Business – Page 107

How one dad retired in his 30s and achieved financial freedom

June 20, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(SAN DIEGO) — Michael Quan was just 36 when he retired. Today, the father of two from San Diego is 46 and living a life of his choosing, having achieved his goal of financial independence.

“The goal wasn’t necessarily to retire super early. It was to really get to a place of financial independence or financial freedom where I didn’t have to work for money, where I could ultimately choose what I want to do with my time,” Quan told Good Morning America.

To achieve his goal, Quan started investing when he was 26, learning to make passive income from his uncles who had business and real estate investments.

“I was like, ‘You know what? That’s great. You get to focus on what really matters to you most and you get to be super intentional with your life,'” Quan said he remembered thinking at the time.

Quan adopted the F.I.R.E. method, short for “Financial Independence, Retire Early,” and began aggressively saving his salary. He started investing early, in his 20s, before he married and had children. He was also diligent and intentional from the get-go and was active and investing over time.

But instead of putting all his eggs in one basket, Quan invested his money into various stocks and index funds and his money grew over the years.

“I just started investing in the stock market and spending $5 a week, investing into stocks and so that really got me interested into building a portfolio at a young age, even before I started my company,” Quan said.

While working full time, Quan began to build an information technology consulting business that then led him to diversify his investments even more.

“Because I was building a business, I had the opportunity to cash out some of that equity and put that into real estate,” Quan said.

Quan worked on building his business for a decade until he received an unsolicited offer to buy out his company.

“I decided, I have a unique opportunity to be home and present with the kids. I have a lot of shots to build another business but only one shot at being a great dad,” Quan recalled thinking at the time.

Quan, who wrote a guide called The F.I.R.E. Planner, said one of the key tips he recommends to find success with the F.I.R.E. method is to embrace the right mindset.

“A lot of times, we are taught in school that you go out, you get a job, and then you work [a] traditional 9 to 5 job. And while that can work for some people, a lot of times, we feel trapped because we get into debt that society tells us is OK to finance your future. And if you remove that idea, you get back to a different belief that ‘Hey, I can actually build wealth over time slowly and it doesn’t have to be painful,'” Quan said. “It’s really the mindset that is the start. Once you have a belief and once you have the action, you’ll get the result.”

For example, if you think about building wealth over time slowly instead of trying to finance your future and set it up to be automatic, such as with automatic deposits into a 401(k) or an individual retirement account, you’re more likely to succeed at building a nest egg.

Another way Quan has achieved financial freedom without working is by relying on passive income, which offers a steady flow of cash with minimal upkeep. Popular passive income sources include investments, side hustles or high-yield savings accounts, where the majority of the work happens during the set-up process. Another way to generate passive income is to rent out high-value items you already have, such as your home, garage, power tools or even your pool for a day through services like Airbnb, VRBO or Peerspace.

Today, Quan said he uses the term “early retirement” in a loose way since he still works on different passion projects, such as financial coaching.

“I don’t think I’ll ever go back to work in a 9 to 5. What I will do though, is never stop working,” Quan said. “I get to work on incredible things. I love personal development and really helping other people. So I’ll definitely take on some coaching clients occasionally to help them in their journey. And then I’ve been doing some public speaking as well and going out and sharing with university kids or going to conferences and speaking.”

Prince Harry, Meghan part ways with Spotify

June 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Prince Harry and Meghan’s much-heralded deal with Spotify, one of the first deals they announced after leaving their royal roles, has come to an end.

Spotify and Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s production company, confirmed the end of the partnership in a joint statement, saying, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

When the deal between Spotify and the Sussexes was announced in late 2020, it was described by Spotify as a multi-year partnership that would see Harry and Meghan both hosting and producing podcasts with the goal of building “community through shared experience, narratives and values.”

Shortly after the deal was announced, in December 2020, Harry and Meghan released a holiday special podcast that featured nearly one dozen celebrities, athletes, activists and intellectuals reflecting on the year and looking ahead to 2021.

The only other podcast that came from the partnership with Harry and Meghan was an original series hosted by Meghan that examined the stereotypes and labels faced by women.

The 12-episode series, titled “Archetypes,” featured interviews with everyone from Serena Williams and Mariah Carey to Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton, Issa Rae and more.

The podcast won a People’s Choice Award for top podcast in 2022 and a Gracie for digital media in 2023.

Meghan described “Archetypes” as a “labor of love” in a statement celebrating the People’s Choice Award win.

“I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative,” Meghan said in a statement on the Archewell website. “And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them, and with each of you listening.”

Spotify announced last week that it plans to lay off 200 people, or 2% of its workforce, amid a change in the company’s “podcast strategy.”

