Latest news with #CreightonUniversity
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mark Cuban Says Bitcoin Is a ‘Better Buy' Amid Stock Market Uncertainty — Is It Time To Invest?
Bitcoin has been getting more popular. Financial firms that previously rejected cryptocurrency have now embraced bitcoin with open arms. Discover More: Find Out: More money experts are voicing their support for the cryptocurrency, too — including Mark Cuban. The business mogul has been bullish on cryptocurrencies for a while and, in an April post on X, referred to bitcoin as a better buying opportunity than stocks in the current market. Here's what investors should consider before investing in bitcoin. Robert R. Johnson is a professor of finance at Creighton University's Heider College of Business. He doesn't agree with Cuban's take on bitcoin and invites investors to understand their core motivation for buying any asset. 'The question you should ask yourself in committing funds to stocks or bitcoin is: What is your goal — your motivation? Are you investing, or are you speculating? My belief is that one cannot truly invest in cryptocurrencies; one can only speculate,' he explained. If you believe bitcoin has long-term potential, then it may be worth an investment. However, if you are only buying bitcoin because it's been going up lately and has delivered exceptional gains for long-term investors, you need a better reason to buy. If you can't come up with a good motivation to buy bitcoin, it's best to stay on the sidelines. Read Next: Johnson also mentioned another benefit of stocks: You can look at their financials and assess a company's performance against peers. 'Stocks are more enticing, because they produce something. In other words, if you buy a share of stock, you are entitled to a share of the earnings of a company. Bitcoin doesn't produce anything,' he explained. Johnson isn't the only one with this take. David Materazzi, CEO of Galileo FX, is also skeptical of bitcoin. He views it as a collectible that produces nothing and has no earnings, dividends or output. He recommended looking at stocks instead of crypto, while explaining the benefits of stock buybacks: 'Buybacks increase your stake in a real business. Same earnings, fewer shares. You own more. That's value,' he said. 'Bitcoin has no earnings. No board. No cash. Nothing gets returned to holders. Nothing compounds. It just sits there. Price moves only if someone else wants in.' Bitcoin could receive a nice boost if the Federal Reserve decides to cut rates. Inflation has remained relatively low for a few months despite tariffs, and if this trend continues, the Fed may soon reduce rates. However, lower interest rates aren't exclusively bullish for bitcoin. They effect the entire stock market. 'Bitcoin reacts to money printing, regulation and hype,' Materazzi said. 'Stocks respond to performance. Earnings growth, capital investment, buybacks, execution. That's the gap.' In Johnson's book 'Invest With the Fed,' he and his co-authors, Gerald Jensen and Luis Garcia-Feikoo, reviewed data from 1966 to 2023 and determined the most promising sectors when the Fed lowers rates. 'The best-performing sectors in a falling interest rate environment were automobiles (30.9%), apparel (27.3%) and retail (25.8%),' he explained. 'In addition, small stocks outperformed large stocks during falling interest rate environments. The smallest quintile of stocks returned 30.1% during falling rate environments, while the largest quintile returned 15.6%.' More From GOBankingRates How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State? 4 Affordable Car Brands You Won't Regret Buying in 2025 This article originally appeared on Mark Cuban Says Bitcoin Is a 'Better Buy' Amid Stock Market Uncertainty — Is It Time To Invest? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Americans Are Worried About These 3 Aspects of the Economy — Should They Be?
