Tesla’s electric Semi trucks are being recalled over a faulty electronic parking brake, according to a notice posted online by the NHSTA. The recall comes after Tesla made its first deliveries …
Introduction Estate planning is primarily about the transmission of wealth. However, it should be about much more. Many people don’t want to delve into family skeletons or tackle emotionally charged issues. …
April is financial literacy month and the month-long celebration often comes with appeals to low-income and marginalized communities that suggest the silver bullet to their financial woes is financial literacy–and it’s …
Shares in China companies traded on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange notched up big gains today as Shanghai partly eased lockdowns tied to stringent “zero-Covid” policies that left millions …
Shares in China companies traded on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange notched up big gains today as Shanghai partly eased lockdowns tied to stringent “zero-Covid” policies that left millions of dwellers in one of the world’s richest cities stuck in apartments and building communities for up to two months.
Twitter and China social platform WeChat after midnight local time today showed images of relieved Shanghai residents posting selfies from iconic spots in the Chinese business hub, along with images of main roadways dotted with vehicles for the first time in weeks.
“Out here in the sticks of Pudong (eastern Shanghai) I swear I can hear fireworks going off as people celebrate the end of the lockdown,” Jeffrey Wilson, a lawyer and long-time American resident, wrote on Twitter.
Beyond expected pent-up consumer spending, investors buying shares today are also hoping government stimulus will help spur a rebound in the world’s second-largest largest economy in the second half of the year.
On a day in which U.S. main stock indexes fell on interest rate and inflation concerns, China’s e-commerce bellwethers chalked up gains. Alibaba gained 2.8%, Pinduoduo rose by 4.2% and JD.com climbed. 4.6%. Online travel leader Trip.com climbed 3.6%, while express delivery firm ZTO rose by 8.8% (see related post here).
Shares in KE Holdings, one of the world’s largest real estate brokerages, shot up by 16%, while Yum China, whose Pizza Hut and KFC stores make up part of China’s largest restaurant chain operator, rose by 5.2%.
Electric vehicle makers that may benefit from eased supply chain bottlenecks and government stimulus plans also gained. Among them, NIO rose by 4.9%.
Residents pose for a selfie near the Oriental Pearl Tower along the bund, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in … [+] Shanghai. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Large long- and medium-term questions remain about the sustainability of the country’s zero-Covid policies, China’s strained relations with Western countries, and political uncertainty in the run-up to a Communist Party gathering later this year in which President Xi Jinping is expected to seek a third term in office.
Today, however, was mostly a day for relief for those able to take advantage of Shanghai’s eased rules.
A recent case illustrates the importance of strictly complying with the substantiation requirements (including the contemporaneous written acknowledgement requirement) for a charitable contribution deduction under § 170. In the case, the …
A recent case illustrates the importance of strictly complying with the substantiation requirements (including the contemporaneous written acknowledgement requirement) for a charitable contribution deduction under § 170.
In the case, the taxpayer donated to a museum items from a collection of Native American jewelry and artifacts. As part of that donation, the taxpayer and the museum executed a “Deed of Gift,” which consisted of five pages. On the second page of the deed, it provided that the “donation is unconditional and irrevocable” and that “all rights, titles and interests held by the donor in the property are included in the donation, unless otherwise stated in the Gift Agreement.” Despite a reference to a “Gift Agreement,” no such agreement was provided with the deed and the museum did not provide additional written documentation about the gift.
The taxpayer electronically filed her Form 1040 for the year and reported the donation; she provided a copy of the deed with her return. The Service, however, issued a deficiency, disallowing the donation, asserting that the § 170 requirements were not satisfied.
For charitable contributions of $250 or more to be deductible, § 170(f)(8)(A) requires that the taxpayer substantiate the contribution by a “contemporaneous written acknowledgement” of the contribution that is provided by the donee organization. The subsection continues, in subparagraph (B), by providing that the acknowledgement must contain: (1) the amount of cash and a description of any non-cash property contributed; (2) whether the donee provided any goods or services for the contributed property; and (3) if the donee did provide goods or services, a good faith estimate of their value (or a statement if it consisted solely of intangible religious benefits).
