FINANCIAL ADVISOR INSIGHTS: A fund manager lured investors into his alleged ponzi scheme with the promise of pre-IPO Twitter and Uber shares
SEC charges man in ponzi scheme who offered shares of Twitter and Uber (Financial Advisor)
Gregory W. Gray Jr. and his firms Archipel Capital LLC and BIM Management LP allegedly stole millions of dollars from would-be investors. Mr. Gray reportedly took $5.3 million dollars from would-be investors who thought they were receiving shares of social media giant Twitter prior to its initial public offering. Gray then used $5 million earmarked for Uber shares to refund the Twitter investors who wanted their money returned.
Rates are likely to rise in June or September (Bloomberg)
Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer believes a rate hike in June or September is looking increasingly likely. Fischer spoke in New York before the a monetary policy forum and suggested, "it seems those two months get the main weight of probability." He made sure to add, "things could happen" which would change the date for liftoff.
Why do policymakers want a weaker currency? (Charles Schwab)
Central banks around the world have been cutting interest rates in an effort to stimulate their economies and prevent the onset of deflation. The low interest rate policies of these central banks have created a so-called 'currency war' and a race to debase currencies. Charles Schwab suggests three implications of a weaker currency include: "export growth, rising inflation, and relief for debtors."
Wait times for tax help from the IRS are going up (Reuters)
A smaller Internal Revenue Service budget has caused the layoff of roughly 12,000 employees since 2010. New tax laws always lead to a flurry of last-minute preparation questions. "The National Taxpayer Advocate earlier this year predicted that about half of all hotline calls wouldn't be answered and average wait times would stretch beyond 30 minutes. Compare that to fiscal year 2004, when the IRS answered 87 percent of calls with average wait times of less than three minutes."
Advisor confidence is rising (Financial Planning)
According to Financial Planning, advisor confidence is on the rise. The company's Retirement Advisor Confidence Index edged up to 53.3 in February (52.2 previous). However, the survey showed investors still remained skittish about the global economy, and advisors are "attempting to keep fees as low as possible so as to benefit clients' returns - particularly in these volatile markets."