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Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Suriname poised for cash inflow from newly discovered oil
Suriname, South America's smallest country, is preparing for an inflow of cash from a huge offshore oil find, with the president insisting the population will receive a direct share of the wealth. The Dutch-speaking nation of about 600,000 people expects to rake in about $10 billion in the next decade or two, with crude extraction set to begin in 2028. Projected output is 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) -- up from about 5,000 to 6,000 -- in a country where one in five people live in poverty. "From 2028, we'll be an oil-producing country," President Chan Santokhi told AFP ahead of elections Sunday for lawmakers who will choose the next president. He is one of several candidates in the running to steer the former Dutch colony wedged between Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana. "It will be a huge amount of income for the country," Santokhi said. "We are now able... to do more for our people so that everyone can be part of the growth of the nation." Besides investing in agriculture, tourism, health, education and green energy, some of the oil money is being paid directly to Surinamese citizens under a program Santokhi has dubbed "Royalties for Everyone" -- RVI for its Dutch acronym. "It's their share," he said. Victorine Moti, a finance ministry official responsible for the fund, told AFP: "The whole population of Suriname is eligible for this program, everybody who was born before the 1st of January 2025 and had the Surinamese nationality." "In figures, it's 572,000 people." All eligible citizens can register to receive a one-off payment equivalent to $750 paid into an account with an interest yield of seven percent per year. "With the certificate, they can go to the bank and they have two options: they can withdraw the money or they can choose to save. Hopefully, they will try to save and not cash out immediately," said Moti. The first beneficiaries are the elderly and disabled, paid with funds advanced by banks. Next in line will be people 60 and older, then -- once the revenues start flowing in 2028 -- the biggest group of people aged 18-59. People who save their money for 10 years will receive a bonus of $150 on top of interest earned. - 'Enjoy my money' - Naslem Doelsan, 80, has already received her certificate and told AFP she will cash out "to buy good food and some household stuff." "Why do I need... money in the bank? I'm already old and I want to enjoy my money," she said. Fellow retiree Jai Abas, 91, told AFP he would keep the money in the bank for now, and maybe give his granddaughter, who lives in the Netherlands, some "pocket money" when she visits. "What would I do with money? I am old. I can't go anywhere," said Abas, adding his only vice is cigarettes. Anuschka Tolud, a 38-year-old in a wheelchair, said she would save her payout in the hopes it can one day augment her $113 monthly welfare payout. Santokhi had previously spoken about avoiding the so-called "oil curse," also known as "Dutch disease," that had befallen other resource-rich countries, such as Venezuela, Angola and Algeria, that were unable to turn oil wealth into economic success. Norway became an exception by creating a sovereign wealth fund. Suriname, the president said, would take a "unique" approach, well aware that its crude resources will last only about 40 years. "We have income from the profit of the oil, we will have income from our fiscal revenues and we will have income from the royalties," he said. - Property of the nation - In 2024, French multinational TotalEnergies committed to investing $10.5 billion in the offshore oil field of GranMorgu in the Atlantic Ocean. An article in the Surinamese Constitution states that "natural riches and resources are property of the nation and shall be used to promote economic, social and cultural development." But some worry that the benefits may not find their way to all citizens, especially those who live in rural areas, Indigenous communities and Maroons -- descendants of African slaves. "I myself am curious as to how funds and bureaucracy will be accessed by Indigenous and Maroon communities," Giovanna Montenegro, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Binghamton University in New York State, told AFP. str-lab/mlr/sla/lb Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Globe and Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
CB Raises Dividend, Okays Buyback: Is the Stock a Buy Now?
