Investment/Trends

Facebook and Google confirmed as victims of $100M phishing scam

"Last month, the Department of Justice charged a Lithuanian man for fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering after documents revealed he scammed two major tech companies for over $100 million by masquerading as a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer. A Fortune report this week identified those two affected companies as Facebook and Google." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacebook and Google confirmed as victims of $100M phishing scam

Trump announces trade war with Canada, retroactive 20% tax on lumber

"Claiming the U.S. has been 'taken advantage of' under the Clinton-era NAFTA trade deal, President Trump Monday night opened a trade war with Canada, announcing a retroactive 20 percent 'tax' on lumber imports, and promising a similar tax on Canadian milk. 'Canada has treated us very unfairly,' the president said in impromptu remarks at a reception for conservative journalists. 'We have been taken so advantage of,' he said, speaking it the Roosevelt Room. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who accompanied the president into the reception, said that the 'countervailing duty' would be retroactive 90 days." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump announces trade war with Canada, retroactive 20% tax on lumber

The American Dream appears to be more attainable in Mexico and China

"70% of millennials in China and 46% of Mexican millennials own a home versus 35% of young adults in the U.S. Young people in China are benefiting from wage growth that is projected to outpace the rate of home price appreciation set last year. And the U.S. doesn’t just fall behind China — France (41%) also came out ahead. In the United Arab Emirates, only 26% of millennials own a home, and Australia does only slightly better at 28%. (The average millennial U.S. homeownership rate in a separate WalletHub study rested around 40%.)" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe American Dream appears to be more attainable in Mexico and China

Want to see how America is changing? Property taxes hold the answer

"In 2016, United Van Lines reported, New Jersey was the state with the most 'outbound' movers, followed by Illinois, New York and Connecticut. The top ten 'inbound states' included some with a higher tax burden, like #5 Vermont, but also Nevada and South Carolina, which rank #43 and #44, respectively." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWant to see how America is changing? Property taxes hold the answer

IRS Seized $17 Million From Innocent Business Owners Using Asset Forfeiture

"The full scope of the cash seizures—and the overwhelming amount of cases involving innocent people—have not been revealed until now. The inspector general found money seized and forfeited by the IRS was legally obtained in 91 percent of a sample of 278 structuring investigations it reviewed occurring between fiscal years 2012 and 2014. Altogether, those funds totalled $17.1 million and involved 231 cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Seized $17 Million From Innocent Business Owners Using Asset Forfeiture

Trump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals

"The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows U.S. companies to employ graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics. USCIS said that during the suspension period, individuals still can request expedited consideration, but must meet certain criteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe financial loss to a company or said individual. The United States currently caps H-1B visas at 65,000 a year, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who have earned advanced college degrees in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals