Category: Money Makes The World Go Round

Forget about electric cars. Cumbersome vehicles that take forever to charge are no help when it comes to finding a parking space. E-scooters are speeding ahead as the next revolution in intra-city commuting. OK, so you might still need your car if you want to head out of state, but these nifty lightweight vehicles are the perfect method of getting around a heavily congested city.

E-scooter rental businesses are cropping up around the world in its greenest places. From San Francisco to Singapore and all environmentally conscious developed cities in between, this is the latest craze.

So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that German startup Unu just raised a cool $12 million in funding to further develop its e-scooter line and work on additional products and services. The funding was led by Ponooc. Existing Unu investors Iris Capital, Capnamic Ventures, NRW.BANK and Michael Baum also took part.

Over the past five years, Unu had sold around 10,000 scooters, making it one of the most successful European e-scooter manufacturers alongside BMW and Govecs.

Move over Tesla – E-Scooters Are so Much Cooler

Unlike electronic cars, e-scooters are not only cooler, but they come with a multitude of extra perks. Namely, price savings, charging time, weight, and no worries about where to park your vehicle in a cluttered city. Being lightweight, e-scooters charge up way faster than cars and all you have to do is take the battery out and charge it at home.

It’s not exactly a featherweight though, weighing around 20 pounds (9 kilos). But the battery has a long life and you can charge it from any power outlet and take advantage of someone else’s electricity.

Unu currently markets its scooters as helping their owners to dodge traffic jams, and save time as well as the environment. But the company is potentially looking to tap into the exploding market for e-scooter rentals and scooter sharing services at home and abroad with this latest funding round.

As younger generations look for ways to preserve the environment and their precious time, e-scooters are really taking off, particularly in metropolitan areas in Europe, with Paris, in particular, a major e-scooting hub.

If Unu strikes it big with an e-scooter rental company, those 10,000 scooter sales could easily multiply tenfold. Or maybe they’re looking to enter the e-scooting rental market themselves.

Featured image from Unu.

The popular American game show Wheel of Fortune is giving away a new home valued at $350,000 as a prize for one lucky viewer for the first time ever.

Partnering with Minto Communities and Margaritaville Holdings, Wheels of Fortune will be airing their “Home Sweet Home Giveaway” program nationwide from October 29 through November 2.

Home Sweet Home with Wheel of Fortune

The $350,000 home is located at Latitude Margaritaville, which is a pristine active adult community at Watersound FL. In one of the most unique prizes in American game show history, Wheel of Fortune executive producer Harry Friedman said:

“After 35 seasons it’s not an easy feat to do something for the first time, but thanks to Latitude Margaritaville, we’re doing just that by giving away a house. Our viewers welcome us into their homes each night, so we’re returning the favor by welcoming one of them into a new home of their own.”

Alongside the Home Sweet Home house giveaway, other first prizes will include a variety of 20 Margaritaville gift cards with a value of $500 apiece, which can then be redeemed at either the Margaritaville website or their resorts and restaurants.

 

America’s Game is giving away the American Dream… You could win a new home! Watch Wheel all this week and enter our Home Sweet Home Giveaway, in partnership with @LatitudeMville, for your chance to win! https://t.co/Lxybc4iFyi pic.twitter.com/jQmL5oCWpn

— Wheel of Fortune (@WheelofFortune) October 29, 2018

The president of Minto Communities Mike Belmont also talked about how Latitude Margaritaville is an active adult community for people aged 55 and upwards who still want a fun and action-packed life. Everyone wants to stay young forever, and Belmont believes that the estate is a laid-back yet fun approach to getting older.

Even if you’re younger and don’t particularly want to live amongst older people, you can always sell the house or get rid of the mother-in-law who’s been festering in your basement.

How to Enter “Home Sweet Home” Giveaway

If you want to enter the Wheel of Fortune “Home Sweet Home” giveaway, you need to tune into the show from October 29 to November 2. Make sure you take note of the bonus round puzzle solution, which you will then need to input into Wheel of Fortune website to enter.

If you’re already a member of the Wheel of Fortune loyalty program, you will also get an additional entry to win the prize in a random draw.