Here, the Service argued that, although the taxpayer received the deed from the museum, that deed did not meet the content requirements for the acknowledgement. In particular, the Service argued that the deed did not specify whether the museum provided any goods or services in return for the donation (or that it represented the entire agreement between the parties). In support of its position, the Service argued that the reference in the deed to the “Gift Agreement” created ambiguity as to whether additional terms—such as relating to the provision of goods or services—were part of the donation.
The Tax Court noted that when a deed does not contain the explicit statement that the donee provided no goods or services, the court could examine the deed to see if such goods or services were provided. Illuminating that examination, the court explained, is whether “the deed (i) effectively states whether any goods or services were provided in the exchange; (ii) states the donation is an unconditional gift; (iii) recites no consideration received in the exchange; and (iv) contains a provision stating that the deed is the entire agreement of the parties.”
The tension, the court explained, was the language in the deed that provided “all rights, titles and interests held by the donor in the property are included in the donation, unless otherwise stated in the Gift Agreement.” (Emphasis added by court.) As such, the court continued, the reference to another document—which could supersede the deed—provided the opportunity for a presence of a quid pro quo arrangement (under which the donor could retain an interest in the donated property). In other words, the Tax Court noted a potential for a side agreement that included additional and possibly superseding terms.
Interestingly, in a footnote, the Tax Court noted that the parties now agreed that the museum did not provide any consideration as part of the donation. However, the court explained that was “of no consequence” because the § 170(f)(8) requirements are examined by “what the taxpayer obtained from the donee organization at the earlier of the time the return was filed or the filing due date . . . .”
The Tax Court concluded by noting that substantial compliance is not good enough to satisfy the “strict requirements” of § 170(f)(8)(B). Consequently, the Tax Court held that the taxpayer was not entitled to the charitable contribution deduction.
The case is Albrecht v. Comm’r, T. C. Memo. 2022-53 (May 25, 2022).
This is only a summary of the case and some portions—including facts, issues, citations, or analysis—may have been omitted or edited; if you need advice in this area, please review the case in its entirety and consult an attorney.
Google has already lifted the lid on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro but now the company has leaked a third premium Pixel smartphone, and it might be the most …
Google has already lifted the lid on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro but now the company has leaked a third premium Pixel smartphone, and it might be the most intriguing of them all.
Reference to the mysterious device was discovered by 9to5Google in the code of Google’s Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It features alongside mentions of the C10 ‘Cheetah’ (Pixel 7 Pro), P10 ‘Panther’ (Pixel 7), ‘Felix’ and ‘Lynx’ (the budget-friendly Pixel 7a and delayed Pixel foldable). The new device is the ‘G10’ and 9to5Google believes it may be a new flagship model.
“Yes, we are talking about what could be a potential Pixel Ultra,” explains 9to5Google’s Damien Wilde.
Breaking down the device, Wilde states that the code reveals it is running a top tier 1440 x 3120-pixel display with a 120Hz refresh rate that measures 71 x 155mm (6.7-inch diagonal) – these specs match the Pixel 7 Pro. The difference is that while the AOSP code indicates the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will use the same Samsung display panels as last year’s models, the G10 panel uses a new panel made by BOE.
Furthermore, while the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have excellent displays they aren’t as bright as the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max. So sticking with them in 2022 does leave room in the lineup for Google to add a new top model.
Google Pixel 7 Pro concept render
LetsGoDigital
Little else is known about this new device. The AOSP code hasn’t tied it to the second generation ‘GS201’ Tensor chip (codename Cloudripper) like Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which leaked this detail in earlier Android 13 beta code. While this pairing seems obvious, it does leave room for a higher clocked version of the chip (GS202?) if this is indeed an Ultra model and Google is looking to differentiate.
Ultimately, we will have to wait for more details before we know if 9to5Google’s hunch is right. But knowing Google’s tendency to leak details in Android code and with a new Android 13 beta release coming soon, my hunch is we won’t have to wait long for more.
The “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) market is hotter than ever. With a strong presence on major retailers’ websites and increasing brand awareness among consumers, BNPL is receiving growing attention from …
The “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) market is hotter than ever. With a strong presence on major retailers’ websites and increasing brand awareness among consumers, BNPL is receiving growing attention from the world’s top banks, lenders, and credit card providers.
