Today closed out the final day of trading for the decade, so what does 2020 have in store for investors? Chris Konstantinos, Chief Investment Strategist and director of International Equity at RiverFront Investment Group joined The Final Round to discuss.
A real estate company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits nationwide claiming that longstanding practices by real estate brokerages forced U.S. homeowners to pay artificially inflated broker commissions when they sold their homes. HomeServices of America said Friday that the proposed settlement would shield its 51 brands, nearly 70,000 real estate agents and over 300 franchisees from similar litigation. The real estate company had been a major holdout after several other big brokerage operators, including Keller Williams Realty, Re/Max, Compass and Anywhere Real Estate, agreed to settle.
Thousands took to the streets in downtown Budapest on Friday to demand child-protection reform, led by Peter Magyar, a former government insider who recently launched a political movement challenging the prime minister. Magyar swooped into Hungary's political scene in February as the government of Prime Minister Victor Orban was already reeling from a sex abuse scandal at a children's home that led to the resignation of President Katalin Novak. As a follow-up of the scandal, ruling party Fidesz submitted a draft bill to the legislature on Tuesday that would mandate stricter penalties for sexual abuse of children, including the inability to obtain parole.
The first week of arguments in Donald Trump's criminal trial was wrapping up on Friday following four days of gripping testimony from a colorful ex-tabloid publisher who said he squashed potentially embarrassing stories about the former president.- 'Rigged trial' - The high-stakes trial requires Trump to report to the drafty Manhattan courtroom multiple times a week, restricting his time on the campaign trail less than seven months before his likely election rematch with President Joe Biden.
The China-based owner of TikTok is facing a new law that will force it to either sell the wildly popular video platform, or face a U.S. ban.
Popping your zits can cause a host of problems. Here's what dermatologists say to do instead.
A Baltimore publishing company has filed a class action claim arguing the owner and manager of the massive container ship that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month should have to pay damages to businesses adversely impacted by the collapse. The claim, filed on behalf of American Publishing LLC, largely echoes an earlier filing by attorneys for Baltimore’s mayor and city council that called for the ship’s owner and manager to be held fully liable for the deadly disaster. Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the Dali, the vessel that veered off course and slammed into the bridge.
A proposed ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care for minors also would bar state employees from promoting it — or even children's social transitioning. Teachers and social workers who support LGBTQ+ rights worry about they will be disciplined or fired for helping kids who are exploring their gender identities. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the proposed ban, and top Republicans anticipated Friday that the GOP-controlled Legislature will attempt to override her action before lawmakers adjourn for the year Tuesday.
Thousands of Spanish journalists came out Friday in support of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife following Sánchez’s announcement that he was considering his future as premier after a court opened preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations. Sánchez, who is to announce his future Monday, blamed the judicial probe on “spurious” attacks by right and far-right opponents in the media and political parties. In support, several thousand journalists and writers signed an online manifesto saying, “the attack by the media and judicial extreme right against the wife of the President of the Government is a new attempt to subvert the popular will expressed at the polls through illicit means.”
The US Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that about 1 out of 5 milk samples it has tested from grocery stores has tested positive for gene fragments from the H5N1 bird flu virus infecting dairy cows, according to an updated statement from the agency.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday a $6 billion long-term military aid package for Ukraine — the largest to date — which will allow the US to purchase new equipment produced by the American defense industry for the Ukrainian military.
The UN-agency said countries should implement infection control measures and procedures to reduce human exposure to birds and mammals potentially infected with bird flu or other animal influenza viruses. The WHO said it strongly advises that people consume only pasteurized milk, in which bacteria and viruses have been killed, and avoid consuming raw milk. One in five commercial milk samples tested in a nationwide survey contained particles of the H5N1 virus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late on Thursday, suggesting the outbreak is more widespread in the country than previously thought.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $6 billion in new military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Washington rushes to fill gaps left by months of limited American assistance."I'm... pleased to announce today an additional commitment of $6 billion through our Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative," Austin told journalists following the conclusion of a virtual meeting of dozens of Kyiv's international supporters.
Tesla is facing another setback with its Autopilot software, a system that CEO Elon Musk is betting on to power his robotaxi future.
The Netherlands’ outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte was in Turkey on Friday, seeking support from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the Dutch official's bid for the position of NATO secretary general. Incumbent NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014, is nearing the end of his term.
Pope Francis is taking his call for artificial intelligence to be developed and used according to ethical lines to the Group of 7 industrialized nations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Friday that Francis had accepted her invitation to attend the G7 Summit in Puglia in June. Meloni, who currently heads the G7, is hosting the June 13-15 summit of leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States.
Flooding and heavy rains in Kenya have killed at least 70 people since mid-March, a government spokesperson said Friday, twice as many as were reported earlier this week. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. Kenya's government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Friday refuted claims that hundreds of people have died in the ongoing flooding and said the official tally now stands at 70.
Israel's war against Hamas has sparked anger and division around the world, including on US campuses, where some Jewish students feel targeted and abused while others have taken leading roles in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.Soph Askanase, a Jewish pro-Palestinian protestor, has been suspended from Columbia and arrested for trespassing.
Richard Cordray, the official in charge of the Federal Student Aid office, which oversees the FAFSA, will conclude his tenure at the end of June.
It could still be another two years before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection begin pumping sand onto North Wildwood's critically eroded shores. In January, parts of the dunes reached only to the ankles of Mayor Patrick Rosenello.
Relentlessly rising auto insurance rates are squeezing car owners and stoking inflation. Auto insurance rates rose 2.6% in March and are up 22% from a year ago. Premium costs have been marching steadily higher since 2022, even as inflation at the consumer level steadily cooled from its 9.1% peak in the middle of that year.
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