Credit card debt is on the rise (Financial Advisor)
CardHub, a financial website that monitors credit card debt, says credit card debt levels in the US are on pace to increase by another $60 billion by the end of 2015. According to CardHub, such an increase would bring total US credit card debt to just shy of $900 billion, which is the level that at which it becomes unsustainable. CardHub told Financial Advisor, "We erased almost all of our first-quarter pay down, racking up a whopping $32.1 billion in new balances from April through June, the largest second quarter binge since we began conducting the Credit Card Debt Study in 2009." Financial Advisor reports data obtained from CardHub shows the average indebted household's balance is on track to reach $7,813 by the end of 2015, which is $615 below the balance at which delinquencies will begin to skyrocket.
Jim Chanos revealed his newest short (Business Insider)
Famed short-seller Jim Chanos announced Cheniere Energy is his newest short position. The revelation is notable because it pits him against activist investor Carl Ichan, who earlier this month announced a stake of more than 8% in the company and had two of his nominees join the board of directors. Chanos believes Cheniere is a "looming disaster" because liquid natural gas demand isn't growing.
Legg Mason is entering the ETF space (Investment News)
A regulatory filing released on Friday shows Legg Mason is in the process of creating four exchange traded funds. The ETFs - Developed Ex-U.S. Diversified Core ETF, Emerging Markets Diversified Core ETF, the U.S. Diversified Core ETF and the Low Volatility High Dividend ETF - will operate on technology provided by Legg Mason affiliate, QS Investors, according to the filing. Investment News reports the ETFs are part of the growth strategy announced by Legg Mason CEO Joseph Sullivan, who has been in charge of the company for three years.
Bankrate fined $15 million (Think Advisor)
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined Bankrate $15 million to settle accounting fraud charges related to the reporting of its quarter ended June 30, 2012. According to Think Advisor, the SEC alleges three Bankrate executives "engaged in a scheme to fabricate revenues and avoid booking certain expenses to meet analyst estimates for a key financial metric: adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)." As part of the settlement, Bankrate neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing. A 10-K released on June 18, 2015 noted the company had already set aside $15 million for the settlement.
There's an app to help with estate planning (Financial Planning)
Everplans Professional has launched an app that allows people to "gather their estate plans, health care proxies, financial account information, final wishes -- even their obituaries -- in one place," according to Financial Planning. The app costs $2,500 per year, and allows professionals to create custom dashboards for up to 200 clients. Financial Planning says those who are worried about security should know there is a two-step verification process during login.