
You may be able to file for free, and filing sooner is the best way to prevent tax fraud. The changes — including new tax brackets and modified tax deductions — went into effect on January 1. Your tax return will reflect your 2017 taxes, meaning the new law won't apply.

Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc said on Sunday it would return about 46.3 billion yen ($425 million) of the virtual money it lost to hackers two days ago in one of the biggest-ever thefts of digital money. The theft underscores security and regulatory concerns about bitcoin and other virtual currencies even as a global boom in them shows little signs of fizzling. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) sent a notice to the country's roughly 30 firms that operate virtual currency exchanges to warn of further possible cyber-attacks, urging them to step up security.
Last year was a punk one for deals across the biotech and pharma industries. According to PWC, global deal volume dropped 23% across the Life Sciences sector, which encompasses both of these industries.

The role of the “FAANG” and “FAAMG” stocks have played in the rally is much more muted that investors might think, according to Goldman Sachs. “In addition to the misconception that this rally has been driven by easy money, irrational exuberance or the impact of Trump administration politics, we believe that there is a significant misconception about the role of FAANGs in boosting returns,” Goldman’s Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani and Brett Nelson wrote in their 2018 annual outlook that’s sent to the firm’s multimillioniare clients. Goldman noted that many have suggested that the FAANGs account for a vast portion of stock returns.
Robin Lee, co-founder and CEO of HelloGold, explains how the app lets people buy gold-backed tokens on an over-the-counter basis.
Apple Inc. has received a lot of attention for its statements about repatriating cash and slowing down older phone batteries, but investors remain focused on iPhone sales ahead of the company’s holiday-quarter earnings report. The world’s most valuable company is expected to report record revenues for its fiscal first quarter on Feb. 1, buoyed by sales of the $1,000 iPhone X. The flagship phone was in short supply during most of the quarter, but its lofty price should help lift Apple’s AAPL, +0.23% top line. Analysts are calling for revenue of $86.8 billion, up 11% from a year ago. The iPhone X starts at $999 for a 64GB model, but survey data indicated that most early adopters willing to pay
Sprint Corporation S is scheduled to release third-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Feb 2, before market opens. In the trailing four quarters, the company’s earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two and beat the estimate in the other two. Sprint continues to fortify its position in the wireless industry with network modernization and integration efforts, attractive unlimited data plans and promotional offers in its postpaid and prepaid plans.
The controversy put a focus on differences in tax policy among high- and low-tax states. But the states also differ sharply when it comes to taxing retirees. A few exempt all retirement income from taxes, and many exempt all Social Security income. Many states give seniors a break of some kind on property taxes; policy on taxation of income from pensions, 401(k), and IRA accounts varies widely. The policy of exempting retirement income dates to a time when elderly poverty rates were much higher than they are today. As recently as 1970, almost 25% of Americans older than 65 lived in poverty, according to the Census Bureau; now it’s around 9%. The federal government didn't tax Social Security until

The stock market is on fire almost one full month into 2018, and if history is any indication the next 11 months may be quite lucrative for investors. Year to date the S&P 500 has soared a cool 6% as investors have grown excited about the profit potential of big companies in the wake of President Trump's tax reform plan. Such a steep push higher in January has created what research outfit Fundstrat calls a "parabolic acceleration." Fundstrat notes that from Sept. to Dec of 2017, the S&P 500 rose 8%, or 1.98% a month. That marked an acceleration from the 1.24% average increase from Jan. to Sept. 2017. Since 1928, Fundstrat says, this parabolic acceleration has only been seen eight times. Only
The 2018 oil rally is happening at breakneck speed. As I write this, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is above $66 a barrel while Brent crude is breaching $71 a barrel for the first time since December 2014.
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is just days away from clearing up all the market noise and setting the record straight on its iPhone sales numbers. Apple stock took a beating last week, falling more than 4 percent on a new wave of negative iPhone commentary from Wall Street analysts, but the common theme among those analysts seems to be that the iPhone numbers don't necessarily matter. Without citing a source, Nikkei reported Monday that Apple has notified suppliers that it will halve its iPhone X production target to around 20 million units.
Long before allegations of serial sexual harassment against billionaire Steve Wynn reverberated from Las Vegas to Washington and Asia, the board of casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. had come under fire for weak corporate governance and deference to its founder and chairman. The board, which oversees an $18.5 billion company with casinos in Las Vegas and the Chinese territory of Macau, has been criticized for overpaying Wynn and other executives while allowing perks such as corporate jets and a land deal between the company and its founder. “A board’s governance committee, auditing committee should have been looking at him,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management.

Japanese authorities said on Monday they would investigate all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country for security gaps and ordered Coincheck to raise its standards after hackers stole $530 million of digital money from the Tokyo-based exchange. The theft - one of the world's biggest cyberheists - highlights the vulnerabilities in trading an asset that policymakers are struggling to regulate, as well as the broader risks for Japan as it aims to leverage the fintech industry to stimulate economic growth. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) on Monday ordered improvements to operations at Coincheck, which on Friday suspended trading in all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin after hackers stole 58 billion yen ($534 million) of NEM coins, among the most popular digital currencies in the world.

