Russia's
struggles hit home at Miami yacht party - (www.cnbc.com) Four yachts sat docked outside a North Miami
restaurant called Lique on Thursday night for the Russian-American Chamber of
South Florida Luxury Yacht Business Mixer event. And many of the attendees had
shared anxieties. Ralph Navarro, CEO of Florida Yachts International, footed
the bill to rent out the space in the hope of building connections with wealthy
Russians with the ultimate goal of possibly making a sale. About 300 people,
most of them members of the Russian American Chamber, were in attendance, and
roughly 80 percent of them are Russian business owners and managers in
industries ranging from real estate to computer technology and finance. It's a
crowd that has grown increasingly concerned about its financial situation in
light of the economic downturn of the country where many of them do business, CNBC's
conversations with the attendees revealed.
Existing Home Sales Fall 3.1% In 2014 - (www.businessinsider.com) Existing
home sales rose less than expected in December and fell 3.1% overall in
2014. In December, existing home sales rose by 2.4% to an annualized pace
of 5.04 million. Expectations were for the report to show sales grew 3%
in December to an annualized pace of 5.08 million, up from November's pace of 4.93 million, which was a 6.1% decline from October. For
the full year, existing home sales fell 3.1% from 2013, totaling 4.93 million
down against 5.09 million last year.
Uncle
Sam Is Coming After Your Savings - (www.bloomberg.com) Earlier
in the week, I discussed the
Obama administration's proposal to tax earnings on so-called 529 college
savings plans, part of a package of tax hikes that will pay for new programs
such as his proposal to make the first two years of community college free.
This has been touted as
a plan to hike taxes on the rich to help the middle class, but in fact it's
more of a plan to redistribute money from the upper middle class to the lower
middle class. As I noted then, this proposal is not going anywhere, not just
because Republican congressmen will block it, but because it would be very
unpopular with affluent blue-state voters who currently vote for Democrats.
About the only people I saw defending this particular idea were blue-state
singles who haven't yet confronted the monstrous expense of shepherding their
progeny into the new mandarin class to which they belong. Everyone else seems
to be somewhere between confused and aghast. One comment in particular struck
me, as I saw it several times on social media and in writings: "How would
you feel if they did this to Roth IRAs?"
New
York Gun Store To Close, Owner Blames Restrictive Gun Laws - (www.dailycaller.com) A New York gun dealer says he will shut down
two stores he operates near Rochester and move to North Carolina because of
onerous regulations on the sale of firearms and ammunition. “The SAFE Act
killed us in terms of business,” Kordell Jackson, who owns Jackson Guns and
Ammo, told the Democrat & Chronicle. “It was very difficult with sales and
regulations with transferring and obtaining firearms, so I decided to close
up,” Jackson said. The SAFE Act, which was signed into law in 2013 in the wake
of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., is considered one of the toughest gun
laws in the nation. It prohibits the sale of magazines that contain more than
10 rounds and puts strict limitations on features that can be attached to
semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15. It also requires ammunition dealers to
perform background checks on the sale of ammunition similar to those performed
during firearms transactions and outlaws all private firearms transactions.
New
California Law Requires Doctor's Note For Vaccine Exemptions... - (www.kpbs.com) A new state law went
into effect Jan. 1 making it a little harder for California students to skip
required vaccinations. The law says parents can now only claim a personal
belief exemption from vaccines if they have a signed form from their doctor. But
there's still an easy way out for parents who don't want their kids to get
shots. California law requires students be vaccinated against diseases like
polio, measles and whooping cough before they can attend school. But parents
have been able to skip these requirements by signing a personal belief exemption, which says immunization is contrary to their
way of thinking. Under the new California law, parents will still be able to do
that. But they have to get a signed form from their
pediatrician saying
they've been informed of the "benefits and risks of immunization." Although
the law took effect at the start of 2014, students only need this new form when they start kindergarten or middle
school or move to California from out of state. Otherwise, their existing
exemption will still apply.
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