Harry and Meghan have not commented publicly on the end of their partnership with Spotify beyond the joint statement from their production company.

The couple launched Archewell Audio, one arm of their broader Archewell nonprofit organization and production company, in 2020, after moving to California and stepping down from their roles as senior working royals.

The Sussexes, who live in California with their two children, also inked a deal with Netflix upon their departure from their royal roles. Meghan told The New York Times they hoped to create “content that informs but also gives hope.”

The couple’s biggest project to date with Netflix has been their six-part docuseries, titled Harry & Meghan, that saw them speaking out about their love story and their decision to step down from their royal roles.

Since leaving the U.K., Meghan has also written a children’s book, The Bench, and Harry released his bestselling memoir, Spare.

‘Huge hassle’: I-95 collapse snarls truckers but wider economic damage uncertain

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — The collapse of a section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia left Glenn Messinger scrambling to find new routes for 40 trucks that deliver food each day from a warehouse located a block away from the wreckage.

“It’s a huge hassle,” said Messinger, the vice president of branch operations for Baldor Specialty Foods, which delivers items to restaurants across the East Coast. “You need to have a lot of patience.”

The branch’s truckers, who Messinger says make between $19 and $23 an hour, have been forced to take an alternative route that takes as much as 40 minutes longer than usual, hiking delivery costs, he said. He noted that the company has opted to leave prices unchanged.

“We’re just going to have suck it up,” Messinger told ABC News.

The truckers coordinated by Messinger are among 14,000 who drive along I-95 each day, making their delay one of the most pronounced economic effects of a highway collapse that has disrupted the transport of goods and the commute of employees, experts and business officials told ABC News.

“A lot of America’s GDP is moving along that road every single day,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a press conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday. “It’s not just an inconvenience — it’s a cost.”

Still, the economic damage will remain largely contained to the immediate region, since suppliers and travelers who do not need to stop in the city can avail themselves of alternative highway routes with minimal inconvenience, experts and business officials said.

The highway damage “adds to commute times and raises shipping costs, but too few people and businesses are impacted to matter,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News. “People and businesses will quickly adjust.”

The section of Interstate 95 collapsed on Sunday following a large vehicle fire, authorities told ABC News.

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the “most efficient” way to get I-95 reopened will be to backfill an underpass and then work to build a new permanent bridge.

Shapiro didn’t provide a timeline for when the repaving of the underpass will be completed but said workers will get it done “as quickly as possible.” He previously said it would take months to repair the highway.

The area near the collapse plays host to manufacturers, warehouses and other industrial suppliers that rely on I-95 as a conduit for taking goods to market, Rebecca Oyler, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, told ABC News.

The companies depend in part on items that arrive at the nearby Port of Philadelphia, where refrigerated containers make up more than half of the freight due to a heavy share of produce, she added. The delays will impose higher costs due to extra labor hours and fuel costs, she said.

“Most of these businesses are really struggling today to manage new supply issues that have popped up,” Oyler said. “They’re going to need to work up a solution until this is resolved.”

Oyler acknowledged, however, that the damaged highway would have little impact on deliveries without pickup or drop-off in the immediate region.

“Luckily there are several alternatives,” she said, citing nearby I-295 as well as the New Jersey Turnpike.

Zandi downplayed any economic impact from the highway collapse.

“I don’t think there will be any material economic fallout,” he said. “It’s a big nuisance for those that use that part of [I-95], but not an economic event.”

Galasso Trucking Services, which transports auto parts and food from the Port of Philadelphia, faces delivery delays as long as a half-hour, adding costs for labor and tolls, Lou Galasso, the company’s vice president, told ABC News.

For now, business is holding up, Galasso said.

“Mainly it’s an annoyance,” he added. “It’s a pain.”

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Amanda Maile contributed reporting.

US offers to drop some charges for now against Sam Bankman-Fried

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York said they would drop several criminal charges, at least for now, against disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried if the judge agrees to try him later on those charges.

The offer to sever five of the 13 charges followed a ruling earlier this week in the Bahamas that allows Bankman-Fried to challenge the additional charges.

A prosecutor said during a hearing Thursday it was uncertain when the Bahamas would decide whether to consent to the new charges, which included bank fraud and an allegation Bankman-Fried bribed the Chinese.

“Severing those counts seems to be appropriate given the developments in the Bahamas this week,” the prosecutor, Nathan Rehn, said.

Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to stand trial in October. Rehn said prosecutors would not proceed with the new charges unless the government of the Bahamas consented.

Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas on eight criminal charges stemming from the collapse of FTX, the crypto-exchange he founded. He has argued the U.S. government breached its extradition treaty with the Bahamas by filing additional charges against him months later, including bank fraud and an allegation he paid a $40 million bribe to the Chinese government to unfreeze a trading account.

“We think dismissal of those counts would be the better outcome,” defense attorney Marc Cohen said.

The judge did not immediately rule.

“I’m not going to rule on this now,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said. “I’m going to give it a little more thought.”

The defense asked the judge to dismiss an original charge that accused Bankman-Fried of violating campaign finance laws, arguing that count also violated the extradition treaty. The charge said Bankman-Fried improperly donated tens of millions of dollars to mainly Democratic and some Republican candidates.

Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried lacked standing to make the argument because the decision to move forward with the charge involved diplomatic policy.

“It’s a matter of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Bahamas,” Rehn said. “It was an understanding of all the parties involved that this was part of the extradition.”

Bankman-Fried is broadly accused of misappropriating billions of dollars in customer and investor money from FTX in what prosecutors have described as one of the biggest financial frauds ever. He has been free on bail, confined to his parents’ home in Palo Alto and restricted in his use of the internet.

Starbucks ordered to pay over $25 million to former employee who claimed racial discrimination

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Starbucks ordered to pay over million to former employee who claimed racial discrimination

(NEW YORK) — A New Jersey jury ruled unanimously in favor of a former Starbucks employee who sued the company for wrongful termination, claiming that she was fired for being white.

Shannon Phillips, a former regional director for the chain, claimed in a lawsuit first filed in 2019 that “her race was a determinative factor” in Starbucks’ decision to fire her in the wake of a 2018 racial firestorm.

After a six-day trial, the jury returned a verdict, ordering the coffee giant to pay $25.6 million in settlement money, including punitive and compensatory damages, according to Phillips’ attorneys.

In April 2018, two Black men — Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson — were arrested while waiting for a business meeting after an employee called 911 and accused the men of trespassing after they refused to make a purchase or leave the store. The arrests sparked nationwide protests and prompted Starbucks to close some of its stores for a day for racial bias training.

Robinson and Nelson reached a private settlement with Starbucks, as well as with the city of Philadelphia, which vowed to pay the men each $1 and promised a $200,000 investment into programs that support aspiring young entrepreneurs, according to the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office.

Less than a month after the arrests, Phillips was notified of her termination, despite claiming that she wasn’t at the store that day and was not involved in the arrests in any way.

According to court documents, Starbucks claimed Phillips “appeared overwhelmed, frozen and lacked awareness of how critical the situation was for Starbucks and its partners” and that “all actions taken by Starbucks with respect to Ms. Phillips were for legitimate, nondiscriminatory, non-retaliatory reasons.”

Phillips, who had been employed by Starbucks for nearly 13 years at the time of her termination, claims she “actively worked” on “crisis management” efforts and “took steps to ensure that the retail locations within her area were a safe and welcoming environment for all customers, regardless of race,” according to her 2019 civil complaint.

Attorney Channa Lloyd, an ABC News contributor and a managing partner of The Cochran Firm, told ABC’s Good Morning America, “Starbucks wasn’t necessarily under legal pressure but they were under public pressure to act and to show that they were open to everyone of every race and origin and to show that they were not going to allow racism to foster within their organization.”

During the trial, key testimony came from a Black district manager at Starbucks who testified via Zoom that he thought Phillips’ race played into Starbucks’ decision to fire her and that his race was a reason why he was not terminated, according to a statement provided to ABC News from Phillips’ attorney.

Phillips’ attorney also told GMA, “Starbucks chose not to terminate the District Manager of the store where the arrests took place, who was Black, but instead terminated his White supervisor, Ms. Phillips.”

“Other companies are definitely going to have to be much more thoughtful and clear about why they’re exercising terminations when they’re faced with this type of situation,” Lloyd added about the impact of the settlement decision.

ABC News reached out to Starbucks but the company declined comment.

USDA to revise meat labeling guidelines for claims like ‘grass-fed’ or ‘free-range’

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The seal of approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on meat and poultry you see at the grocery store may soon carry more weight thanks to an update to labeling guidelines for meat producers that will more rigorously verify how animals were raised.

The government agency announced a new multi-step effort on Wednesday for the first time since 2019 in which the Food Safety and Inspection Service will raise the bar on its requirements for producers’ claims about how animals were raised.

Terms that appear on labels such as “grass-fed” and “free-range,” which are voluntary marketing claims, must now be approved by the Food Safety and Inspection Service before being put on a label.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said consumers should be able to trust what they infer when picking a product with a USDA mark of inspection.