While the concept is nearly a century old, Forrester has been tracking the “reemergence” of this deferred payment option since 2017. As of now, the market has been mostly defined by a few leading BNPL providers such as Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and Zip. But with no signs of slowing, banks would be remiss to ignore this fast-growing market.
To help banks understand how they can tap into BNPL, my colleague Nicole Murgia and I recently published a report, The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Opportunity. Here are some of our key findings:
BNPL usage is growing across consumer groups. Since 2019, the usage of BNPL has more than tripled in the US. While adopters of BNPL tend to skew younger, with Millennials and Gen Zers making up the majority, there are users across all age groups. In addition, contrary to some assumptions, BNPL is used pretty evenly across all income levels, although when it comes to credit, BNPL tends to be more attractive to those with “fair” or “poor” credit scores.
Today’s three most common BNPL business models each have their own pros and cons. We identified the three most common B2C BNPL business models: (1) merchant-integrated; (2) credit card add-on; and (3) virtual cards. Some firms operate across more than one of these business models. Each model comes with its own set of pros and cons. For example, merchant-integrated BNPL solutions are seamlessly integrated into retailers’ sites throughout the shopping journey, which drives high consumer awareness. But there’s a high cost to driving brand recognition, and scale necessitates merchant relationships. Whereas credit-card BNPL add-on solutions may come with an established brand and existing cardholder base, the lack of checkout integration means it may not be top of mind for shoppers.
Several factors will shape the future of the BNPL market. BNPL is an incredibly popular (and controversial) topic in the financial services industry. In the next few years, we expect that laws and regulations that protect consumers of this payment type will emerge worldwide. Countries including Australia, Sweden, the UK, and the US have taken steps toward regulation, and even banks, including Barclays and Capital One, have taken action. BNPL appeals to many consumers because it lacks credit reporting. With the misuse of BNPL among consumers becoming public, however, credit bureaus are rolling out BNPL capabilities to enhance underwriting decisions and promote financial inclusion.
Banks and lenders that want to participate must choose their route to market wisely. There are several routes to market for banks and lenders to consider if they want to participate in the BNPL market. One option is to offer capital, credit expertise, and licensing to BNPL firms. Another is to add a BNPL offering on to existing credit cards: this may seem the most efficient way to enter the BNPL market, but it may also be the toughest. Some banks are launching a standalone BNPL service, but this route may prove challenging, since 36% of US online adults already have a preferred BNPL provider. And while larger BNPL companies have been scooping up smaller players to aid their geographic expansion, banks and other financial services firms clearly have an opportunity to buy or partner, as well.
This post was written by Principal Analyst Alyson Clarke and it originally appeared here.
Topline President Joe Biden met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the White House on Tuesday to discuss tackling historically high levels of inflation, declaring it a top priority for …
President Joe Biden met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the White House on Tuesday to discuss tackling historically high levels of inflation, declaring it a top priority for the administration while also reassuring the public that the economy remains strong.
Key Facts
At the meeting, President Biden and Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled the growing urgency needed in fighting inflation, which remains at 40-year highs and has led to rising recession fears among investors who have been battered by a brutal market selloff this year.
The President reiterated on Tuesday that while bringing down inflation is a paramount concern, he will provide the central bank with the “independence it needs to tackle inflation,” Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, said at a press conference following Biden and Powell’s meeting.
The Biden Administration remains committed to fighting inflation, which is a “global challenge”—as evidenced by the dismal euro zone inflation report earlier today—but is “not going to interfere” with the Fed’s work, Deese noted at the press conference.
Prior to his discussion with Fed Chair Powell, Biden declared fighting inflation a “top economic priority” for his administration, according to his recent op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal.
Despite gloomy outlooks on Wall Street about a possible recession, the U.S. economy is taking on inflation from a position of “relative economic strength” and is in a period of transitioning from a historically strong recovery to more stable, resilient growth.
While the White House wouldn’t comment on specifics of Fed policy, Biden “agrees with the assessment” that the Fed is making on inflation and “has confidence in the people that he has nominated,” Deese said.
Crucial Quote
The administration is “confident that we can approach this challenge and focus our efforts on bringing inflation down without having to sacrifice economic growth because of the unique position of strength we are in,” Deese said after Biden and Powell’s meeting. Giving the central bank the ability to operate is “critically important, particularly at a moment when inflation is elevated but cannot be taken for granted, which is why the President is reinforcing it publicly today.”