Inflation continues to weigh heavily on Americans' minds, coming in at or near the top among economic worries in recent surveys. Whether it merits that level of worry is open for debate. Inflation topped a recent YouGov/Economist poll on Americans' biggest concerns, not just for the economy but overall. In a Clever Real Estate survey on consumer sentiment, 94% of Americans listed inflation as a top economic worry. Be Aware: Read Next: While high prices — or at least prices that feel high — continue to strain budgets, not all economists believe that level of concern is warranted. Robert R. Johnson, a professor of finance at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, advises turning that particular worry meter down for now and seeing how the Trump administration's economic proposals play out. 'Americans should not fear inflation currently,' Johnson said. 'But given the tax cuts advocated by the Trump administration, inflation could be a significant problem longer term. The budget deficit will rise dramatically if Trump's tax cuts are enacted. Additionally, inflation will be stoked if significant tariffs are in place for any length of time.' GOBankingRates breaks down the larger worries around the U.S. economy, and whether Americans should be on high alert or not. Price increases have cooled compared to spikes seen in recent years, though many costs are still higher than they were before the surge. As measured by the Consumer Price Index, inflation rose 2.3% over the 12-month period that ended in April. That's actually the lowest increase for the all-items index since February of 2021. It's also down from the 2.4% increase for the 12-month period that ended in March. Belinda Román, an associate professor of economics at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, noted that some level of inflation is always expected, and 2.3% is close to levels targeted by Federal Reserve. Nevertheless many of us have come to define inflation as prices feeling too high, rather than prices increasing significantly. 'A lot of the economy is perception,' Román said. 'People may think inflation has run away, when it hasn't really.' 'We notice it at certain times of year,' she added, citing increasing gas prices as summer draws closer. Try This: The only item listed more often than inflation in Clever Real Estate's survey of economic worries? The rising cost of all types of insurance. A whopping 95% of respondents listed increasing insurance costs among their top economic concerns. Homeowners' insurance rates surged by 24% between 2021 and 2024, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. These increases haven't been limited to disaster-prone regions, with rates climbing nationwide due to inflation and higher repair costs. That said, a recent spate of disasters is having a widespread impact. 'This is putting a lot of pressure on insurers,' Román said. 'Even if it's not happening where you are, it's reverberating throughout the country.' Auto insurance has also seen sharp increases, with premiums up 0.6% in April and 6.4 over the last twelve months ending in April, based on the Consumer Price Index. 'There is no magic bullet to control these costs,' Johnson said. 'The rising cost of insurance is certainly changing the attractiveness of certain housing markets, particularly for retirees.' Cuts proposed by the Trump administration were also prominent in Clever Real Estate's survey on top economic worries. Among those figures: Only about a third of respondents supported recent mass layoffs at many federal agencies, with 82% expressing worry about federal spending cuts. Three quarters of those surveyed said they would feel an impact on themselves or their families if cuts reduced assistance programs like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, and benefits for veterans. 'There is a great deal of uncertainty with respect to federal government spending, particularly programs like Medicaid,' Johnson said. 'Historically it has been political suicide to advocate for cuts in programs like Social Security or Medicaid. But there is a great deal of uncertainty with respect to the future of these programs in the current political environment.' 'I wouldn't say it was irrational for those who are retiring to claim Social Security earlier than they might have, given the uncertain political environment,' he continued. Cuts to Medicaid and food stamps could affect millions of low-income Americans, forcing states to shoulder more of the costs or reduce benefits. It's all part of a philosophical debate about who should be responsible, and who should pay. 'We haven't done this since… you may need to go back to Reagan,' Román said. 'We're having this national conversation again.' More From GOBankingRates These Cars May Seem Expensive, but They Rarely Need Repairs This article originally appeared on Americans Are Worried About These 3 Aspects of the Economy — Should They Be? Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Americans Are Worried About These 3 Aspects of the Economy — Should They Be?