He added that the USDA is taking the new steps “to ensure the integrity of animal-raising claims and level the playing field for producers who are truthfully using these claims, which we know consumers value and rely on to guide their meat and poultry purchasing decisions.”

The agency said in a press release that it has “received several petitions, comments, and letters from a wide range of stakeholders asking the agency to reevaluate its oversight of animal-raising claims, specifically, how they are substantiated.” That also applies to the accuracy of “‘negative’ antibiotics claims” such as “raised without antibiotics” or “no antibiotics ever.”

In partnership with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service will start “a sampling project to assess antibiotic residues in cattle destined for the ‘raised without antibiotics’ market,” to help inform whether FSIS should require that laboratory testing results be submitted for that claim or start a new verification sampling program.

The FSIS will also issue a new industry guideline for companies to strengthen any documentation they submit to the agency to further substantiate those animal-raising claims.

The agency said it also plans to “strongly encourage use of third-party certification to verify these claims.”

This action comes on the heels of other efforts from the USDA to protect consumers from false or misleading labels as part of President Joe Biden’s executive order on promoting competition in the American economy.

How some of Donald Trump’s business allies are reacting to federal indictment

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The indictment of former President Donald Trump on federal charges last week has elicited outcry from many of his prominent supporters in Washington D.C., who have denounced the prosecution as politically motivated or downplayed the alleged crimes.

While many of Trump’s top allies in the business community have largely remained quiet, some of Trump’s supporters in the private sector spoke with ABC News, offering a range of views about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith and the alleged crimes.

The business allies also weighed in on whether the indictment would affect plans for further donations to the Trump campaign, and explained why they believe many of their peers haven’t spoken out.

Trump faces 37 counts tied to what prosecutors said were the mishandling of classified documents and the obstruction of an investigation into the alleged misconduct. The classified documents at issue, according to the indictment, included information about nuclear programs and potential national security vulnerabilities.

Taken together, the charges could bring decades in prison if found guilty. Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in court. Following the arraignment, the former president criticized Smith and falsely claimed that he was able to keep classified documents under the Presidential Records Act.

John Catsimatidis, a New York-based billionaire who donated at least $600,000 in support of Trump’s 2020 and 2016 presidential campaigns, downplayed Trump’s alleged misconduct but affirmed the legitimacy of the court proceeding.

Speaking about the federal charges against Trump, Catsimatidis belittled the case as “nickel and dime.”

Still, Catsimatidis said he trusts the court system to adjudicate the charges against Trump.

“Let it go through the system,” said Catsimatidis, the owner of the grocery store chain Gristedes.

Stan Pate, whose Alabama-based company BPH Properties made a $500,000 donation in support of Trump in November, forcefully denounced the federal charges against Trump and vowed to bolster his support for Trump’s candidacy if he is found guilty.

The charges amount to a “complete outrage,” said Stephen Moore, who served as an economic adviser for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

However, Moore said that he is “not a lawyer.”

“No one is above the law,” added Moore, a fellow in economics at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation. “I can’t assess whether he violated this law or that law.”

As with some prominent Republican elected officials, Catsimatidis and Pate said the indictment was political.

There is no evidence that Biden influenced the decision to charge Trump. For his part, Smith was a federal prosecutor for nearly 10 years, and oversaw the DOJ’s public integrity section, where he investigated members of both parties.

Hours before Trump’s indictment became public, Biden said Americans should trust the Department of Justice, despite attacks from Trump and others.

“I have never once, not one single time suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge,” Biden said.

Catsimatidis and Pate both said the indictment would not affect their decision-making about future donations in support of Trump.

Pate, who was set to attend a meet-and-greet event with Trump at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Tuesday night, said he will “certainly be donating to his campaign in the future.”

If Trump is found guilty of federal crimes in the documents case, Pate said he would “double down.”

“If you believe in somebody and have confidence in him, why would you abandon him and take away your support,” Pate added. “I might triple down.”

Catsimatidis, who donated more than $100,000 in support of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, said contributions are the “cost of doing business.”

“I donate money because when I pick up the phone and call people, I like them to answer the phone,” Catsimatidis said.

The indictment is unlikely to affect donations from staunch backers of Trump, Candice Nelson, a professor of government at American University and academic director of The Campaign Institute, told ABC News.

“If they’re strong supporters of Trump, they’ll believe what he’s telling them,” Nelson said.

ABC News contacted more than two dozen current and former allies of Trump within the private sector about the indictment, including many who have offered him economic policy advice and donated millions of dollars in support of his presidential campaigns.

