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.
Members-only home swapping network Kindred recently announced its launch alongside a $7.75 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Homeowners and renters can exchange homes on Kindred's platform, which the company says allows members to travel and take advantage of remote-work flexibility at the fraction of the cost of a hotel or rental home. Justin Palefsky and Tas Amina, co-founders of Kindred, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
SpoonTEK is an eating utensil that uses new technology to enhance flavors. Co-founders Ken and Cameron Davidov join Cheddar News to explain how the high-tech silverware can not only boost taste but also the health of its user.
Judith Donath, Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center, and the founder of the Sociable Media Group at the MIT Media Lab, joins Cheddar Reveals to take a trip back through the origins of the Internet and how it's shaped human behavior over decades.
Mike Liebhold, Distinguished Fellow and Senior Technology Researcher, Institute for the Future, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss what the future of the internet holds and why cell phones could give way to glasses and headsets as the most common way to access the Internet.
