NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal says without Lebron James, the Lakers will never win again

Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal issued a stark warning to the Los Angeles Lakers Monday, saying despite an abysmal season, it would be a huge mistake to trade the team’s biggest superstar, Lebron James. “If you trade LeBron, you’ll never win again,” O’Neal said of the Lakers in an interview with CNBC. While the NBA…

Tax Fraud Blotter: Tear down that wall

Can’t impersonate guilt; Breakthrough busted; married lawyers plead; and other highlights of recent tax cases. Tampa, Fla.: Brenda Dozier, 54, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. From July through at least November 2015, Dozier laundered money that had been extorted from U.S. residents by conspirators residing in the States and overseas. India-based…

Pentagon awards $1.8 billion in contracts to build out its military satellite internet

In this article LMT NOC Aerial view of the United States military headquarters, the Pentagon. Jason Reed | Reuters The Space Development Agency, an acquisition arm of the Department of Defense, on Monday announced nearly $1.8 billion in contracts to three companies for a next-generation military communications network of 126 satellites. A pair of aerospace…

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Raytheon, Block, Tesla, Foot Locker and more

In this article BP.-GB NOC FL REGI FHN The Raytheon stand is seen at the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 21, 2019. Pascal Rossignol | Reuters Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Defense stocks — Defense stocks rose as the conflict between Russia and…

Moscow’s stock market is closed, but these Russian ETFs continue to trade in the U.S. Here’s why

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Feb. 25, 2022. Source: NYSE The NYSE and Nasdaq have announced today that they are halting trading in several Russia-based stocks that list on their respective exchanges. Much more interesting is the fact that the Russian stock market in Moscow is closed, but U.S.-based Russian exchange-traded funds are…

Here are 3 ways to make the most out of your tax refund

Tetra Images | Getty Images The IRS has already issued 22 million refunds, at an average $3,536 each.  That’s $700 more than last year, when the average refund was just over $2,800. For most people, a lump-sum payment of this size is rare. “The tax refund is often the biggest windfall households receive all year,” said…

Rushing Headlong into Formulary Apportionment

One of the greatest challenges of lawmaking is recognizing when a beautiful theory must succumb to an ugly fact. The purity of conceptual policymaking must take the real world into account and acknowledge that things that work well “in theory” sometimes fail spectacularly to meet expectations “in practice.” It would be wonderful if a policy…

France is the most visited country in the world. Here’s why

You might think a large country like the United States is the most visited in the world, but you’d be wrong — France takes that honor. About 90 million international visitors traveled there in 2019, and tourism makes up 8% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the French ministry of foreign affairs. As…

Chinese electric car start-up Nio plans to list in Hong Kong on March 10

Nio Founder and CEO William Li poses outside of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate his company’s IPO. Photo: NYSE BEIJING — U.S.-listed Chinese electric car company Nio is set to offer its shares for trading in Hong Kong on March 10, the start-up announced Monday. The move comes as regulatory risks grow in…

Europe’s travel rules are dropping as fast as its Covid cases

Travel restrictions are quickly disappearing in Europe, with new announcements coming by the week — and, more recently, by the day. Changes to eliminate Covid-related travel rules gained momentum in January, as a wave of omicron-related infections engulfed the continent.   But parts of Europe didn’t wait to act. Citing high vaccination rates and the…

Oil jumps as traders fear disruption in Russia’s energy industry

In this article @CL.1 @LCO.1 An oil pumping jack, also known as a “nodding donkey”, in an oilfield near Dyurtyuli, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images Oil prices jumped Sunday evening after the U.S. and Western allies imposed sanctions on specific Russian banks,…