Most of the backers declined to comment or did not reply.

When asked why most of Trump’s business allies passed up an opportunity to comment on the indictment, Catsimatidis said: “They’re scared stiff.”

“There are very few people,” he added. “who are willing to stand up and say that it’s right or it’s wrong.”

Most major Trump donors, Moore said, have not spoken publicly about the indictment because they “don’t want to be front and center on this kind of controversy.”

“They want to stay behind the scenes,” Moore added.

Federal Reserve pauses interest rates after 15 months of hikes

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve paused its aggressive series of interest rate hikes on Wednesday, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretches back 15 months.

Nearly all members of the decision-making committee believe the central bank will need to impose at least one additional rate hike this year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference.

“Considering how far and how fast we’ve moved, we judged it prudent to hold the target range steady,” Powell said.

“Looking ahead, nearly all committee participants view it as likely that some further rate increases will be appropriate this year,” he added.

In turn, the Federal Reserve raised its projection for where interest rates will stand at the end of the year.

The decision to pause interest rate hikes came a day after fresh data showed consumer prices rose 4% last month compared to a year ago, cooling more than economists expected and bolstering hopes that inflation will continue its steady return to normal levels.

Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains at a level double the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

Powell said “inflation pressure continues to run high and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.”

The slowdown of price increases has coincided with a sharp escalation of the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate last seen in the 1980s.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes as it assesses the ongoing effect of its previous policy decisions.

For more than a year, the Federal Reserve has aimed to roll back price increases by slowing down the economy and slashing consumer demand.

Data released in recent months suggests that the policy approach has succeeded in slowing economic activity.

U.S. gross domestic product grew by a sluggish 1.1% annualized rate over the three months ending in March, according to government data.

Meanwhile, three of the nation’s 30 largest banks failed over a weekslong stretch beginning in March.

While high interest rates contributed to the collapses, each of the banks also retained a sizable portion of uninsured depositors, who tend to panic without a government backstop for their funds.

Consumer spending and hiring, however, have remained solid, fueling hope among some economists that policymakers can succeed in dialing back inflation while averting a recession.

A jobs report earlier this month showed that the labor market grew robustly in May, adding 339,000 jobs compared to Wall Street estimates of just 195,000.

Since the economy continues to exhibit strength, the expected Federal Reserve decision to pause rate hikes marks a “close call,” Bank of America said in a research note last week.

“While incoming data point to resilience in activity and stickiness in inflation, the Fed appears to desire additional time to monitor policy lags and regional bank stress,” Bank of America said.

“We do not believe the Fed is close to signaling a prolonged pause,” the bank added. “Instead, we expect the Fed to say that inaction in June is more akin to a skip — for now.”

Upon the announcement of the central bank’s most recent rate hike last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted the removal of a sentence that appeared in the Fed’s previous rate hike announcement that said “some additional policy increases might be appropriate.”

Powell described the omission in the announcement as “meaningful,” saying a decision about any additional rate hikes would be “data dependent.”

Instant Pot, Pyrex maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

June 15, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Instant Brands, the parent company of beloved kitchenware and houseware brands like Pyrex glassware and Instant Pot, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Earlier this week, Instant Brands announced the voluntary court-supervised process in a press release, stating that it will give the company “time and flexibility” for ongoing discussions with financial stakeholders to move forward in a way that “strengthens the company’s financial position.”

The company has over $500 million in both assets and liabilities, according to its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The Chicago area-based company said it received a $132.5 million commitment for new debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders that, paired with cash from current operations, it expects will support the business during the process.

President and CEO Ben Gadbois said in Monday’s press release that the company “continues to drive positive operating cash flows.” However, after weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, the company faces challenges, including “tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates,” he said.

This had caused an impact on the company’s liquidity levels and made its “capital structure unsustainable,” he said.

Four years ago, private-equity firm Cornell Capital acquired Instant Brands and it merged with Corelle Brands. Additional consumer products under the parent company include Corelle, Snapware, CorningWare, Visions and Chicago Cutlery.

Federal Reserve expected to pause monthslong string of rate hikes

June 14, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve is expected to pause its aggressive series of interest rate hikes on Wednesday, ending a string of 10 consecutive rate increases that stretches back 15 months.

The decision arrives a day after fresh data showed consumer prices rose 4% last month compared to a year ago, cooling more than economists expected and bolstering hopes that inflation will continue its steady return to normal levels.

Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak last summer but remains at a level double the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

The slowdown of price increases has coincided with a sharp escalation of the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate last seen in the 1980s.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes on Wednesday as it assesses the ongoing effect of its previous policy decisions.