Brad Finkelstein

Considering what's happening in the markets, it's unsurprising that so many friends in the media are engaging financial planners to get some thoughts and opinions for their stories. It's so gratifying that so many of them are using FPA MediaSource to get that perspective from FPA members! In just the past 24 hours, the system has sent 22 queries to #CFPpro members of FPA, including The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Barron's, Investopedia, InvestmentNews, ThinkAdvisor, CNBC, MarketWatch, Fortune, and many others. If you're not taking part, you're missing out! https://lnkd.in/eMJeNS-F Financial Planning Association (FPA) #financialplanning #media

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The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) #ban on #noncompete agreements will affect #ascs. The ban will be effective 120 days after #FTC's final rule, which states the ban, is published in the Federal Register. The rule is scheduled for publication on May 7, corresponding to a September 4 effective date. Find out how ASCs will be affected by the ban.

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Beyond all the “thought leadership,” “conversions,” and other serious objectives that come with writing for business, sometimes the projects that stick in the memory do so for the smallest, most unserious reasons. Before I started at Tech in Asia, everything I’d put out was predominantly text-based. Sure, there were pictures, but it never went very far beyond stock images or pictures I (amateurishly) took myself. But we also do infographics. This sounded daunting at first, especially since I don’t have any design skills of my own. Thankfully, I quickly learned that for such projects, I’d be working with a graphic designer colleague. One of the first infographic assignments I received was for a client that fights online fraud, so I thought it’d be fun to pitch a short timeline on the history of fraud. Apparently, the first recorded case of fraud took place in 300 BC. A Greek merchant named Hegestratos took out a loan on his ship and cargo and was required to repay the money - with interest - after selling his cargo, which was made up of corn. If he failed to repay the loan, the lender would gain possession of the ship and its cargo. To get out of the agreement, Hegestratos planned to sink the (empty) boat, keep the loaned money, and sell the corn. But he was caught in the act and drowned while trying to escape. My graphic designer colleague - Susi Susanti Wu - and I decided to depict Hegestratos going down with his ship, and her first draft showed him fighting the waves along his leaking boat, grasping an ear of corn in his hand. I was laughing as I typed to her on Slack, “more corn on the boat pls lol 🌽” It still remains one of the sillier pieces of feedback I’ve ever given anyone, and I still remember it, over five years after the fact. Sometimes, the reason why you like a thing you created doesn’t have to be sophisticated or because it Drove Business Results™. #writing #infographics #fun #corn

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A Bloomberg reporter was fired for breaking an embargo. It’s a nightmare that fuels paranoia whenever someone is working with sensitive information. What if a reporter, despite promising, file a story earlier than planned? I think what’s happened here – a dangerous, very unfortunate action that could have jeopardised an international prisoner exchange – shows us why we don’t have to worry too much. By far the most common reason to give reporters access to information early is so that they have additional time to plan and report a story. We want to make sure they have the ability to put the news in context, hopefully by speaking to someone and adding more context. Time is also a consideration – the ability to release the story at the soonest possible moment. Even though the news hopefully will be covered by others, you desperately, in this world of thousands of sites and accounts, want people to hear it there first. All of this is understandable and, at some level, benefits everyone. What doesn’t is breaking that agreement. I’ve never had a journalist knowingly break an embargo. And a couple of times, something has gone up quicker than expected, it’s usually been because there’s been confusion over a changing embargo time. (Note: don’t do this.) Moreover the vast majority of pieces of news are interesting to a specialist audience. They are noteworthy, yes, but there’s no massive fame and fortune to be made by leaking. On the contrary, the consequences of being iced out of future deals – and potentially even facing legal action are far more dire. Even in the Bloomberg case, there’s been an impassioned response from the reporter in question about how she never, ever would maliciously break a pre-agreed break time. It seems that what happened – while not acceptable – was somewhere in the process of writing and editing. So breathe easy, and let people with trusted relationships have time to review and report on forthcoming stories.

