Finance

Bonn bulletin: Crunch time for climate finance

Published

2 months ago

June 10, 2024

Bonn bulletin: Crunch time for climate finance

Money talks

With the agenda adopted last Monday, negotiators on the post-2025 finance goal – known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) – started exchanging opinions on a 63-page draft text.

At this early stage – with the NCQG due to be agreed at COP29 in Baku in November – many countries are keeping suggestions on specific figures close to their chest, particularly as the UN is due to release a needs determination report in October which will offer guidance.

But the Arab Group has put forward a figure of $1.1 trillion a year from 2025 to 2029. Of this, $441 billion should be public grants and the rest should be money mobilised from other sources, including loans offered at rates cheaper than the market.

The group, backed on this by the G77+China, has even suggested how developed countries could raise that sum – through a 5% sales tax on developed countries’ fashion, tech and arms companies – plus a financial transaction tax.

Military emissions account for 5% of the global total, said Saudi Arabia’s negotiator. This surprised many observers, as Saudi Arabia is the world’s fourth-biggest per capita spender on the military and gets much of its equipment from Western arms companies.

But developed countries insist they can’t stump up all the money and are asking for help. The EU’s negotiator said the NCQG should be a “global effort” while Canada’s said it should come from a “broad set of contributors”. In other words, wealthier and more polluting developing nations like the Gulf nations should also play their part.

But developing countries remain, at least publicly, united against these attempts to differentiate between them. They say developed countries have the money – it’s just a question of whether they have the “political will to prioritise climate change”.

The other emerging divide is whether to include a sub-target for loss and damage in the NCQG. Developing countries want this but developed countries are opposed.

Asked why, the EU’s negotiator told Climate Home the Paris Agreement “does not provide any basis for liability or compensation”, and that climate finance under the NCQG should consist only of two categories: mitigation and adaptation.

The talks’ co-chairs – Australian Fiona Gilbert and South African Zaheer Fakir have slimmed down the sprawling 63-page document they presented to Bonn into a mere 45-page one. Negotiators will continue hashing it out this week. Talks continue (and are livestreamed) at 3-5 pm today and tomorrow.

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Finance

I’m a Financial Advisor: 6 Year-End Tax Moves My Wealthy Clients Make

Published

7 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

I’m a Financial Advisor: 6 Year-End Tax Moves My Wealthy Clients Make

Vasyl Dolmatov / Getty Images

The dog days of summer might seem like a strange time to start thinking about the right year-end tax moves. After all, you still have to go through spooky season and the holidays well before the taxman comes a callin’. Yet planning your tax moves well in advance can help you preserve more of your wealth long before you have to sign those forms.

Find Out: Should Trump Eliminate Income Taxes? Here’s What Tax Experts Say

For You: 7 Reasons You Should Consider a Financial Advisor — Even If You’re Not Wealthy

As the founder and CEO of 11 Financial, Taylor Kovar, CFP, has experience in helping wealthier clients make those savvy tax moves. GOBankingRates connected with Kovar to get his insights about what people with higher incomes can do to get their taxes in order as the end of the year approaches (it’ll be here sooner than you know).

Contribute to Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts

One of Kovar’s first big pieces of advice for wealthy clients is to ensure that they’re maximizing contribution to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, like 401(k)s, IRAs and Roth IRAs.

“For 2024, the contribution limits are $22,500 for 401(k)s ($30,000 if over age 50) and $6,500 for IRAs ($7,500 if over age 50),” he said. “Making these contributions can reduce taxable income and boost long-term savings.”

Read Next: This Is the One Type of Debt That ‘Terrifies’ Dave Ramsey

Focus on Charitable Giving

Giving money to causes that inspire you doesn’t just do your heart and soul some good, it can also have great benefits for your bottom line. Kovar recommends that his clients consider making donations to qualified charities before the year’s end to help save on taxes.

“Additionally, they can donate appreciated assets such as stocks or real estate to avoid capital gains taxes and receive a charitable deduction,” he added. “For those 70 and a half and older, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs can be a tax-efficient way to give.”

Explore Tax-Loss Harvesting

While the word harvesting conjures images of plucking fresh fruits and vegetables out of the ground, tax-loss harvesting can help you generate more green. As Kovar explained it, tax-loss harvesting involves selling investments at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce taxable income.

“Investors should review their portfolios to identify underperforming assets that can be sold to realize losses and minimize their tax liability,” he said.

Make Annual Gifts

Kovar also recommends that his wealthy clients make annual gifts to reduce their estate size and potentially avoid estate taxes. Even better? They get to see the recipient enjoy their gift. For 2024, the annual gift tax exclusion is $17,000 per recipient.

“Reviewing and updating estate planning documents and strategies can ensure that their estate plan is aligned with current laws and personal goals,” he added.

Convert to a Roth IRA

If you’re expecting your income to increase in the future, you might consider converting traditional IRAs or other tax-deferred accounts to Roth IRAs.

