears to be much more bullish on Bitcoin. Take the Bitcoin options market, for example. Traders appear to be aggressively positioning for a price surge by the end of March. Options traders are buying March 27 expiry Bitcoin call options with strike prices of $80,000 and $90,000. If Bitcoin can get to the $90,000 level within the next 30 days, the outlook for 2026 will change dramatically. Most likely, the odds of Bitcoin hitting a price target of $150,000 by the end of June will spike ac...
Carmen Ruiz alonso/iStock via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a ‘hold,’ I am making the claim that the stock should perform along the lines of the broader market for the foreseeable future. I would say that my call to downgrade Clean Harbors ( CLH ) from a ‘buy’ to a ‘hold’ when I last wrote about it back in June of 2024 ended up being successful in this regard. Since that time, the hazardo...
Carmen Ruiz alonso/iStock via Getty Images Whenever I rate a company a ‘hold,’ I am making the claim that the stock should perform along the lines of the broader market for the foreseeable future. I would say that my call to downgrade Clean Harbors ( CLH ) from a ‘buy’ to a ‘hold’ when I last wrote about it back in June of 2024 ended up being successful in this regard. Since that time, the hazardous waste disposal and oil recycling company has seen its share price jump 25.7%. That's only a little worse than the 27% rise that the S&P 500 experienced over the same window of time. This follows the time during which, while I was bullish about the business, the stock rose 89%, eclipsing the 17.3% rise of the broader market. Fast forward to today, and we have a company that's doing quite well from a revenue and cash flow perspective. Overall profits have seen some weakness. And the big problem for the company is its Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segment, which continues to report declining revenue and profits year after year. Fortunately, the rest of the business is thriving. But when you look at it from a valuation standpoint, it is difficult to get all that excited. Relative to other similar firms, it is priced at a reasonable level. But it's certainly not a value play at these prices. Given this, I think that maintaining it as a ‘hold’ is the most appropriate course of action right now. Not Clean Enough for an Upgrade Although to many investors it might seem to be a boring company, I consider Clean Harbors to be fascinating. I typically like businesses that are on the boring side of the economy. They tend to be overlooked by the market and underappreciated by investors. But that's not always the case. It is worth noting, if you are new to the business, that it essentially is a provider of environmental and industrial solutions that caters to the North American market. This primarily consists of two different operating segments. The first and largest of these is...
An emerging-market stock index dropped more than 10% from its recent peak as escalating Middle East tensions drove oil prices sharply higher and dented risk appetite. Most emerging-market currencies also weakened against the dollar in a flight to safety. MSCI’s emerging-market equity gauge slid as much as 4.2% on Monday, extending its retreat from a late-February peak. South Korea’s Kospi index , ...
An emerging-market stock index dropped more than 10% from its recent peak as escalating Middle East tensions drove oil prices sharply higher and dented risk appetite. Most emerging-market currencies also weakened against the dollar in a flight to safety. MSCI’s emerging-market equity gauge slid as much as 4.2% on Monday, extending its retreat from a late-February peak. South Korea’s Kospi index , still one of the world’s top performers this year, has tumbled more than 18% from its recent high as shares of Samsung Electronics Co. , SK Hynix Inc. and Hyundai Motor Co. fell amid a broader risk-off selloff. Meanwhile, MSCI’s emerging-market currency gauge fell as much as 0.8%, led by declines in the South Korean won , while the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah slid to record lows against the greenback. An index of dollar strength advanced as oil prices topped $100 a barrel, driving demand for safe-haven assets. “Near-term market direction is likely to be driven more by developments in the Middle East than domestic fundamentals, particularly through energy prices and risk sentiment,” Bob Savage , head of markets macro strategy at BNY, wrote in a note. “Net energy importers such as Japan, South Korea and India remain vulnerable to a sustained terms-of-trade shock.”
Hong Kong stocks slumped on Monday, tracking the slide across Asia-Pacific markets, after crude oil crossed US$100 a barrel, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to worsen, stoking inflation and growth concerns in oil-dependent countries. Over the weekend, Israeli air strikes targeted Iranian oil storage depots and energy infrastructure, further escalating supply disruption fears. Since th...
Hong Kong stocks slumped on Monday, tracking the slide across Asia-Pacific markets, after crude oil crossed US$100 a barrel, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to worsen, stoking inflation and growth concerns in oil-dependent countries. Over the weekend, Israeli air strikes targeted Iranian oil storage depots and energy infrastructure, further escalating supply disruption fears. Since the war broke out on February 28, Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments pass. The Brent oil benchmark surged 18 per cent on Monday to around US$109 a barrel, up from the low to mid-US$70 per barrel before the war. Advertisement Asia faces the greatest exposure among energy importers. Nearly 80 to 85 per cent of the oil and liquefied natural gas passing through the strait flowed to Asian markets in 2024, primarily China, India, Japan and South Korea, according to Lazard Geopolitical Advisory. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slumped about 2.9 per cent to 25,042.16 as of 9.48am. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index fell 1.9 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 per cent. Advertisement In Japan, the Nikkei 225 sank nearly 7 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi shed 8 per cent, after a record 12 per cent fall last Wednesday, the biggest drop in the country’s 46-year market history. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 4.3 per cent.