Articles written by Robert Schultz - Benzinga

Flagstar's 'Initial Pistons Offering' Allows NBA Fans To Earn Interest While Awaiting Return Of Live Events

|In a twist on the usual IPO model, Flagstar Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: FBC) has announced an IPO — an Initial Pistons Offering — with the NBA's Detroit Pistons. Initial Pistons Offering: The program was announced on the Pistons' ticket sales page.

What Credit Companies Offering Installment Payments Means For Investors

|Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) recently announced a partnership with TSYS, a global payments company, that will allow customers to use their Mastercard to split transactions into installments before, during or after checkout.

Upwork Economist: August Unemployment Better Than Expected, But It's Still A Recession

|The national unemployment rate was 8.4% in August, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics said Friday. The number of unemployed people fell by 2.8 million to 13.6 million.

Americans Stimulus Spending Habits: Would A Second Relief Check Have The Same Results?

|The Bureau of Labor and Statistics recently released a report studying the receipt and use of stimulus payments in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, digging into understanding how Americans who received federal stimulus from the CARES Act spent these funds.

Economists Expect Slow Recovery, But Aren't Forecasting 'Double-Dip' Recession

|The National Association of Business Economists polls members semi-annually to gain insight on economic trends. The August 2020 NABE Economic Policy survey covered a variety of topics including stimulus spending, when the recession will end, monetary policy and future policy focus.

A Look At Jobs Data Ahead Of Friday's Unemployment Rate Release

|For the week ending Aug. 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 881,000, the Department of Labor said — a decrease of 130,000 from the previous week's revised level.

Kate Hernandez Of Detroit Venture Partners On VC Diversity, Startup Funding During A Pandemic

|Startups are constantly in the race for funding to propel their expansion. Benzinga spoke to Kate Hernandez, principal at Detroit Venture Partners, for insight on future trends for startups as well as challenges for those looking to enter the VC world as a career.

Walmart To Launch 'Ultimate Life Hack' Subscription Service This Month

|Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will be launching its long-speculated Walmart+ subscription service nationwide on Sept. 15, the company announced Monday.

MGM Issues 18K Layoffs As Furloughs Become Permanent

|MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) will lay off 18,000 workers starting Monday. MGM's Reported Losses Contributing: With global travel slowed tremendously, MGM reported over $1 billion in losses during the second quarter.

The Latest Revision To Q2's Historically Bad GDP Number: What You Need To Know

|Real second-quarter gross domestic product fell 31.7% at an annualized rate, according to the second estimate released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. What Happened: The GDP figures are updated to reflect new information used to calculate GDP. In the advance estimate released last month, the second-quarter decrease in real GDP was 32.9%.

US Housing Prices Create Seller's Market

|U.S. house prices were up 5.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index report released Tuesday.

Opportunity, Risk And Interest: What Benzinga Users Have To Say About Investing

|Every week, Benzinga conducts a survey to collect sentiment on what traders are most excited about; interested in; or thinking about when they are managing and building their personal portfolios. This week we posed the following questions to Benzinga visitors.

TD Bank Agrees To More Than $120M Settlement With Financial Regulator

|The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and TD Bank announced a settlement Thursday of more than $120 million in response to an investigation into the marketing and sales of the bank's overdraft service.

States Showing The Most, Least Improvement In July Unemployment Numbers

|Unemployment rates fell in 30 states month-over-month in July, rose in nine states, and were stable in 11 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. What Happened: Payroll employment varied state-to-state and was mainly driven by differing statewide economic opening policies.

The Back-To-School Report: Best And Worst Earning College Majors, Summer Unemployment

|With many students starting college this fall — virtually or otherwise — Benzinga looked at the highest-paying major for those with a college degree. Deciding on a field of study in 2020 can be a daunting task. Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the financial viability of a major is at the forefront of the decision for many college-bound Americans.

Google Filing With FCC Hints At New Project

|Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) subsidiary Google recently filed with the Federal Communications Commission a request “to conduct radio experiments in and near the 6 GHz band.”

Airbnb Submits Draft Paperwork For Long-Rumored IPO

|On Wednesday, the travel site Airbnb announced that it submitted a draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission proposing an initial public offering of its common stock.

TD Bank, Detroit's Autobooks Launch Online Small Biz Accounting Platform

|TD Bank announced a launch this week of the TD Online Accounting Platform in partnership with the Detroit-based financial accounting company Autobooks. Built for Small Business Owners: TD Bank announced the service as a tool built for small business owners.

ICYMI: Oracle, Salesforce Hit With Privacy Lawsuit In Europe

|American software companies Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) are being sued over an alleged breach of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation laws.

Lufax Reportedly Planning IPO: Are Chinese Companies Rushing To The Markets?

|On Monday, Chinese online wealth management company Lufax has reportedly filed confidentially with the SEC to raise up to $3 billion in a U.S. IPO.