Key Background
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a half-percentage point earlier in May, its most aggressive increase yet in the battle against surging consumer prices. With recently released minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting indicating that most officials favor similar 0.50% interest rate hikes at upcoming meetings in June and July, the central bank is on pace for its most aggressive rate-hiking cycle in decades.
Paris Hilton broke on to the scene in 2013, after the premier of The Simple Life. It was the first reality show of its kind. After a successful, five-year run she …
Paris Hilton broke on to the scene in 2013, after the premier of The Simple Life. It was the first reality show of its kind. After a successful, five-year run she needed to figure out what to do next.
Remember, this is 2017. There weren’t other influencers to follow. Actually there weren’t any influencers at all.
She had to figure it out all by herself.
Hilton said, “Even before there was social media, I was an influencer before there was a name for it. I’m the O.G. and the creator of all this.
I always had a plan and my plan was right. People were saying that I was just famous for being famous but now that’s literally a whole new genre of celebrity. Now you see people doing the exact same thing. So, I think it’s amazing that you’re able to build your fame off of just being yourself.”
And she has built quite an empire by doing just that: 45 branded stores and 19 different product lines that have generated over four billion dollars in revenue.
That makes sense. Paris Hilton should have her own perfume or her own doll. Where her story gets interesting is that she didn’t just stop there. She kept pushing forward and has always been at the forefront of new technology.
She said, “I am a huge undercover nerd. I may not look like it on the outside but inside I am. I’ve always been obsessed with technology, the future, video games, art, crypto, etc.”
Hilton got into crypto in 2016 after she had lunch with the founder of Ethereum. She started buying Ethereum and Bitcoin, and while she won’t reveal how much money she invested, she would have made a substantial amount of money if she held onto it.
In 2016, one Bitcoin was worth roughly $1,000, while one Ethereum was worth around $10. Today Bitcoin is trading at $32,061 and Ethereum is $1,960.
During the pandemic, Paris started spending a lot of time on the Clubhouse app. She would stay on there for hours connecting with some of the most brilliant people in the NFT space.
I interviewed some of the biggest NFT insiders in the world, a couple of months ago, and they all kept mentioning Paris Hilton. I thought that was odd because, on paper, she has absolutely nothing in common with the male dominated, techie, NFT space.
But everyone that I spoke to had great things to say about her: How she supports so many new artists (especially women), how smart she is and how she brings a new audience into the NFT world.
And don’t just take their word for it. She was recently named the 7th most influential person in NFTs by Money.
Hilton said, “In 2019, I got approached by Cryptograph because the Australia fires were happening and they wanted to raise money. So, I got an iPad and drew my cat and called it Crypto Kitten and we sold it for the charity. And then I was like, ‘Wow. This is amazing! A digital piece of art could raise all of these funds.’ And this was before the whole NFT craze.
And I was on Clubhouse a lot during the pandemic. I was meeting all the leaders in the space and became friends with people, like Whale Shark, and just all of these brilliant people. The space is incredible! I’ve met so many friends and I love how everyone is so supportive of each other. Everyone really lifts each other up. It’s so different from Hollywood.”
She’s very passionate about supporting women artists in the NFT space.
Hilton said, “I wanted to use my voice, and my platform, to uplift these female artists. I’ve done so many different projects uplifting them, like The Seven Foundation. I’ve done an all-female artist art show called Empowered By Paris and that was incredible.”
Does Paris have any advice for people who want to get started with NFTs?
She said, “I recommend that they start by going to Origin Protocall. I love working with them. They are an incredible platform and they aways have amazing artists with the sickest drops. And it’s really important, when buying NFTs, to do your research because you really want to invest in projects that you believe in.”
Hilton also has her sights on the Metaverse.
She said, “I have been thinking about the Metaverse, and planning for this, for a long time; before there even was a word for it. Back in 2018, when I was shooting my documentary, American Meme, I created this whole place where people could come and watch me DJ and be their own avatars. I was mapping myself out and building this whole world but the technology just wasn’t there yet. Now it is.
