Seeking Alpha Author Hector Andres Pacheco joins Cheddar to discuss how the new tax bill will impact special dividends given out by giant companies. In particular, he's looking at Apple and Microsoft to bring back billions of dollars from overseas.
The new tax bill will allow American companies to bring back money from overseas at a reduced tax price. Pacheco explains why Apple is a prime contender for a special dividend. It's on track to spend $300 billion returning capital to shareholders by 2019. If Apple repatriates all of its overseas cash its tax bill will only be $39 billion...only!
Plus, Microsoft is no stranger to shareholder-friendly action. In 2004 the company brought back about $30 billion in cash from abroad and issued a $3-a-share special dividend. Pacheco believes it plans to do the same thing in 2018.
Pacheco also talks about how a higher minimum wage for lower-income Americans plays a more stimulative role for the economy than giving higher wages to those with a large net worth.
Daniel Newman, Founding Partner and Principal Analyst at Futurum Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the markets are going to feel very uncomfortable receiving news of more potential setbacks for chip manufacturers after already enduring a lengthy chip shortage.
The federal government and numerous industries have been preparing for a greener future, setting goals to reduce greenhouse emissions by switching to electric vehicles. But the next hurdle to clear is convincing the wider public to get on board. Arun Kumar, managing director in automotive practice at AlixPartners, spoke to Cheddar's Ken Buffa about consumer trends related to EV transition and said he believes a widespread switch is imminent in 2022. Despite this, he acknowledged there are still significant obstacles to overcome, including high prices and more charging stations. "Without charging infrastructure, people are going to struggle with increasing adoption of electric vehicles in the future," Kumar told Cheddar. "I think by 2030 our estimate is that about a million chargers need to be put in place nationally in the U.S."
The pandemic has supercharged the creator economy, and there are no signs of it slowing down no matter when the pandemic officially ends. Creators prove to be a key factor in driving purchasing decisions and retail sales, and an increasing amount of platforms are taking advantage of the social influence. Karissa Bell, senior editor at Engadget, joins cheddar news to discuss the creator economy boom.
The National Women's Soccer League is partnering with Voyager Digital as its first-ever cryptocurrency brokerage in a multi-year deal. Marla Messing, interim CEO of the NWSL, and Steve Ehrlich, CEO of Voyager Digital, joined Cheddar to discuss benefitting the league and educating players and fans as a way of democratizing cryptocurrency. Messing explained that the players themselves will own half the assets as part of how the deal is structured. "My hope is, just in terms of the expectations of crypto over the long term, that I hope a lot of them are able to just let it sit there," she said. "And that one day this will be a nice retirement account for them."
The E-V maker Tesla has had a wild year. The company managed to continue to dominate the U.S. electric vehicle space despite growing competition and production delays. As the end comes to an end, Tesla finds itself growing richer and richer. Author of Risk Ritual Newsletter Richard Smith, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