As part of the collaboration between Wheel of Fortune, Minto Communities and Margaritaville Holdings, other prizes will be available throughout the week. Luxury vacations to numerous Margaritaville Resorts in Florida, The Great Smokey Mountains, and the Caribbean will also be on offer.

Featured image from Latitude Margaritaville.

A Bel-Air vineyard formally owned by late-billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio has been listed for sale and could become America’s most expensive house.

The mansion is set over a massive 25,000-square-foot and has been recently listed for sale with the whopping price tag of $245 million.

From Deserted to Decadent

Back in the 1990s, when you saw that a house was selling for more than $5 million, it would make you wonder how someone could pay so much for some bricks and mortar. Times have changed. In this day and age, $5 mill in LA is a cheapskate price for a luxury yacht, never mind a house in Bel-Air.

The construction of the breathtaking mansion in Bel-Air was commissioned by civil engineer Lynn Atkinson back in the 1930s and was built by the architect Summer Spaulding. They never moved into the French Neoclassical mansion and the house remained empty until the 1940s and was then bought by a hotelier named Arnold Kirkeby.

The late Univision billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio who died last year at the ripe age of 86 then purchased the house from Kirkeby for an undisclosed fee and continued to add acres to the estate little by little. Perenchio was only the third person to own the house.

Potentially America’s Most Expensive House

The stunning palatial 25,000-square-foot limestone-clad mansion evokes the feeling of 18th-century chateau charm and basks in its 10-acre estate.

Coming equipped with a glitzy ballroom, a 12,000 bottle wine cellar, a 5-bedroom guesthouse, a 75-foot swimming pool and pool house, a formal salon, tennis courts and a 40-car parking lot, this property is expected to set the Los Angeles real estate market alight.

The property could well become America’s most expensive house with a price tag of $245 million.

If purchased, the price will massively surpass the current most expensive house in Los Angeles Country, which is held by natural gas billionaire Michael Smith. His beach house was formally owned by the Hard Rock Café founder Peter Morgan, which he bought for a staggering $110 million back in April.

The current most expensive home in the UK was recently sold for $210 million in one of the swankiest parts of London. If the $245-million sale of the Bel-Air mansion goes through, it will break all records and become America’s most expensive house.

Featured image Forbes.

Imagine waking up on Sunday morning to find out that you’re over $300 million richer! That’s what happened to two lucky winners of Saturday night’s $687.8 million Powerball jackpot.

Some people are born lucky while others not so much. Saturday night’s $687.8 million Powerball jackpot was the third-largest prize in the history of the game. Some people are saying that they would not like to be the ones paying the tax bill on the prize. However, that sounds like a rich person’s problem to us.

21 Weeks Without Powerball Jackpot

It had been 21 weeks with no Powerball jackpot winners but, ironically enough, two tickets scooped the jackpot prize on Saturday night. The winning numbers were 8, 12, 13, 19 and 27, with a Powerball of 4.

Let’s put this into perspective by saying that a chance of winning the jackpot was 1 in 292 million, which takes the phrase “1 in a million” to new heights.

One of the winning tickets was purchased in New York while the second one was picked up in Iowa. But of course, after tax, the winnings will be significantly less than $343 million apiece. The feds will automatically withhold 24% of the winnings for tax purposes.

They can choose whether to take their winnings as a lump sum or on a yearly basis spread out over 30-years. Either way, the feds, and the state will take their share in taxes as usual.

Big Week for American Lotteries

The news of Saturday’s Powerball jackpot windfall put the final touches on a big week for the American lottery industry. Only last Tuesday, a single ticket won the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which vastly dwarfs Saturday’s prize, which was close to becoming the highest jackpot prize in US history.

The odds for winning the Mega Millions jackpot last week were 302.5 to 1, as the last person to win the prize was way back on July 24. Initial reports believed that last week’s Mega Millions prize was going to become the richest pot in US history but it just missed out.

The largest lottery jackpot ever was back in 2016 when the Powerball Lottery reached a stunning $1.58 billion, and although last weeks’ came close to setting a new record, is anyone arguing over a $20 million deficit? Not the winning ticket holders, that’s for sure.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The RR Auction House from Boston announced the sale of a lunar meteorite for $612,500. The Moon rock that weighs 12 pounds (5.5 kilograms) was found last year in Mauritania, northwest Africa.