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There are some very positive numbers coming out from sites like Boston Globe Media and The Guardian about BlueSky. It turns out, when a social network doesn't actively hate and undermine links, they are clicked a lot more. Funny, that. There are a lot of moving parts to reversing the decline of news. Nothing is a cure-all. But having social media that encourages outside links, the vital connective tissue of the web, is a meaningful step. #journalism #news #SocialMedia

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Looking for possible sources to discuss their economic situation as recession worries ease slightly due rising retail sales, fewer jobless claims and deescalating inflation. But are you still feeling the pinch because of debt or other factors? If so, please write [email protected].

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The Wall Street Journal editor Paul Beckett’s account in the Columbia Journalism Review of how the Journal mobilized to free Evan Gershkovich after 16th months as a prisoner in Russia is a tour de force and “a free press triumph” and well worth the read. Some excerpts: A phone call to a senior government official who knows this terrain provided the answer: “There are times to be quiet and there are times to be loud—and this is a time to be loud.” “Yet on days like August 1 (when he was freed), the values that underpin democracy and are the foundation of a free press triumph.” “Few countries that are not democracies could point to such care for their ordinary citizens abroad, let alone noncitizens imprisoned for their political beliefs.” “news organizations must continue to assess and calibrate the risks their reporters face when operating in dangerous terrain. Perhaps they need to make more hard-nosed choices on whether it is necessary to deploy in person to countries that target journalists or whether that terrain can effectively be covered from outside, given advances in technology and communications.” “And they could ensure that press freedom around the world—an issue so fundamental to their existence that it is often taken for granted—is a subject they cover as if their livelihoods and their liberty depended on it.” https://lnkd.in/etZTVCeB

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In which Points of Return takes on the returns from Ozempic, and much more on R-Star:

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CEOs may not pen media responses themselves, which is understandable as they have time constraints. When left to the corp comm or PR team, and there is someone lazy out there (which is the case rarely), generic and AI-generated responses can be a turnoff to journalists. It's important for PR agencies and corp comm teams to ensure that responses are not AI-generated. A little extra effort goes a long way in building credibility. #PRtips #mediarelations #corporatecommunications Btw, I asked LinkedIn to rewrite my post with AI. It made it shorter and added a few hashtags. I made a few changes though :P

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Money for money’s sake. My latest for The Wall Street Journal looks at collectible banknotes whose worth and desirability far exceed their face value. For These Collectors, It’s Still All About the Cash. #Invsting #Money #Currency #currencies #WSJ #alternativeinvestments

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Some good news this morning. Initial Jobless Claims beat expectations, coming in at 233K, down from 249K last week. It's particularly important, because in the wake of last week's ugly Non-Farm Payrolls report, every piece of labor market data is going to be highly scrutinized to see if the wheels are coming off. And right now... there are still reasons to think that the labor market is slowing, but not slowing dramatically, meaning it's possible still that the Fed can get ahead of the curve. One of my favorite ways of looking at jobless claims is via the 52-week moving average of non-seasonally adjusted claims, which remains very low.

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Banks' results, Tenaga Nasional misery, and New Jean's new group? I am resharing this post from my content company Slice of P.I.E If you are too lazy to read, here is our newsletter, which will get you up to speed on the day's important news. Malaysia 1. Looks like Tenaga Nasional just short-circuited. Its share price dropped to a 4-month low because its 3Q 2024 results were disappointing. Read more https://lnkd.in/gaUJDk6t 2. Air Asia not flying so hot. Capital A, the holding group of Air Asia, reported weaker-than-expected 3Q results. Read more https://lnkd.in/g5MxX7HR 3. RHB is right back up. Profits grew by 28% for 3Q. The catch? It was due to currency gains. Read more https://lnkd.in/givWCgqm 4. Public Bank's profit rose by 12% for 3Q. Read more https://lnkd.in/gW6M39Ku 5. Sapura Energy's chairman and CEO are about to leave. Maybe it's good since the big scandal. Read more https://lnkd.in/gUu74Hp9 International 1. Did NewJeans just pull up its jeans on Hybe? Yes, they did. They have decided to terminate their contract with them. The group contributed about 5% to Hybe's revenue last year, and Hybe's share price dropped by 7%. Read more https://lnkd.in/gfeQbHXg 2. Didi did it? It turned into a profit of CNY929 million in 3Q 2024, reversing its fortunes from a loss of CNY284 million in 3Q 2023. Read more https://lnkd.in/gFZPEhJM 3. Meituan mei wen ti (no problem). Revenue grew by 22% to CNY94 billion in 3Q 2024 suggesting that not all is bad in China. Read more https://lnkd.in/gnbPUC64 #newsletter #news #economics #finance #investment

