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.
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.
AI is transforming industries and raising ethical questions. UCLA Professor Hal Hershfield discusses "Your Future Self" and AI's impact on psychology and media.