We launched Paris World inside of Roblox. I wanted to really bring in “real life” experiences. I get to do all these really incredible things but not everyone gets to go to Neon Carnival or they don’t get to go to New York Fashion Week. So, I just bring everything that I’m doing, in real life, to the Metaverse.
There are all of these different Metaverses. My favorites are Roblox and Sandbox. Gala Games is killing it as well. I think it’s the next thing in pop culture.
We had 400,000 people come to Neon Carnival (in Paris World) and in real life I think there were 10,000 people there. On New Year’s Eve we were in the Maldives, and I was just DJing in my suite, and watching all the kids have the best time. I was like, ‘Wow this is so cool!’
I hope one day, when I have a daughter, she’ll only want to be partying in the Metaverse: safe and at home. I love how I used to be ‘Queen of the Clubs’ and now I’m the. ‘Queen of the Metaverse.’”
In addition to all of this, she also recently has launched her own media company: 11:11 Media.
Hilton said, “It’s an integrated, modern, media company. We do everything from digital, television, audio, products, licensing, NFTs, Metaverse, etc. We do it all. Since I’m the one who is the blueprint, and wrote the whole playbook on the creator economy, I thought the best next step was to build a creator focused media company.
After being in the industry for the past two decades, and learning everything and understanding the creator economy, I just wanted people to have a place where they could launch their own businesses, products and content and whatever they like.”
And regular people actually have the chance to work with her at 11:11 Media. This is very rare in the space. Jobs at companies similar to this never come up on job boards. They’re given to industry insiders. But Paris is running her company differently.
She partnered with ZipRecruiter to help meet 11:11’s growing needs to bring on talented people to join the team and to cast a wide net. To kick off the partnership, 11:11 and ZipRecruiter are launching a sweepstakes, beginning today, where someone can win a mentorship program with Paris and members of her company.
In additional to everything she has going on in her business life, Hilton is also is deeply passionate about giving back.
She’s working on school reform in 50 states and was recently in Washington D.C. to discuss new legislation.
Paris Hilton In Washington D.C.
Brendan Forbes
Hilton said, “I’m involved in so many things right now but the thing that I’m most passionate about is the advocacy work that I’m doing. I’ve already changed laws in seven states because when I was a teenager, I went to a school called Provo Canyon School, and others like it, where they were just abusive on a daily basis: Emotionally, physically, verbally, psychologically. And it’s still happening today. We’re now taking it to a federal level so that in all 50 states this will be illegal.”
Crypto, NFTs, Metaverse…What’s next for Paris? Whatever it is, I’m going to pay attention because she’s been right about everything so far.
21-year-old Arnav Bathla had dropped out of college, made a bold move of moving into the United States with a one-way ticket, and founded Coinbooks, a San Francisco-based Web3 startup, building …
21-year-old Arnav Bathla had dropped out of college, made a bold move of moving into the United States with a one-way ticket, and founded Coinbooks, a San Francisco-based Web3 startup, building an accounting software designed for crypto-native organizations.
The company, which Arnav calls “Quickbooks for crypto”, is only 6 months old has now raised a total of $3.2 million with support from world-class investors like Lattice Capital, Founders, Inc. Multicoin Capital, and even Polygon’s MATIC very own founders. The company was also accepted into Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator program participating in the summer 2022 batch.
Originally from India, Arnav had dropped out of college just last year to pursue his dreams of founding his own tech company. He said that ever since when he was 13 years old, he was always fascinated by computers and technology. He was then inspired by the stories of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs to create a product of his own that will impact billions of people all over the world.
Arnav Bathla reading a book at University of Victoria campus
Arnav Bathla
However, it wasn’t always a straight line and certainly wasn’t an overnight success for Arnav. For the past 2 years, he has played around with different ideas and almost none of them solved a ‘pressing’ problem. He went from one idea to the next until, at some point in his journey, he had nothing but $0.50 cents in his bank account. He said that he was basically able to survive by in pitch competition money.
“I had $0,50 cents in my bank account and at some point, I had to go 2 days without a meal and survive with the money I received from pitch competitions.” Arnav adds.
Arnav Bathla’s tweet about his journey into Coinbooks
Arnav Bathla/Twitter
Arnav never lost hope and through all of this, he developed one important skill, grit. He believes that grit is a skill all founders must have. Additionally, he always believed that he was destined to become a startup founder which is why he never gave up.