Kovar shared that Roth conversions can be taxed in the year of conversion. However, they provide tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement.

Take RMDs

New Year’s Eve should be more than your last chance to party before the end of the year, it’s also the last day of the year you can take required minimum distributions (RMDs) to avoid penalties.

“Investors who turn 72 this year need to start taking RMDs, and those already taking them should verify they have met the requirements,” said Kovar.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Financial Advisor: 6 Year-End Tax Moves My Wealthy Clients Make

Finance

2 charts show why the stock market sell-off isn't done yet

Published

14 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

2 charts show why the stock market sell-off isn't done yet

The roaring stock market rally of 2024 has finally hit a pause.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) tallied their worst one-day drops since 2022 on Wednesday and extended those losses on Thursday. Over the past 10 days the benchmark S&P 500 is down about 3%, while the Nasdaq is down more than 6%.

The recent pause in the rally’s chug higher aligns with calls from equity strategists in our recently released third volume of the Yahoo Finance Chartbook. Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner noted that in years when the S&P 500 has risen more than 10% in the first half of the year, the second half usually sees an average pullback of about 9%.

Through the end of June, the S&P 500 was up about 14%.

“This choppier market action of late, which we have been anticipating, likely has further to go in terms of price and time,” Lerner wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.

Tech has been the clear leader of the recent market drawdown. Information Technology and Communication Services are the only two of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 with negative returns over the past month. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Lerner reasoned that the recent sell-off in Tech made sense given how far up the sector had run.

In late June, tech had outperformed the S&P 500 on a rolling two-month basis by the most since 2002, per Lerner’s research. Lerner reasons that, like a rubber band that becomes overstretched, there’s usually a snapback from extreme levels of outperformance in markets.

“When we get that stretched, a little bit of bad news can go a long way,” Lerner said.

The “little bit of news” came via earnings reports from Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) after the bell on Tuesday leading into Wednesday’s sell-off. Lerner noted that the earnings weren’t bad but failed to impress investors, who had a high bar entering this reporting season.

Earnings from Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN) expected next week will prove the next test for investor sentiment in the tech sector. Lerner reasoned that, after the market reset over the past few trading sessions, there’s a chance technology’s latest swath of earnings can surpass investors’ now-trimmed expectations.

“I think the secular story of this bull market is still intact,” Lerner said. “Money will come back there. I just think more likely you need a resting period and kind of a pause that refreshes.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 02: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on April 02, 2024 in New York City. All three major stock indexes closed at a loss with the Dow Jones leading the way closing over 350 points falling for a second day as Wall Street has a turbulent start to the second quarter. Both the Dow and S&P 500 had its worst day since March 5th. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) — Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on April 2, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) (Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images)

BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski also highlighted the likelihood of a pause in stocks’ climb higher in the latest edition of our Chartbook. Similarly to Lerner’s analysis, Belski’s work shows that going back to 1949, the second year of a bull market sees a roughly 9% average pullback. The most recent bull market started in October 2022.

Belski told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that the market was “ripe for a pullback from a sentiment perspective.” But to Belski, this is a “buying opportunity.” His research shows that markets typically bounce back an average of 14.5% from the bottom of the second-year bull market drawdowns he studied.

“Stocks will be higher at year-end,” Belski said.

Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.

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Finance

Pakistan's finance minister in Beijing to seek debt relief, say sources

Published

21 hours ago

July 25, 2024

Press Room

Pakistan's finance minister in Beijing to seek debt relief, say sources

Islamabad —

Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb arrived in Beijing on Thursday for talks on power sector debt relief alongside structural reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund, two government sources said.

He held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, they said, and is leading a delegation, along with Power Minister Awais Leghari, that will discuss several proposals, including reprofiling nearly $15 billion in energy sector debt.

The countries, which share a border, have been longtime allies, and rollovers or disbursements on loans from China have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.

The IMF this month agreed on a $7 billion bailout for the heavily indebted South Asian economy, while raising concerns over high rates of power theft and distribution losses that result in debt accumulating across the production chain.

The government is implementing structural reforms to reduce “circular debt” – public liabilities that build up in the power sector due to subsidies and unpaid bills – by 100 billion Pakistani rupees ($360 million) a year, Leghari has said.

On Thursday he said on X that he and the finance minister had briefed Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an on Pakistan’s “efforts to introduce tax and energy reforms in the system.”

Pakistan’s finance ministry, junior Finance Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and the Chinese finance ministry did not respond to requests for a comment.

Both the finance and power ministers told Reuters in interviews last week that they would be discussing the power sector reforms in their Beijing visit, though they did not specify the timing.

Poor and middle-class households have been affected by a previous IMF bailout reached last year, which included raising power tariffs as part of the funding program that ended in April.

China has set up over $20 billion worth of planned energy projects in Pakistan.