Chubb Limited 's CB board of directors recently approved a 6.6% hike in its dividend to $3.88 per share or 97 cents per share quarterly. The meatier dividend will be paid out on July 3, 2025, to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2025. The company's existing dividend yield of 1.3% is better than the industry average of 0.3%, which makes the stock an attractive pick for yield-seeking investors. Chubb Limited Dividend Yield (TTM) Chubb Limited dividend-yield-ttm | Chubb Limited Quote Management also authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program effective July 1, 2025. The existing approval remains in place until June 30, 2025. An Effective Capital Deployment Instills Confidence in Chubb Chubb has an impressive history of deploying capital that includes distributing wealth to shareholders via dividend raises and share buybacks. It is supported by a strong capital and liquidity position that is backed by cash flow generation. This recent dividend hike marks the 32nd straight year of dividend increase. Dividend has increased at a 10-year CAGR of 3.8%. Also, Chubb has been continually buying back its shares, which in turn has been boosting its bottom line over time. In the first quarter of 2025, Chubb repurchased $385 million worth of shares, with $1.2 billion remaining in its share repurchase authorization as of March 31, 2025. Sufficient cash-generation capabilities, backed by sustained operational excellence, should continue to support wealth distribution to shareholders and drive growth initiatives. The Case for Chubb Chubb ranks among the world's leading providers of property and casualty (P&C) insurance and reinsurance, and is the largest publicly traded P&C insurer by market capitalization. Operating in more than 50 countries, the company has a strong global presence. Chubb is focused on tapping into growth opportunities in the middle-market segment, both in domestic and international markets, while continuing to strengthen its core package and specialty insurance products to support sustained long-term growth. The company is also making strategic investments to accelerate its expansion. Renowned for its prudent underwriting practices, Chubb consistently delivers one of the lowest combined ratios in the industry. Its net margin has improved by 980 basis points over the past two years. Through strategic mergers and acquisitions, Chubb aims to diversify its portfolio, enhance capabilities and synergies, and broaden its geographic reach. The company's return on equity stands at 13.6%, surpassing the industry average. Price Performance and Valuation Share of CB has gained 6.5%, underperforming its industry 's increase of 12.8% but outperforming the sector 's increase of 6.3% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's gain of 0.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Chubb shares are presently expensive. Its price-to-book multiple sits at 1.67, above its median of 1.58 over the last five years. It also has a Value Score of C. However, CB shares are cheaper than those of other insurers, such as The Travelers Companies TRV and The Allstate Corporation ALL. How to Play CB Stock Chubb's market-leading position, compelling portfolio, strong renewal retention, positive rate increases, solid capital position and better return on capital pave the way for long-term growth. The consensus estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings has moved 1.8% and 0.3% north, respectively, in the past 30 days, reflecting analyst optimism. Based on short-term price targets offered by 21 analysts, the Zacks average price target is $308.38 per share. The average suggests a potential 4.8% upside from the last closing price. However, given its premium valuation, a projected decline in the bottom line in 2025, and unfavorable leverage and times interest earned, we prefer to remain cautious on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.0% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report Chubb Limited (CB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
If Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Have?