He likes to coin the phrase, “Friends over transactions”, when it comes to building relationships. When asked what advice would he give to aspiring founders and tech entrepreneurs, he said that developing grit and resiliency is the key. “It’s going to be hard and challenging. You have to make sure you surround yourself with the right people, especially those who you look up to or people that have been where you are. In my case, I had to reach out to Series B founders to get their guidance and mentorship.”
The idea of Coinbooks was born when he saw that a growing number of crypto-native companies had to handle their bookkeeping in a very manual and repetitive way. Additionally, no one wants to handle back-office work.
Coinbooks landing page
Coinbooks
“Accounting is an area that needs more iteration and innovation in the crypto space and the truth is that founders and teams don’t want to handle accounting operations themselves, even for the non-Web3 companies, which is why they always delegate and outsource.” Arnav adds.
There’s also no present solution in the market that solves this type of problem for Web3 companies, there’s Intuit INTU and Quickbooks for companies that transact in fiat, but nothing for crypto. Arnav saw this as a huge opportunity and founded Coinbooks to fill in the gap.
The idea is simple, crypto teams will connect their crypto wallet/s and integrate their existing account software like Quickbooks, then Coinbooks will process transactions and accounting under the hood in as simple as one click. Tagging and labeling a transaction is easy and quick.
Coinbooks landing page
Coinbooks
Coinbooks is currently building the fastest accounting software for crypto-native organizations and already has customers like Layer3, ThirdWeb, and Pointer. The company has also established partnership with bookkeeping and tax preparation companies like Fondo, Metacounts, and Electrafrost.
When asked what’s his 10-year vision for Coinbooks, Arnav said, “To become the financial infrastructure for the crypto industry.” The plan is to not only build an accounting software but to provide an entire financial back-office, which includes handling crypto payments, payroll, and compliance for Web3 organizations, preparing taxes like TurboTax, and providing a CFO CFO or Chief Financial Officer treatment.
Arnav envisions a world where everyone pay in crypto and that a decade from now, every company that transact in crypto will use Coinbooks. For more info about Coinbooks, visit the official website at coinbooks.xyz.
We’re still several months away from the anticipated close date of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition – Whether it’s on again or off again depends on the day. A lot has happened …
We’re still several months away from the anticipated close date of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition – Whether it’s on again or off again depends on the day. A lot has happened in just the 5 weeks since the deal was announced and we anticipate more will happen between now and October. But rest assured: We can count on the drama about Twitter to continue to publicly play out on Twitter. Amidst all this, where do consumers stand?
One in Four US Conservative Males Think Elon Musk Will Make Twitter Better
Forrester just received the results from its May 2022 Consumer Energy Index And Retail Pulse Survey of 1,556 online adults in the US, UK, and France – of which 335 use Twitter. More Twitter users in the US (23%) versus the UK (14%) and France (11%) indicate that Elon Musk will make Twitter better. And when we segment responses for all online adults in the US by gender and by political affiliation, we see a conservative male skew: Twenty-three percent of US males versus 11% of US females believe Elon Musk will make Twitter better. And a quarter (25%) of conservative US online adults believe the same (versus 11% liberals).
One In Ten Users Believe Twitter Content Moderation Practices Are Too Strict
In April, we blogged that Elon’s battle over free speech is a fight against content moderation. Yet our data indicates that roughly 10% of Twitter users in the US feel that content moderation practices on Twitter around hate speech and misinformation are too strict and should be loosened. To the contrary, as my colleague Kelsey Chickering points out, the spread of disinformation has become a systemic problem and more needs to be done to curb it, else Twitter risks alienating revenue-providing advertisers. But could Twitter mitigate any revenue shortfalls by accelerating its subscription model?
A Twitter Subscription-Only Service Is A Hard Sell
One of the reasons Twitter Blue hasn’t gained much traction since it launched comes down to cost versus benefit. Users simply aren’t getting material value for a $2.99 monthly subscription fee. Our data shows that 5% or fewer current Twitter users subscribe to Twitter Blue. So, whether Elon Musk can kickstart Twitter’s subscription service or not will depend on offering substantially more value to justify a premium price point.
