But when the “smoking gun” White House tape was released on August 5, 1974, Nixon’s remaining support from Republicans evaporated. Similarly, there’s a lot we don’t know about Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia. We don’t know how all these pieces fit together. And we know, for a fact, that Trump fired FBI Director James Comey because he was upset by the FBI’s investigation into his Russia ties. The Comey firing isn’t smoke.

Oil prices have spiked once again on the news that Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed that the current oil cut needs to remain in place beyond this year. Even more critical, U.S. shale oil producers are taking the biggest advantage of the current situation by adding more oil to the global supply glut. I believe it is trying to work with current production cut to yield results. For that reason, it is aiming to extend the current production cut beyond this year. This is going to have an impact on

Sternlicht described what he called the “inverse Trump effect” on the economy — the idea that uncertainty over the details of the president’s polices is holding back investors. As a result, Sternlicht said there could be fewer real estate transactions “until this is cleared up.” The bond market is the “true arbiter of the pace of this growth,” Sternlicht said, pointing to the continuing low yield on the 10-year Treasury. If traders really thought the Trump policies were going to pass quickly and

If you’re sitting on a huge pile of student debt and think your loan interest deduction will save you loads on taxes, think again. That because borrowers are permitted to deduct only a portion of the interest they’ve paid on educational debt. As long as you’ve paid at least $600 in student loan interest you will get a Form 1098-E from your lender or the firm servicing your debt that you can use to claim the deduction at tax time. The trouble is the benefits aren’t as widespread as borrowers may

Retirement just might be the best time to spice up your career. Nearly 3 out of 4 Americans plan to work beyond traditional retirement age on at least a part-time basis, according to a recent Gallup poll of 718 adults. Close to 40 percent of those participating in the survey said they plan to retire after age 65. Believe it or not, more adults say they intend to extend their careers beyond retirement age because they would like to — not necessarily because they have to: 44 percent of participant

That means they soon will have to take a required minimum distribution from their traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans. If you don’t make the appropriate withdrawals, you may have to pay a 50 percent tax on the amount that was not taken out as required. Generally, you have to start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA or retirement plan accounts when you reach age 70½. If you are still working, some 401(k) plans allow you to defer RMDs from those plans until you retire.

Crude oil is rallying, but one top technician warns that the recent rebound is nothing more than a value trap. I really do think that’s what it is,” Carter Worth of Cornerstone Macro explained Friday on CNBC’s “Options Action.” However, Worth warned, “All you can do this week is get right back to the scene of the crime. While crude is currently trading above both its 50- and 200-day moving average levels, “I think energy has plenty downside relative to the market,” Worth explained. Analyzing a c

Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors bought two media stocks in the first quarter, according to a Monday filing with the U.S. The hedge fund added new stakes in shares of Netflix and AMC Networks, buying 78,000 shares and 832,000 shares, respectively. Last Monday, an SEC filing showed activist hedge fund Elliott Management purchased a 15.3 percent stake in the stock, noting that shares are “significantly undervalued.” The hedge fund held less than 1 million shares each in the three closed positions.

Tesla is one of the best-performing stocks in the market this year. The company’s shares are up 47 percent year to date compared with the S&P 500’s 7 percent return. Jonas reaffirmed his $305 price target for Tesla, representing 3 percent downside from Monday’s closing share price of $315.88. “Execution risk on unprecedented innovations brought to market on its models and capital intensive initiatives.” In another report Monday, Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino reiterated his sell rating a

Citron Research’s Andrew Left, who gained notoriety for successful bets against companies such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals, posted a bearish report on cancer testing company Exact Sciences. Shares of Exact Sciences closed down nearly 4 percent Monday after the short seller released his report. “Anyone who follows the landscape of diagnostic cancer testing knows that everything is moving towards blood-based DNA testing. The short seller also cited the low number of test orders per doctor, accordin

I guess I am a shark after all. #sharktank pic.twitter.com/fvVdajfc8N”I guess I am a shark after all,” tweeted Frankel, announcing a deal with the show. Frankel launched her career as a contestant on “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” in 2005 and as a star on Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise. She has also had several of her own television shows, including Bravo’s “Bethenny Ever After” and a short-lived eponymous talk show, and she is a New York Times bestselling author. The eighth season of “Sh

“In this connection, we need to act in a joined-up way, (and) strengthen the system of international guarantees with the help of international law and with the help of the U.N. Charter,” said Putin. “We need to return to dialogue with North Korea and stop scaring it and find ways to resolve these problems peacefully.” “If you recall, there was a time when North Korea announced it was suspending this kind of (nuclear) program, but unfortunately certain participants in the negotiations process did

“One of the problems with running the government like a business is that the government is not a business. I am pleased that Betsy DeVos is the secretary of education, and I hope she is the last one. One of the problems with running the government like a business is that the government is not a business. (Okay, maybe Girl Scout troops are a business, the running dogs of cookie capitalism.) “Personnel is policy,” the proverb goes, and Trump’s policy is, for the moment, not to have a policy.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will brief all U.S. senators Thursday on the ouster of James Comey. The White House initially cited a scathing memo Rosenstein wrote about Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation last year as part of its justification for firing Comey. But the deputy attorney general denied reports that he threatened to quit over the White House’s handling of the Comey firing. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had called for a briefing from Rosenstein

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Monday that the Trump administration’s infrastructure plan will be out in a few weeks and will call for $200 billion in taxpayer money to generate $1 trillion in private investment. “These funds will be used to leverage $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years,” Chao told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It’s far from clear that Trump can rely on private investments for most of his $1 trillion plan. Such public-private partnerships have never

Only one of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors is up for the month of May, and that could suggest trouble for the overall market. Even within the tech sector, the advances have largely been driven by Apple, which makes up nearly 4 percent of the S&P 500. “Since the tech stocks are overbought on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, it could mean that both this group and the broader market will pull back soon.” Indeed, 10 percent of the total market value of tech stocks in the S&P 500 is made up of overseas c

As first-quarter corporate earnings season wraps up, one of the most notable findings from firms’ results has been revenue figures. The strong growth can be largely attributed to a pickup in global activity. For example, even when discounting the benefits from buybacks within U.S. companies this quarter, that would still leave about 13 percent earnings growth. And for European companies, that figure would come to 23 percent growth, “which is just an extraordinary number,” Golub said. The blended

The week kicked off with a solid start for commodities, with both crude oil and silver enjoying gains early in Monday trading. Crude oil rallied on news of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia, reached Sunday, which would extend existing output cuts through next March. On Monday, WTI crude is rising almost 3 percent, and in morning trade closed in on $50 per barrel. Certainly, there is reason to be skeptical about the longer-term potential for WTI crude oil and energy stocks. As we saw w

Here’s a counterintuitive idea for increasing engagement in the modern workplace: Make your office space more like a video game or a social media network. Managers know their workers – especially millennials – are not engaged at the office, and all too often are more engaged with their own phones than your customers. In the past, HR professionals always stressed the need to keep home and office life separate, but the best employee engagement today actually blurs the line between personal and pro

Joe Udo retired comfortably at age 38, thanks to smart saving and investing habits. While he’s happy with how his life ended up, the now 43-year-old would do some things differently if he could go back in time. He’d start by telling his 20-year-old self to read three specific books. “They would have helped me in various facets of life,” he writes on his blog. Of course, if you’re like Udo and don’t pick these up until your 30s or 40s, these works can still offer valuable insights.