According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. households hold $160.35 trillion in combined wealth, which is the value of every American's assets minus their liabilities. Find Out: Try This: To say it's distributed unevenly is too much of an understatement to even qualify as an understatement. The bottom 50% of the country shares less than 3% of that enormous pie, while the most fortunate 10% gorge on nearly all of it. Here's a look at how much money each American would have if every person got an equal slice of the country's wealth. Next, find out what the economy might look like if net worth was capped at $1 billion. According to Google's Data Commons project, the U.S. is home to roughly 340.11 million people. If they divvied up the country's $160.35 trillion jackpot equally, each would have about $471,465. That's $942,930 per couple. If a couple had two kids, the four of them would be sitting pretty with $1.89 million. To most in the lower 50%, that probably sounds like a pretty sweet deal. To many in the monied class in the top half, however, a net worth of less than a half-million dollars might as well be a stint in the poorhouse. Learn More: Nearly one dollar in three is in the pockets of the top 1%, which owns $49.46 trillion, or 30.8% of America's combined wealth — but even the 1% has an aristocracy and an underclass. The heavyweights at the tippy-top of the pyramid in the top 0.1% — about 340,000 people — own $22.14 trillion, or 13.8% of America's bounty. That leaves the commoners of the 1% — the 99%-99.9% percentile group — to share $27.32 trillion, or 17% of America's fortune. Under that are those in the 90%-99% percentile group, who control $58.34 trillion, or 36.4% of the pie. Combined with the 1%, that puts almost exactly two-thirds of America's wealth in the bank accounts of the top 10%. Nearly all of the remaining third of America's wealth — 30.3%, or $48.54 trillion — goes to those in the 50%-90% percentile groups. That leaves just 2.5%, or $4.01 trillion, for the entire bottom 50% of the country to split. If they split it evenly, which they, of course, do not, that would give each of those 170 million people $23,588. For context, the 340,000 movers and shakers in the top 0.1% get about $65.12 million each — 2,760 times more. More From GOBankingRates Here's How Much Cars Made in the US Cost Compared to Mexico, Canada and China How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region 4 Grocery Items To Buy Now Before Tariffs Raise Prices This Summer 3 Reasons Retired Boomers Shouldn't Give Their Kids a Living Inheritance Sources United States Federal Reserve, 'Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989.' Data Commons, 'United States of America.' This article originally appeared on If Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Have?
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Sugar babies give rich, older men the 'full girlfriend experience' at a price. But it can get complicated
When Soraya was 21, she met an Australian man in his mid 40s on a sugar baby dating website. It was one of her earliest introductions to the world of being a sugar baby, where young women trade their attention and sexual favours for the financial sponsorship of a rich, older man, the sugar daddy. She was staying in Ghana at the time and he was in Cape Town for business. Soraya says he fell for her straight away and flew her to South Africa to stay in his private villa. Instead of a typical relationship, they struck up an arrangement where he gave her Christian Louboutin shoes, diamond bracelets, gold rings and a weekly allowance. "He was very rich. He didn't bat an eyelash making sure that I was always comfortable in any way possible," she says. Soraya is now 26 and has been a sugar baby since she was 19. In that time she's learned a thing or two about how the game is played. She gave this man the full "girlfriend experience", but for a price. "[It's like] being with a boyfriend. From where you're going to eat tonight, to jokes and to laughing," she says. "[But] I choose when we're gonna have sex. I choose when you give me money, I choose everything." Soraya lives in South Africa, a country with one of the most unequal wealth distributions in the world, and she was raised by a single dad who told her: "It's better to be poor in a rich neighbourhood, than rich in a poor neighbourhood." Soraya learnt from a young age about the power of money and isn't shy about bringing up the subject when she first meets her "daddies". " Usually I say, 'Okay, darling, we're having such amazing time, let's talk about my favourite topic: Money'," she says. "When it comes to money, that's when you have to be serious to make sure that no words are missed. In some ways, the world of sugar dating mirrors the regular world of dating and matchmaking, with lessons in clear boundary-setting and communication. Sugar babies are also hard workers, which is part of the reason Soraya can't see herself dating any time soon. "Why do I have to put myself through normal dating with emotions that I don't even like, like putting this much energy in and needing to deal with all of these men? I think I should be compensated for it." Srushti Upadhyay is a PhD candidate at the University of Buffalo in the US who has interviewed hundreds of sugar