The specimen was sold by the company Aerolite Meteorites, and the winning bid came from a representative of the Vietnamese complex Tam Chuc Pagoda.

The former owners announced on their Twitter account that the rare rock will go to a:

“worthy home to be cherished and curated.”

 

Our Rare & Remarkable lunar meteorite sold last night for over $600k and is going to a worthy home to be cherished & curated—we are over the moon! https://t.co/VInvdYeAJ0 @MeteoritesAZ @geoffnotkin @AP #Space @collectSPACE #moon @MeteoriteMen pic.twitter.com/5BoQgrol38

— RR Auction (@RRAuction) October 19, 2018

The Lunar Puzzle

The $600,000 rock’s official name is NWA 11789. Since it’s composed of six fragments that are assembled together, the meteorite is also called “The Lunar Puzzle” or “The Moon Puzzle.”

It’s one of the largest lunar meteorites found on Earth and the largest ever sold at auction. Moreover, its size isn’t its only special characteristic. The rock has a “partial fusion crust,” the result of the heat that makes the rock burn when entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Pieces of the Moon aren’t common collection items. Even if astronauts have brought back samples from their lunar missions, these belong to the Government, so buying lunar meteorites is difficult.

Geoff Notkin, CEO of Aerolite Meteorites, for Reuters said:

“Meteorites themselves are rare. In all of history, there’ve been approximately 60,000 different meteorites found and recorded by science. Less than 350 of them are lunar meteorites.”

Thanks to the meteorite’s rare appearance, the RR Auction House had predicted that the Moon Puzzle would get $500,000 at auction. Experts believe that the lunar meteorite landed on Earth thousands of years ago.

The Most Expensive Meteorite Is Worth Almost $2 million

The Moon Puzzle has become one of the most expensive meteorites ever sold, but it’s still far from the costliest rock to fall on Earth. The most expensive meteorite is valued at $2 million.

It’s the largest portion of the Fukang meteorite which weights 925lb (around 420 kilograms). The anonymous collector who owns it tried to sell it at auction, but the piece remains unsold.

Smaller pieces of this type of meteorite sell for $25-38 per gram. The Fukang meteorite could be older than our planet and has unknown origins.

It belongs to the pallasite class, which makes up just 1% of all meteorites. Pallasites are thought to be the remains of forming planets, being made of nickel-iron and olivine, which gives them a mosaic-like appearance.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

In a high-profile trade, the New York Giants has traded Damon Harrison aka “Snacks” to the Detroit Lions in a fifth-round draft pick.

The deal comes amidst rumors that any of the New York Giant’s struggling defense could be available for trade. Harrison’s skills haven’t waned but the Giant’s appear committed to a full rebuild of its defense. Detroit’s defensive line ranks 30^th in the NFL.

Harrison, 29, signed a five-year deal with the New York Giants just before the 2016 season worth $46.25 million. The Lions will pick up the $4.1 million Harrison is owed from this season, plus $7 million in 2019, and $9.25 million in 2020.

Originally from New Iberia, Louisiana, Harrison started playing football in his senior year at high-school and missed junior season recruiting so was overlooked by college scouts.

He was later recruited to William Penn University, Iowa, and went on to be signed by the New York Jets in 2012.  He left the Jets for the Giants and the million-dollar deal in 2016.

As of Wednesday morning, October 24, 2018, the deal with the Detroit Lions hadn’t been confirmed officially. Lions coach Matt Patricia commented that despite the information circulating about the trade:

“I’m not going to comment on any situation that is not official or is not complete.”

Later that day, however, Harrison tweeted his thanks and goodbye to the New York Giants:

 

Much love to my teammates, the amazing staffs, coaches, and all the fans. This is my second home because of you…✌🏾 pic.twitter.com/4VUAjkIHlu

— Damon Harrison Sr. (@snacks) October 24, 2018

At 6ft 2in and 355Ib, Harrison is set to strengthen the Detroit Lion’s defense, a team that some believe are within striking distance of currently first-place Vikings in the NFC North.

Featured image by Tom Hanny, Wikipedia.