Inflation continues to weigh heavily on Americans' minds, coming in at or near the top among economic worries in recent surveys. Whether it merits that level of worry is open for debate. Inflation topped a recent YouGov/Economist poll on Americans' biggest concerns, not just for the economy but overall. In a Clever Real Estate survey on consumer sentiment, 94% of Americans listed inflation as a top economic worry. Be Aware: Read Next: While high prices — or at least prices that feel high — continue to strain budgets, not all economists believe that level of concern is warranted. Robert R. Johnson, a professor of finance at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, advises turning that particular worry meter down for now and seeing how the Trump administration's economic proposals play out. 'Americans should not fear inflation currently,' Johnson said. 'But given the tax cuts advocated by the Trump administration, inflation could be a significant problem longer term. The budget deficit will rise dramatically if Trump's tax cuts are enacted. Additionally, inflation will be stoked if significant tariffs are in place for any length of time.' GOBankingRates breaks down the larger worries around the U.S. economy, and whether Americans should be on high alert or not. Price increases have cooled compared to spikes seen in recent years, though many costs are still higher than they were before the surge. As measured by the Consumer Price Index, inflation rose 2.3% over the 12-month period that ended in April. That's actually the lowest increase for the all-items index since February of 2021. It's also down from the 2.4% increase for the 12-month period that ended in March. Belinda Román, an associate professor of economics at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, noted that some level of inflation is always expected, and 2.3% is close to levels targeted by Federal Reserve. Nevertheless many of us have come to define inflation as prices feeling too high, rather than prices increasing significantly. 'A lot of the economy is perception,' Román said. 'People may think inflation has run away, when it hasn't really.' 'We notice it at certain times of year,' she added, citing increasing gas prices as summer draws closer. Try This: The only item listed more often than inflation in Clever Real Estate's survey of economic worries? The rising cost of all types of insurance. A whopping 95% of respondents listed increasing insurance costs among their top economic concerns. Homeowners' insurance rates surged by 24% between 2021 and 2024, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. These increases haven't been limited to disaster-prone regions, with rates climbing nationwide due to inflation and higher repair costs. That said, a recent spate of disasters is having a widespread impact. 'This is putting a lot of pressure on insurers,' Román said. 'Even if it's not happening where you are, it's reverberating throughout the country.' Auto insurance has also seen sharp increases, with premiums up 0.6% in April and 6.4 over the last twelve months ending in April, based on the Consumer Price Index. 'There is no magic bullet to control these costs,' Johnson said. 'The rising cost of insurance is certainly changing the attractiveness of certain housing markets, particularly for retirees.' Cuts proposed by the Trump administration were also prominent in Clever Real Estate's survey on top economic worries. Among those figures: Only about a third of respondents supported recent mass layoffs at many federal agencies, with 82% expressing worry about federal spending cuts. Three quarters of those surveyed said they would feel an impact on themselves or their families if cuts reduced assistance programs like Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, and benefits for veterans. 'There is a great deal of uncertainty with respect to federal government spending, particularly programs like Medicaid,' Johnson said. 'Historically it has been political suicide to advocate for cuts in programs like Social Security or Medicaid. But there is a great deal of uncertainty with respect to the future of these programs in the current political environment.' 'I wouldn't say it was irrational for those who are retiring to claim Social Security earlier than they might have, given the uncertain political environment,' he continued. Cuts to Medicaid and food stamps could affect millions of low-income Americans, forcing states to shoulder more of the costs or reduce benefits. It's all part of a philosophical debate about who should be responsible, and who should pay. 'We haven't done this since… you may need to go back to Reagan,' Román said. 'We're having this national conversation again.' More From GOBankingRates These Cars May Seem Expensive, but They Rarely Need Repairs This article originally appeared on Americans Are Worried About These 3 Aspects of the Economy — Should They Be? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Saving Every Dollar for Retirement Is Just Silly — Why You Should Spend on Enjoying Life Now
Saving for retirement is important, of course, but saving every spare dollar for that purpose can actually create imbalance, 'especially when it starts to rob your present life of joy, meaning or opportunities for growth,' according to Melissa Murphy Pavone, a financial planner at Mindful Financial Planners. Read Next: Find Out: There are other considerations that should go into thinking about how you spend for the future and for today. Pavone and Robert R. Johnson, PhD, a certified financial advisor and professor of finance in the Heider College of Business at Creighton University, suggested you have to be flexible and strategic in approaching your spending. The big challenge for any person who has enough financial stability to both save for the future and spend leisurely in the present is how to balance that. Johnson pointed to the study of behavioral finance, which shows that 'human beings aren't rational profit maximizing machines but often succumb to behavioral biases.' One of the biggest behavioral biases, of