babies in order to understand their motivations. She has found that most sugar babies do not date men in their personal lives. "If they're going to be dating men, they want to be rewarded for it because men hold a lot of power in this patriarchal society everywhere they go. And so to them … putting in this time and energy into relationships with men is something that they don't want to do for free. It's just a lot of work." Soraya says she maintains her power by stroking their ego and making them the central character. "Men also want to be loved like a fairytale," she says. "They too have not felt passion since they were a teenage boy, and they've gotten used to not feeling butterflies in their stomach when they speak to a woman. "But when they can find a woman who makes them feel like a little boy again, where they can't wait till she texts them, that is what you want. That is where the money is. "And then he doesn't know why he's starting to fall in love with me but it happens. Every time." Ms Upadhyay first became curious about sugar dating in 2016, when she was a graduate student. She has since spoken to women ranging from 18-year-olds to 60-year-olds looking to supplement their income. "A lot of them actually have full-time jobs," she says. "[Some younger sugar babies] described how their sugar daddies helped them get internships, and taught them how to invest money. "[It was] essentially like a pseudo-mentorship." Sugar babies provide emotional, sexual and physical intimacy, Ms Upadhyay says, while sugar daddies are the ones who have resources and who want companionship. There are also sugar mommies, where the gender of the arrangement is flipped, but these transactional relationships are overwhelmingly between attractive young women and rich, older men. For sugar daddies, Ms Upadhyay says a lot of them are wealthy men who want certain things they can't get from their marriages. "They want to be able to have these sexual relationships with younger women where they themselves feel young, no strings attached. "These sugar daddies are looking for somebody who just wants to listen to what they have to say. So think about it as having a therapist that you're also attracted to." There can also be a darker side to sugar dating. "[Sugar babies] talked about different degrees of 'unsafeness' that they might have felt, whether it's emotional or physical. It's always something that they are mindful of," she says. Charlotte was working full-time in admin in Melbourne when she started an arrangement with an older doctor in 2023 — her first as a sugar baby. He was in his late 50s and married with kids. At 32, she was earning enough money to get by, but not enough to live the life to which she aspired. That's when she signed up to a sugar baby site. "[I thought], how do I make extra money? I have Asian heritage and I have been fetishised my whole adult life and it's such a red flag for me," she says. "Going into this, I actually was like, 'I'm gonna take that back a little bit and use that to my advantage'." After a couple of months of seeing each other, Charlotte and her sugar daddy started talking every day. They would hang out, go on dates to expensive restaurants, and often have sex. "He wasn't physically that attractive, but he was so lovely to me and so polite," she says. "And then it all came to a head when we went overseas." Three months into their arrangement, Charlotte was onboard for what she thought was going to be a fancy Thailand vacation. Her sugar daddy paid for Charlotte's flights and accommodation, telling his wife he was on a cycling trip. Charlotte packed her bikinis but not her wallet, expecting him to pay for everything. Beaches, great food, shopping: Charlotte could see it all ahead of her. "And then I reckon I kind of got the ick a little bit when I landed and he met me at the airport. I was like, 'Oh, you look really old. You look like you could be my grandfather.'" Charlotte put these thoughts aside, and for the first couple of days in Bangkok she had a good time. But then her sugar daddy started getting too much. "He was forcing his affection onto me, and wanting to hold my hand in public all the time. And so I would either walk ahead of him quicker, or I would just cross the road. "I was starting to really feel like I was being judged because … he looks old and I look a lot younger than my actual age. "I could see the looks on everyone's faces when we went somewhere. And so it was just adding more and more to this ick that I was getting." And then there was the straw that broke the camel's back: Charlotte's sugar daddy started getting stingy, refusing to buy her things in the Bangkok markets. "Even trying to ask for a hat was so difficult. And then I just was like, I'm done. I don't want to be here anymore," she says. The next day, Charlotte came up with an excuse as to why she needed to get home, but without her bank cards she couldn't leave the country easily. "Once he realised that I'd made my mind up … he made zero attempts to try and help me get home," she says. Eventually, another sugar daddy she'd been seeing wired her the funds to get on a plane back to Australia. But even after Charlotte's hasty exit, the older doctor wasn't ready to let go. "I had like 75 unread messages over a number of weeks," she says. "There was a