Accounting and Financial News Stories
Junk Bonds Regain Fans
Wall Street Journal
Some investors are turning again to junk bonds, saying their higher yields make them a good bet at a time when many stocks and government bonds appear richly valued. The idea of buying into lower-rated companies with large debt loads at a time of general economic unease and acute concern about a possible U.K. departure from the European Union is anathema to many risk-averse investors.
AICPA and CIMA Create New International Accounting Association
CPA Practice Advisor
Members of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) voted overwhelmingly in their own organizations to approve the formation of a new accounting association that will include members from around the world, and will integrate operations and represent the entire accounting profession. The membership bodies of each organization will remain separate, however.
Struggling for Profit Selling Health Insurance in State Marketplaces
New York Times
Oscar Health was going to be a new kind of insurance company. Started in 2012, just in time to offer plans to people buying insurance under the new federal health care law, the business promised to use technology to push less costly care and more consumer-friendly coverage. “We’re trying to build something that’s going to turn the industry on its head,” Joshua Kushner, one of the company’s founders, said in 2014, as Oscar began to enroll its first customers.
IRS Issues Updated Notice Regarding Safe Harbor for Transfers of Property to Regulated Public Utilities by Electricity Generators
JD Supra Business Advisor
On June 10, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-36 (the Notice), updating the safe harbor (Safe Harbor) regarding transfers of property from an electricity generator to a regulated public utility that was previously provided in Notice 88-129, 1988-2 C.B. 541, Notice 90-60, 1990-2 C.B. 345, and Notice 2001-82, 2001-2 C.B. 619 (the Prior Notices). The Notice modifies and supersedes the Prior Notices.
Why the IPO Market Can’t Be Judged by Its Size
Wall Street Journal
For investors, 2016 is turning out to be a banner year for IPOs. For bankers, not so much. Market turbulence has made it hard for companies to go public, with just 31 IPOs so far this year. That makes 2016 the quietest year for new stock offerings since also turbulent year of 2009.
The 1% - Future Targets Of IRS Drug Testing?
Forbes
Tomorrow, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI) plans to introduced the “Top 1% Accountability Act of 2016,” a bill designed to subject anyone filing an itemized tax claim over $150,000 to drug testing. Rep. Moore claims that drug testing low income individuals who receive government assistance is an unfair practice that suggests only poor people use drugs.
HSBC Has More to Fix Beyond its Household
Wall Street Journal
HSBC’s long U.S. mortgage nightmare is largely over, but the ending came at a cost. The U.K. bank bought Household International, the U.S. subprime mortgage lender, in 2003. Household was meant to give HSBC not only a good stream of earnings uncorrelated with its European and Asian arms, but also sophisticated credit assessment technology that HSBC could use to grow lending to riskier customers in emerging markets.