course, is the bias toward immediate gratification over delayed gratification, he said. Because so many people tend to struggle to 'imagine their future self and give up that vacation or new car today in lieu of having money to retire on in the distant future,' most financial advice urges people toward doing the more diligent thing. However, Johnson pointed out 'the same can be true in reverse if one doesn't enjoy life in the present state and sacrifices current pleasures for future pleasures. The result can be mentally debilitating.' Be Aware: Pavone agreed. She has worked with people who are 'maxing out every retirement account but feel burnt out, disconnected from their families or frustrated because they're missing out on meaningful experiences.' Her advice is that, if you're always living in a 'someday' mindset, you might miss the very moments that make life rich. Pavone said it's best to strike a balance between 'living well today and being prepared for tomorrow.' That balancing act of 'honoring your past, investing in your future and living mindfully in the present,' is what most investors need to navigate. The goal of a thoughtful financial life isn't just to retire early, it's to live fully at every stage, Pavone said. 'That means aligning your investments, both financial and emotional, with what truly matters to you.' So long as you are financially stable, and have the luxury of extra dollars to spend, Pavone suggested you ask yourself the following questions. What do you value most right now? What brings you joy, purpose or peace? What are your biggest fears and are you trying to out-save them? The trick is determining how to tie available discretionary income to these questions without sacrificing future goals. Pavone uses a strategy she called 'financial modeling' to create 'permission' for intentional spending today without jeopardizing retirement security. 'Often, it's not a matter of either/or, it's about setting boundaries, creating margin and making sure the right dollars are going to the right places,' she suggested. This often looks like building in 'fun funds' or 'lifestyle reserves' into retirement models, so spending on joy is planned, not guilt-inducing. An area where spending now can pay big dividends later is on health and fitness, Johnson said. 'If one can improve their physical fitness, it can lead to better health in retirement and require less spending on healthcare in retirement,' he said. Additionally, though it might not seem as 'fun,' Johnson said that establishing a relationship with a qualified and credentialed financial advisor 'can be money well spent' because it helps you determine if you're on the right financial path. Living well today doesn't mean sacrificing your future, if you plan with intention. A balanced financial life makes space for both smart investing and meaningful spending. More From GOBankingRates These 10 Used Cars Will Last Longer Than an Average New Vehicle Sources Melissa Murphy Pavone, Mindful Financial Partners Robert R. Johnson, Creighton University This article originally appeared on Saving Every Dollar for Retirement Is Just Silly — Why You Should Spend on Enjoying Life Now
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Surgeon, 63, blows up his gilded existence with idiotic mid-life crisis that left beautiful young woman dead
A middle-aged Nebraska surgeon ruined his enviable life after deciding to take part in a street-racing contest that left a 22 year-old woman dead. Mark Carlson, 63, was sentenced to 10-14 years in prison after he was convicted of the manslaughter killing of Anna Bosma in September, 2023. The thrillseeking medic was racing another driver when he lost control of his Mercedes and slammed head-on into Bosma's car at over 100mph, killing her on impact. Bosma's boyfriend was in the passenger seat and survived the deadly collision. The couple, who lived in South Dakota, was in Omaha for a Labor Day getaway when tragedy struck. Carlson was the director of the Center for Advanced Surgical Technology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center before the crash. He was married to a respected lawyer, Sarah Gloden, who is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Creighton University School of Law. But the two separated sometime after the tragedy, with Gloden keeping their $880,000 mansion, where she now lives with her sons. Carlson apologized to Bosma's family during his sentencing on Thursday. 'I now want to apologize to Anna's parents, family, friends and community for her death,' he told the court. 'I am sorry for the lateness of this apology, which comes 21 months after Anna's passing. I would give anything to change the events of Sept. 1, 2023.' Carlson's lawyers had claimed that he had fainted before the crash and the car's lane-assist technology kept him on the road while speeding. However, an engineer testified that the lane-assist was turned off in the car, as reported by First Alert 6. The doctor has never offered any explanation for why a middle-aged man with a great career, beautiful family and perfect life would risk it all for a quick thrill more becoming of a reckless teenager. The other driver, Cameron Robinson, was charged in the crash and served as a witness against Carlson. He was sentenced to six months of probation for willful reckless driving. While the February conviction carried a possible sentence of up to 20 years, Carlson will have the possibility of parole in five. Bosma's relatives packed the courtroom and wore shirts honoring her legacy during the sentencing this week. Her mother Abigail told the court: 'The first two weeks after Anna was killed was the worst of my life. The week and a half of the trial was a very close second.' She added: 'We wanted to wear something that would identify us as a group. 'But Anna wasn't a sad person. She was a very happy, vibrant person and we wanted to show that and carry on her legacy.' Regarding Carlson's apology in court, Bosma's father Justin told KETV: 'It was nice to hear, but it came kind of late at basically in a time when it impacted his sentencing.'