moment where I did feel scared because he knew so much about my life. I was looking over my shoulder constantly. "And then I remembered that he's married with kids and I have a lot of evidence and that I could blow his life up, and that it would be in his best interest to leave me alone." Soraya has been in sugar relationships for seven years now and has learnt some things along the way. "I do have one rule. That I must always be able to afford travelling back on my own, if necessary." She also never goes home with a sugar daddy on the first date, and has an upper age limit of 60. "That's too much. It's giving retirement. Retirement means too much time and I don't want to spend too much time with them." Soraya actually ended up marrying the Australian sugar daddy she met when she was 21, although it didn't last long. "[Being married] actually felt a bit like a cage," she says. Ms Upadhyay, who has interviewed hundreds of sugar babies, says it is not uncommon for sugar daddies to fall in love with their sugar babies. "Many of them shared [that] their sugar daddies became fascinated with them, or were very interested in turning a sugar relationship into a romantic relationship. And to a lot of the sugar babies, that was the first sign that they want to not pay for the arrangement." Soraya and her sugar daddy got divorced after a couple of years, but she walked away with a trust fund, which means she only has to work when she wants to. "That's where my net worth skyrocketed into the many zeros," she says. She now devotes most of her time to investing and advising fellow sugar babies on TikTok. As for Charlotte, after leaving her sugar daddy behind in Thailand, she found a new (married, with kids) daddy in an arrangement that works much better for her. "He's really lovely and is so respectful and so kind, and [it's] the experience that I wish that I'd had. I think he's in better shape than I am. [The sex is] probably better than a lot of the sex that I've had with people that are my age by choice and for free. "I get money from him. It's a set fee. And then I go off on my way and then I'm like, 'See you next time'."
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Most baby boomers can't afford assisted living and are weighing on the housing market by staying in their homes, ‘Oracle of Wall Street' says
While baby boomers are collectively sitting on $75 trillion in wealth, that's not distributed evenly, meaning many can't afford to move out and instead must stay in their homes. That's weighing on the housing market by holding back inventory, according to top Wall Street analyst Meredith Whitney. Baby boomers are dragging on the housing market because most can't afford to move out of their homes, according to Meredith Whitney, the 'Oracle of Wall Street' who predicted the Great Financial Crisis. In an interview on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, she said many cash-strapped Americans have been borrowing against their homes, and 44% of home-equity loans are being taken out by seniors, "which is counterintuitive. It's crazy, right?" That's contrary to the typical narrative of baby boomers sitting on vast amounts of wealth accumulated over their lifetimes, which spanned unprecedented economic expansions and stock market booms. As a result, seniors with a lot of money have an edge in the tight housing market, accounting for 42% of all homebuyers, while millennials account for 29% despite the younger generation being in the prime buying years. But while most buyers are boomers, it doesn't mean most boomers have a giant pile of cash. "I divide it into different cohorts," Whitney said. "So the senior which everyone thinks 'the boomers have all this money'—that's a small portion. Seniors are living paycheck to paycheck." To be sure, boomers collectively have $75 trillion of wealth. But that's not distributed evenly, and Whitney estimated that just one in 10 seniors can afford assisted-living facilities. As a result, many are forced to stay put and age in place, she added. (Stubbornly high mortgage rates also have created a "lock-in" effect where homeowners who got in the market when rates were low are now reluctant to buy a new home at today's elevated borrowing costs.) "This is one of the problems with the housing inventory," Whitney told Bloomberg. "They're staying in their houses longer because they can't afford to move out." Meanwhile, she expects the economy to slow amid President Donald Trump's trade war, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors, and predicted the unemployment rate will climb to 6% by this fall, up from the current level of 4.2%. That's still well below the 10% high that the jobless rate hit during the Great Financial Crisis, and Whitney doesn't see parallels between today's economy the one during the crisis. Part of the reason is because banks are much better capitalized now than they were back then, when sub-prime mortgages were weighing on banks' balance sheets. But she does see a "mild, medium" recession that Wall Street has yet to price in. "The big banks will not be involved now, but the consumer is already struggling and is going to struggle further. And that will translate into job losses," Whitney said. This story was originally featured on 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