An ad-free experience, by itself, isn’t going to tip the scales since ads on Twitter are far less intrusive as compared to other ad formats on other platforms. Things like exclusivity, status, and access begin to move the needle but nonetheless it will be a hard sell: Fewer than 10% of Twitter users indicate that Twitter should become an entirely subscription-based service with no ads.
To learn more about marketing amidst culture wars, register to attend Forrester’s CX North America here.
This post was written by VP, Research Director Mike Proulx and it originally appeared here.
Are you the responsible one who takes leadership in attending to your aging parents? Unless you are an only child, it seems that there is a responsible adult child in all …
Are you the responsible one who takes leadership in attending to your aging parents? Unless you are an only child, it seems that there is a responsible adult child in all the families we work with at AgingParents.com. That would be the person who notices signs of declining health and expresses concern. That would be the one who seeks solutions to legal and healthcare issues and is willing to take action. And that responsible person can get a great deal of resistance from difficult siblings.
Marian is an example of this. Both of her elderly parents have dementia and recently moved to assisted living. They have the funds to cover the costs but Dad is getting more and more forgetful about money. Marian has taken over financial management, as she was appointed by her parents to do. Marian has only one sibling, a brother, whom she characterizes as “flat out crazy”. From her description, she may be right about that. He harasses her, makes threats about what he is going to do to her and has actually carried out one of them. He contacted her employer and made numerous false statements, accusing her of wrongdoing. The supervisor could see that the brother seemed mentally unbalanced, but imagine how stressful it was for Marian to have to explain her crazy brother’s actions to her employer.
Marian is simply trying to keep her parents safe and manage their funds, now that they both are declining and unable to remember to pay bills. Possibly, her brother is jealous and wants to get control over the money. His actions escalated when she took over financial management. She is doing the right thing, but her brother’s threats frighten her. She asked for advice at AgingParents.com.
Given that Marian is being harassed, and that her brother has already attempted to intimidate her and interfere with her employment, she has an option. We advised her to get a restraining order against her brother. The process is not especially complicated legally. She must collect all the data she has: his threatening letters, the report of the work supervisor about her brother’s contact with them at her job, the vicious texts, and recorded calls. She is smart enough to have kept all these records of his actions. We referred her to an attorney who does civil litigation and has worked with us successfully in the past on restraining orders. She has a very good chance of success in seeking one for protection against her brother.
Sibling conflicts about the care of aging parents are common. Marian’s brother is obsessed with money. He attempted to smear his sister with her employer. She has to stop this, but who will pay for the lawyer to get a restraining order? In all likelihood, as this is about the parents’ money, their funds can be used to pay.
My message to any responsible adult child who is legally, appropriately and honestly attempting to handle a parent’s funds for their benefit is that you are in the right. Anyone who tries to stop you from doing your job by making personal threats against you needs to be dealt with in a powerful way. The law does allow a court to hear requests to stop personal threats against a person. You must have concrete evidence to support the claim. Getting a “stay away order” (restraining order), is worth it in this sort of case. Courts allow enforcement of restraining orders. That may be the best protection Marian has.
In cases where the difficult sibling has not gone as far as Marian’s brother did, other options exist. Marian also has authority on her parents’ healthcare directive. She has already limited her brother from visiting her parents in their room at the assisted living residence. Visits are in the open where staff can observe what her brother does. She knows that her brother will try to pressure and manipulate them over money. She can restrict him further if needed. Anyone with an Advance Healthcare Directive can control who sees a vulnerable elder in a care facility under the authority of that document. If his behavior gets worse, she has the power to cut off contact between him and her parents.
The Takeaways:
1. A difficult sibling involved with aging parents can create risks to them. There are ways to protect yourself and your elders if threats are being made by the difficult person.
2. The courts do allow evidence to be presented as to harassment, intimidation, and interference with one’s employment. Courts do grant restraining orders to protect those who are being threatened.
3. Even if you are not sure about an out-of-control person in your family, legal advice can offer you guidance and confidence about what to do. Do not ignore the seriousness of threats against you or your aging loved ones.
May was Older Americans Month and this year’s theme, “Age My Way!” highlighted a much needed takeaway by learning from older Americans what they wish they’d known to prepare for their …
May was Older Americans Month and this year’s theme, “Age My Way!” highlighted a much needed takeaway by learning from older Americans what they wish they’d known to prepare for their post-work lives. First, 78% of those recently surveyed wish they had saved more.
