Japan's Stocks Cling to Gains After Election, Nuclear Tailwinds
While the vote's outcome was in line with most investors' expectations, worries about future policy direction, particularly around government spending and trade, are weighing on sentiment.
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US stocks end mixed as GM shares tumble and S&P 500 reaches record high
Wall Street shares ended mixed on July 22, with steep losses in General Motors and a gain in Tesla as investors focused on recent and upcoming quarterly reports and watched for signs of progress in U.S. trade discussions. GM tumbled after the automaker reported a $1 billion hit from tariffs to its quarterly results, adding more fuel to investor concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade policy. Shares of Ford Motor also fell. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on January 22, 2025 in New York City. Stocks continued an upward swing opening up high a day after the Dow Jones closed up 500 points and the S&P 500 approaching an all-time high. The rise comes after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison made an announcement alongside President Donald Trump that they will create a new company, called Stargate, to grow artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Tesla climbed a day before its quarterly report, while Alphabet also reporting on Wednesday, also rose. Optimism about heavy spending on artificial intelligence has underpinned a rally in Wall Street's most valuable companies, with the S&P 500 trading around record highs. "The market is consolidating recent gains and is in a bit of a holding pattern with some huge catalysts over the next week or two, including the August 1 tariff deadline and a lot of important Magnificent Seven earnings," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird. Other Big Tech stocks lost ground, with Meta Platforms and Microsoft both closing lower. Shares of RTX dropped after the aerospace and defense giant t from Trump's trade war despite strong demand for its engines and aftermarket services. Lockheed Martin tumbled after its quarterly profit plunged by about 80%. U.S. trade policy remains a major point of uncertainty for investors and companies as Trump's self-imposed August 1 deadline for many countries to reach agreements with the White House approaches. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterpart next week to discuss an extension to the August 12 deadline set for tariffs on imports from China. Other trade negotiations appeared stalled, with optimism for a breakthrough deal with India waning and EU officials weighing countermeasures against the United States. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 4.30 points, or 0.07%, to end at 6,309.90 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 81.24 points, or 0.39%, to 20,892.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 175.77 points, or 0.40%, to 44,498.84. Philip Morris slumped after reporting second-quarter revenue below expectations, as shipments of its ZYN nicotine pouches disappointed investors. Analysts on average expected S&P 500 companies to report a 7% increase in earnings for the second quarter, with technology heavyweights driving much of that gain, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.
CNET
20 minutes ago
- CNET
What Are 'Trump Accounts'? Breaking Down the Big Beautiful Bill's Newborn Savings Accounts
These new investment savings account will be started for every newborn automatically over the next few years. Getty Images Amid the divisiveness surrounding the passage of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful" spending bill, one portion of the legislation seems like it would be agreeable to pretty much everyone: a new type of investment savings account for newborns, which the federal government will seed with money upfront. That sounds like a win for most folks, but are these accounts all they're cracked up to be? And how will they actually work? Most of the conversations and conflicts surrounding the Big Beautiful Bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, largely ignored these accounts, focusing on the potential damages from sweeping Medicaid cuts and the bolstering of immigration enforcement funding. As polarizing as those elements of the bill were, these new savings accounts, which congressional Republicans attempted to brand as "Trump accounts," had bipartisan support. In the past, prominent Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Sen. Cory Booker have suggested similar ideas to help parents begin building up savings for their children. These aren't going to be free money that new parents can use right away, as there are a number of rules about what can be done with the money. Additionally, the policy will only be in place for a few years unless extended. With all that in mind, keep reading for all the details you'll need to know about the so-called "Trump accounts" and what they mean for your family. For more, find out what recent political moves might mean for your student loan payments. Who's eligible for these new accounts? You can open one of these accounts in your child's name as soon as they're born, and so long as you, your spouse and the child have valid Social Security numbers. If the child's parents aren't married, only the parent opening the account and the child need Social Security numbers. As the policy currently stands, these accounts can only be opened for children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. It's another example of a common theme highlighted by critics of the Big Beautiful Bill: benefits set to end around the time Trump will leave the White House and drawbacks kicking in once someone new is in office. Whatever the political machinations behind the timeline might be, just keep them in mind if you have a kid later than the start of 2029, since the policy might not be extended. What do the "Trump accounts" do? These accounts allow parents to contribute up to $5,000 a year towards a fund their child will have access to later in life. As investment accounts -- think a 401(k) for your new baby as opposed to a standard savings account -- they have the potential to accrue a lot more value over the years through capital gains and dividends, but they could also lose value depending on how markets move. Other entities, such as the parents' employers, can also contribute to these accounts, up to $2,500 a year. One of the most publicized and desirable aspects of these accounts is that, once one is opened for a new child, the federal government will seed it with $1,000 to get things rolling. This is why the savings accounts have gotten a thumbs-up from some experts, even if parents never add anything else to the account. "Someone is giving me $1,000 for my kid? That's a no-brainer. Who turns away free money?" Jaime Eckels of Plante Moran Financial Advisors said in an interview with CNBC. "From there, you'll have to decide what additional savings you'll have for your child." It's unlikely, however, that a significant number of Americans will be able to use these accounts to their fullest, since, as the Urban Institute noted, one-third don't currently have over $2,000 in savings or have surplus income high enough to make stock investments. Still though, you'll probably be happier to have that $1,000 from the government even if you aren't able to save much on your own. The Milken Institute estimated that the minimum seed from the government could grow to as much as $8,000 for your child over the course of 20 years. How can I open one of these accounts? You should be able to open one at any bank or participating financial institution. If no one gets around to it, the government will open one for the child automatically the first time you file a tax return with the new baby claimed as a dependent. When can money be withdrawn from one of these accounts? The holder of the account (that is, your child) can't withdraw any funds from them until they are at least 18 years old. Funds withdrawn from the account will be subject to the standard capital gains tax, and an additional 10% penalty until they're 59 and a half or older, similar to withdrawals from a 401(k) account. However, there are a number of notable life expenses that the money can be used for penalty-free, including higher-education costs and expenses incurred due to things like disability, domestic violence or natural disasters. Up to $10,000 can be withdrawn penalty-free to be put towards the purchase of a home, and $5,000 can be withdrawn to cover the costs of having a baby. For more, keep an eye on inflation with CNET's daily tariff impact tracker.
Bloomberg
21 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Is Sri Lanka Turning the Page on Its Violent Past?
Delve into the recent crop of prize-winning Sri Lankan literature and you will find a country mired in grief. From Shehan Karunatilaka's 2022 Booker prize-winning The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, to last year's winner of the UK Women's Prize for Fiction, Brotherless Night, by V.V. Ganeshananthan, to the 2023 Miles Franklin Award winner Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran, this tiny island nation is reckoning with its past. The 26-year civil war between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the government ended in May 2009 without any real attempt to investigate abuses or heal fractured communities. The military has not been held accountable for the atrocities they committed — including torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The LTTE leadership died in battle or were executed, so their use of summary killings, bombings, abductions and child soldiers will never be investigated.
