Wal-Mart is raising minimum wage to $11 and dishing out a one-time bonus for employees, citing the Trump Tax Reform plan. Karen Short, Managing Director at Barclays, was with us to discuss the ramifications of the decision.
Short estimates that Wal-Mart could generate $4 billion in incremental free cash flow due to the tax reform, and adds that the wage hike is just of portion of the allocation. The analyst says that the "strong will get stronger" and other retailers will have to follow Wal-Mart's lead.
Tax reform narrows the advantage Amazon has over traditional retailers such as Wal-Mart, says Short. She says Wal-Mart has an advantage over Amazon because it is the largest grocer with low prices. Short also adds that the stigma surrounding Wal-Mart products has dissipated and is no longer a "turnoff" to millennials because the products have gotten better.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