Many also regret not creating a plan for how they wanted to spend their retired years and what it would cost to fund that life. Fewer than 1 out of 5 retirees made such a plan (18%). Also as surveyed, three out of four people age 50 plus know they want to age in place—aka, living independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible after they retire from work. So how can you make sure you can do that? While there are a lot of unknowns when planning the future, research has shown that people who are aging in place have four major ways to make it happen, namely:
1) Know your sources of income ahead of time: Sources range from “secure income”— such as Social Security benefits and traditional pensions—to lump-sum income, such as workplace savings and investment accounts. The latter requires knowing what taxes are involved and when and how to draw down those funds – remember RMD’s – Required Minimum Distributions. Even if retirement is years away, learn about the system and how to claim Social Security so you get the most out of your benefit. That action will vary depending on the age you apply and whether you decide to receive your own worker benefit or a spouse’s, if eligible. Start by registering for an SSA account.
If you have lost track of a retirement account you had with a previous employer, Make sure you know how to find it.
Have you neglected to fund an ‘emergency’ account for unexpected expenses? Start now—even if you are paying off debt – everyone needs a flexible account – start small but start soon. One advantage is not having to draw down from your retirement accounts when the markets tank – think 2022!
Every day our office receives calls from women who are unhappily surprised by rules they were not aware of or learning that they will not receive a spouse’s retirement benefit leaving them with an unexpected financial shortfall. Remember, both spouses in a couple need to familiarize themselves with all these financials. And women, single or married, need to make sure they know what to know. About 67% of women 85 plus live alone, and will need more income since women tend to live longer.
2) Understand your healthcare costs—and the ways to pay for them: These costs can vary hugely, but many people underestimate potential costs. Average lifetime medical expenses for couples 65 plus are $315,000—that’s out-of-pocket, beyond what Medicare Part A, B and D cover. Medicare doesn’t, for instance, cover most long-term care, such as nursing home stays or home health workers who come to your home. Once you’re aware of such costs, you may decide to purchase a newer version of long-term care insurance—research it first.
3) Realize there’s a network of support out there for you, but know what you will need to pay for it: As you reach an advanced age – or if you or your spouse decline in health earlier than expected — you will likely need others to help. The Administration for Community Living (ACL)’s Eldercare Index for services exists to provide Americans with help with needs like medical transportation and caregiving—and how to do so within your zip code. You or perhaps a caregiver can access help through the U.S. Administration on Aging’s local Network of Area Agencies on Aging.
You should also have all your important documents in order and legal agreements drawn up, so that a designated person or persons can act on your behalf in regard to your finances and wishes for medical care. These resources become essential if, of course, your physical or mental health declines.
And in case you aren’t familiar with the costs of caregiving now is a good time to point out that if an adult family member lives nearby and will likely step up and become your caregiver, it’s vital for the whole family to realize how much that job may demand. It’s estimated that 53 million Americans are caregivers, and that on average they spend $7,242 of their own money each year on the person they’re caring for. That’s not counting lost wages and retirement income if they need to step back from their own job. Families can learn about ways to fairly compensate the caregiver among them, often by drawing up a Personal Care Agreement (PCA).
If your expenses become too great — or if you weren’t able to save as much as you had hoped – you may have further options, such as downsizing to a smaller home, or considering a reverse mortgage line of credit, so consider the pros and cons. But with a plan in place adapting to the various stages of aging and will be easier to handle for everyone involved.
4) Have a network of unpaid support (i.e., family or friends): One of the reasons people want to age in place is to stay connected to the community they’ve known and to the multiple programs designed to support independence. Typical programs include benefits counseling, meals transportation resources and assistance navigating Medicare and Medicaid. Fortunately, you can also stay connected virtually as well as in-person.
Now that you have a clearer picture of the consequences of aging, if you are too young to retire, why don’t you check in with older family members – your parents, an aunt or uncle who lives on their own – to make sure they too understand the big picture issues and have the necessary directives and paperwork that will help it go smoothly. Ask them, ‘Where do you want to be living as you age, and do you have a plan worked out to help you get there?’