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The late great Jack Bogle once called #ETF issuers “fruitcakes, nut cases and lunatic fringe.” He may have just rolled over. Leading asset managers, like BlackRock, Invesco US and you guessed it Vanguard, are trying to do the unthinkable by devising a way to wrap up highly speculative private assets into a traditional ETF. Once the playground of the world’s rich, home lending, real estate and private equity could soon be wrapped up tight for a couple of basis points. Plus, #financialadvisors are doing their best Swiss Army knife impression to lure in the world’s wealthiest clients. They may not be cutting fees, but they are adding services, according to brand new Cerulli Associates research. And stick around to learn how Ares Management Corporation pulled off the launch of a record-breaking new fund. Check out The Daily Upside if you haven’t yet, and hit subscribe if you like what you see. https://lnkd.in/eiBcvDit

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Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve Board, was back on Capitol Hill today. He didn't make quite as big a splash as he did yesterday, when he said that he and his colleagues at the Fed favor a re-proposal of the much maligned Basel III endgame capital proposal. But, during the three-hour hearing, he did divulge some key insights about the process and where it stands today. Check out my latest for American Banker for the full scoop. #Fed #Congress #CapitolHill #Capital #regulation #bankreg https://lnkd.in/ea-VmPqJ

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Congestion pricing was supposed to start today in New York City. It didn't after Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this month announced an indefinite pause. My latest article in The Wall Street Journal traces the rise and pause of congestion pricing — a tale that involves 17 years and around $700 million. The abrupt reversal, which some attribute to Hochul’s reluctance to impose a new fee in an election year, leaves metro New York grappling with a historic missed opportunity and fiscal mess. There is no relief in sight for the city’s traffic congestion, which is the worst in the world, according to data published last week. The epic collapse in New York shows how a fear of dramatic change can give the status quo stubborn power over those trying to solve some of America’s most intractable challenges. That leaves policymakers nibbling at the edges of deeply rooted problems, even after investing huge sums of money and political capital. Blown up in a New York minute were plans for around $15 billion of planned improvements to the city’s ailing mass-transit system, the largest transportation network in North America. The reversal cast aside around $700 million in meticulous prep work, including a $555-million contract to install tolling cameras—which are already up and ready to go—and $33 million for a customer-service center with 100 employees who have already been brought on, officials said. Planners invested thousands of hours, including going to London and Stockholm to research their congestion-pricing programs, according to people familiar with the travel. What was supposed to be a transformative moment when New York led the way and boldly tackled traffic congestion, air pollution and transit funding, has instead turned into a surprising loss for a broad coalition that includes major employers, real-estate developers and subway riders. Surprised by the reversal were Hochul’s own lieutenants, including Janno Lieber, a fierce champion of congestion pricing and the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA—which carries around 5.5 million passengers each day in the New York metro area—now faces a $16.5 billion-financial hole from the loss of money from congestion pricing and federal matching funds. Just days after Hochul’s announcement, a beleaguered Lieber joined a conference call with advocates in which he said he was equally shocked and remained committed to the program, three people familiar with the exchange said. “This is devastating,” he said, according to a person on the call. Here's the latest from me and Joseph De Avila —>

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There are too few authors willing to share honest assessments of the financial outcomes of their books. Here's an author who sold 250,000 copies of his book, who writes "But if I’m being brutally honest with myself, the financial picture of my book has thus far been pretty mediocre." Clearly it's not the publishers fault -- this is an internal assessment of the financial impact of a major business/self-help bestseller. https://lnkd.in/gHgEDJmd

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By the end of writing this story, I still have one question: how much does it cost banks to process PayWave transactions? Do banks HAVE to pass on the cost? I would love to hear from anyone who knows anything on this topic! https://lnkd.in/gYxVWuWd

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