India is at a crossroads as to whether it should impose retaliatory Indian tariffs on US imports. The Narendra Modi-led administration is facing trying times as its November 2 deadline for the new tariff plan approaches. India had plans to impose retaliatory import duty on 30 US products but has deferred more than once in putting it into effect.

The anxiety surrounding the imposition of its proposed punitive tariff changes are borne out of the consequent reaction from the Trump-led administration which may include the withdrawal of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefit to exports from India. The GSP is a preferential tariff system which provides a formal system of exemption from the general rules of the World Trade Organization.

The US imposed duty hikes on steel products imported from India on the basis of national security. The sanctions which came into effect on March 8, 2018, saw India’s steel exports plummet by 42%.

In response, India proposed to raise duties by as much as 100% on 20 products imported from the US. The list was subsequently revised to include 10 more items.

The US Withdrawing GSP Benefits Will Put Pressure on India

The implementation of the new tariff plan has, however, been extended twice as both countries negotiate a deal to remove trade frictions over a range of items. In June, New Delhi decided to carry out the new tariff plan on US products from August 4. The date was later extended until September 18 after which further diplomatic consultations made it stretch to November 2.

As US farmers are being hit with retaliatory tariffs from other countries, the Trump-led administration has been forced to ask for a more open market for agricultural products, automobiles, and capping of prices for medical devices.

The GSP scheme has been of immense benefit to India. The country leveraged the preferential tariff scheme last year with an exported merchandise worth $5.6 billion to the US at relatively no tariff in 2017-18. This accounted for almost 12% of its export to the US.

Trade experts have warned that India’s exports could become 5 to 6% costlier if it is removed from the GSP scheme and this will put the likes of Vietnam and Bangladesh at an advantage because they also enjoy duty-free access.

India enjoys concession on exports from the engineering, chemical and textile sectors. The attendant risk of the US withdrawing GSP benefits will put pressure on these sectors which are mostly dominated by small and medium scale enterprises at the local front.

Developing countries do not have the wherewithal to reciprocate benefits they enjoy under the GSP scheme. The US may, however, withhold such benefits to a trading partner if it realizes that its own exports are being infringed upon by the country’s tariff scheme.

Featured image from Business Insider.

What would it take for you to feel financially secure as you pass middle age and head into a comfortable retirement? A study by Magnify Money attempted to answer that objectively, using research data collected from the United States Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The results reflect the American experience, but should nonetheless provide a little insight for everyone in developed countries.

What You Need for a Comfortable Retirement

If you had at least three months’ worth of living expenses ready to spend, some money set aside for emergencies, and you’re close to having a million dollars as a nest egg for retirement, it would seem to be a very stable base from which to plan your future.

Unfortunately, the data seems to indicate that most people in the US don’t have anything like that kind of security. People around their forties have a median total savings of a little under $16,000 USD, and that’s it.

Of course, it should be noted that the median skews upwards because the more well-off are considerably further ahead, so the reality is a lot of people will have even less.

Some Tips to Help You Save

Retirement plan provider Fidelity suggests you save 15% of your annual income. You should put that money in some kind of investment, and not just leave it in regular savings accounts where it won’t do any work for you.

Depending on your situation, any one of the different government retirement accounts might be appropriate, or index funds or other investments might be better for you. Specifics will vary among people and their situations, but, the one thing common to all people is to make sure you do something with that 15% to allow it to grow.

Younger people tend to have lower incomes, so 15% might be too much of a burden to maintain in your early working years. If that’s the case for you, try to save what you can, and then see if you can increase how much you set aside by 1% every year until you hit 15%.

Life is full of unexpected surprises, and you need an emergency fund to handle those. The ideal emergency fund size is something around three to six months worth of living expenses. It’s not just a matter of paying for whatever problem comes up, such as your car breaking down, but also covering costs while the problem is being dealt with, like your car being held for repairs and the impact that might make on your life.

The Takeaway

As you reach your forties and maybe through no fault of your own you haven’t been able to set aside enough money to take advantage of compound interest, your best recourse is to focus less on how to set aside money from what you’re currently earning and instead look to how you can increase your income.

You might be a genius at saving money, but later in the game, small slivers of savings won’t catch up to your needs, whereas if you can squeeze in extra earnings, you can scale your savings to much more effect.