Monday, January 29, 2018 What to watch today President Donald Trump is back from Davos. Stocks are at record highs. And some of the biggest names in the market are set to report fourth quarter earnings in the week ahead. Monday will be relatively quiet
In tech earnings from the last quarterly reports, there was a common theme: The sector knocked it out of the park. Shares in Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. and others hit records following their last reports, and analysts are expecting much of the same when the season gets into full swing this week. A lot is riding on the success of tech companies. The sector accounts for more than a fifth of the S&P 500, meaning that stocks like Apple Inc., Microsoft and Amazon, which are the three largest holdings, could have a larger impact on markets as a whole.
Jan.28 -- About a third of China's H-shares index are racking up fresh one-year highs. It's the biggest proportion since the 2015 stock bubble. It means that even some of the laggards, such as PetroChina and China Galaxy, are doing pretty well. Bloomberg's Sofia Horta e Costa reports on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."
When Advanced Micro Devices Inc. reports earnings Tuesday, the results will hold clues about how cryptocurrency mining effected graphics-chip sales, and the forecast will give indications about the effects of flaws in AMD’s other core products. AMD AMD, +4.35% shares this year have been making up some ground lost in 2017, when rival chip maker shares skyrocketed. Gains may have been muted, though, by the January disclosure of chip design flaws that shook the industry as a whole, Spectre and Meltdown. When news of the exploits first broke, AMD played down its exposure, but has admitted that its central-processing units are vulnerable to the potential vulnerability. Shares were volatile following

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday it is crafting rules to regulate cryptocurrency transactions to protect investors and reduce the risk of fraud. The regulation, which will cover issuance and registration of cryptocurrencies, is expected to be finalised this year, said Emilio Aquino, SEC commissioner in charge of enforcement and investor protection. "You have to be extra careful how investors in this new space are protected." Authorities around the world, particularly in Asia, have attempted to rein in the global boom in trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies - a form of digital money created and maintained by its users.
Asian shares closed mixed on Monday after greater China markets gave up early gains to trade lower in the afternoon. Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed early gains to close nearly flat at 23,629.34, with energy-related stocks, trading houses and automakers mostly higher on the day. Toyota gained 0.46 percent by the end of the session. Meanwhile, other large caps closed mixed: Manufacturing company Fanuc rose 0.23 percent, Fast Retailing slipped 0.14 percent and SoftBank declined 0.2 percent. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index climbed 0.91 percent to end at 2,598.19. Samsung Electronics advanced 0.87 percent ahead of the announcement of its fourth-quarter results due later this week. Rival chipmaker

Technology stocks were in focus on Monday at the start of a big week of earnings for the sector globally, while bond yields hit multi-year highs as investors braced for major central banks to step back from ultra-easy monetary policies. The MSCI's global information technology sector index hit a record high but retreated after a report that Apple had reduced production targets for its iPhone X. That dented share prices of a number of European companies in its supply chain, leaving the sector flat on the day. The early gains were fueled by Swiss chipmaker AMS , a key Apple supplier, which reported a doubling of annual revenue and upgraded earnings guidance ahead of expectations.
Shares of Celgene Corporation (CELG) plummeted from an all-time high in October 2017 after the company discontinued research on RESOLVE, a key drug application targeting Crohn's Disease. Celgene stock barely budged following the company's Jan. 25 earnings report, which met expectations outlined in a Jan. 8 preannouncement. Celgene shares entered an accumulation phase two weeks ago, while the monthly stochastics indicator has dropped to the most extreme oversold reading since 2002, suggesting that selling pressure has run its course, ahead of a recovery effort that could post double-digit percentage returns. More importantly, the fourth quarter plunge held three-year support in the lower $90s, reinforcing a long-term trading range that could eventually yield a trip back above $140.
Apple is already having an impact this morning on news it is cutting iPhone X production. In addition to earnings we have Janet Yellen's last interest rate decision as Fed Chair. On Tuesday night President Trump gives the State of the Union address.
While other retailers were getting ready for the holiday-shopping rush, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. was already celebrating its own holiday success from Singles Day, a massive November shopping event that dwarfs Black Friday. Momentum from Singles Day is expected to provide a big lift to Alibaba BABA, +3.47% sales when the company reports December quarter earnings on Feb. 1. Investors already know that Alibaba broke its own record during the 11/11 event, thanks to updates on a company live blog. There, the e-commerce powerhouse said its gross merchandise volume for the day exceeded $25 billion, up 39% from a year earlier. It took the company just over 13 hours to top its record volume from the
At 2:57 a.m. on Friday morning in Tokyo, someone hacked into the digital wallet of Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. and pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. The episode, disclosed by Coincheck executives at a hastily arranged press conference on Friday night, comes at an awkward time for Japanese regulators, who began rolling out a new licensing system for cryptocurrency venues just a few months ago. While Bitcoin and its ilk have mostly recovered from their selloff on Friday -- thanks in part to Coincheck’s assurances over the weekend that customers would be reimbursed -- market observers say concerns over security lapses at cryptocurrency exchanges are likely to persist.
There are winners under the new tax law — and then there are the really big winners. Any company that pays enough in taxes will save money because the corporate tax rate was cut to 21%. But the big winners are the ones that get a double shot of gains because they also have lots of deferred tax liabilities (DTLs), points out Charles Mulford, an accounting professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. Think of a deferred tax liability as a store of value to offset higher taxes in the future. This situation typically arises when companies take deductions on big-ticket items at a faster rate for the tax books than for the regular financial statements that we see as investors. Also see: How to find