Of course, everyone’s situation is different, and there is no catch-all advice that will work for everyone. Fortunately, these days there are lots of resources available online for free, and experts you can reach out to for some personal consulting for a fee.

What’s important, though, is that you take the step of thinking about your financial situation in the future. The simple act of making plans, at whatever scale you can manage, will ultimately make you grateful for your foresight later in life.

Images from Shutterstock.

Who wants to be a billionaire? Everyone of course, apart from the Dalai Lama who’s not that bothered. The Mega Millions Jackpot is apparently going to reach an earth-shattering $1.6 billion by Tuesday evening, which is turning heads quicker than the blond-haired girl from The Exorcist.

The Mega Millions jackpot is expected to become the biggest lottery draw in US history, soaring past the previous highest lottery jackpot figure. Are you eligible to take part? And if so, how does it work?

You’ve Got to Be in It to Win It!

The previous largest Mega Millions jackpot prize in history was an astounding $656 million that was claimed in Illinois in 2012. The largest lottery prize pot in US history was the Powerball jackpot of 1.58 billion in January 2016. The latest Mega Millions jackpot is expected to go one better at $1.6 billion by Tuesday evening.

If you are an individual winner of the jackpot, you could take home a lump sum of $904.4 million after tax.

You’re already thinking: “How can I play?” The truth is, if you’re from outside of the United States of America, you’re not eligible to buy a ticket. However, if you’re 18 years old or over and live in the US, you can play across 44 states, and also Washington D.C. or even in the US Virgin Islands.

When Is the Mega Millions Jackpot Draw and What Are the Odds?

When we say you have more chance of being struck by lightning twice in the same place than winning the Mega Millions jackpot, it can be a bit of a downer. However, someone has to win the prize at some stage. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are one in 302.5 million, regardless of the number of players or the stakes.

The last winning ticket for the Mega Millions was on July 24, and ever since has been building to this gargantuan pot we see today.

The six winning numbers will be broadcast at 11 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday night. You have up until 15-minutes before the draw to choose your numbers.

It’s time to get out the four-leaf clover, wipe down the old rabbit’s foot, shine up the magic lamp and pray to your personal god for the first time in a decade. The Mega Millions jackpot draw is almost upon us.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Do you want a piece of Britney? You’re not the only one. The world-famous pop songstress Britney Spears has become the highest paid entertainer in Las Vegas as details of her new residency at the MGM’s Park Theater emerge.

Oops, she’s only gone and done it again!

At $500,000 per show, Britney has now overtaken Celine Dion as the highest paid entertainer in Sin City. Whether it’s bare-headed, bare-crotched or even barely sober, any version of Britney is always worth a look.

Britney Spears Las Vegas Residency

Britney made an appearance in Las Vegas on Thursday to announce her “Britney: Domination” residency at the Park Theater of the MGM’s new Park MGM resort. The residency starts in the New Year and will see a total of 32 shows over the course of February to August.

Britney’s Domination show will be 90-minutes in length, and at $500,000 per show, that breaks down to a staggering $93 per second. Not a bad night’s work. And just goes to show the music industry can still generate big bucks with the right product.

Britney Spears stated in a press release in regards to Domination that:

“I am so happy to be returning to my second home — Las Vegas! I’m working on a brand-new show and I’m so excited for my fans to see it! It’s going to be so much fun being back on stage and I can’t wait to perform at Park Theater.”

Traveling Without Moving

The 36-year old singer also talked about how this show has more dancing than any other she has performed. She also talked about how grueling it can be on tour and how staying put in one venue in Las Vegas has made this the perfect deal for her.

This is not the first time the ‘Toxic’ singer has taken a residency. She finished a four-year ‘Piece of Me’ residency at Planet Hollywood on New Year’s Eve in 2017 and then took the tour nationwide and across Europe from July 12 to August 24, 2018.

Britney now enjoys the mantle of the highest paid entertainer in Las Vegas, knocking middle-of-road rival Celine Dion off top spot. Tickets go on sale from Friday, October 29 onwards.

Britney Spears joins an illustrious list of people who can also claim to be the highest paid performers in Sin City throughout history, such as Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis Junior, and ‘old blue eyes’ Frank Sinatra.

Featured image from Facebook.