The saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas — and this includes opportunities to invest in oil, according to one expert analyst. Some of the best oil companies to consider investing in are based along the Permian Basin of West Texas, the largest U.S. oil patch, Seaport Global Securities Managing Director Mike Kelly told CNBC on Friday. In a Thursday note to clients, Seaport wrote that: “Our oil macro review produced a surprisingly robust outlook. For investors looking to put money into the spa

STANDARDIZE REIMBURSEMENT SYSTEMS Health-care billing and collections accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all health care costs. MANDATE PRICE TRANSPARENCY In health care – the buyer (patient) does not pay and the seller (physician) does not know the price for services. Gallup in 2010 reported that 26 percent of all health care costs were related to defensive medicine. It’s time for our nation’s policymakers to rise above the noise and look at what’s really impeding efficiencies in health care. It’

Why don’t they get that cultivating conservative support, and selling conservative ideas to the general public is the only way they can weather the political storm and actually govern? President Donald Trump is making that mistake right now as he declares war on the handful of House Republicans who doomed the GOP Obamacare replacement bill. If President Trump continues on this path, he’ll have a new enemy to contend with called “history.” Because history shows that when Republican presidents tur

The HONEST Act is this year’s version of a piece of legislation formerly called the “Secret Science Reform Act.” The HONEST Act stipulates that the EPA can’t make any assessment or analysis based on science that not openly accessible to the public. For sensitive health data, the bill has provision that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to redact. Under the bill, the EPA would have to get the underlying data it cites from any other scientific research institution. If a court t

We don’t need tax breaks, we need investments to get infrastructure fixed: Pro Friday, 31 Mar 2017 | 6:52 AM ET | 03:20A proposed tax credit for developers in President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan won’t help improve what Americans want fixed most, the former chief of staff to Joe Biden said Friday. The Trump administration has said it will unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan later this year, which could offer incentives for public-private partnerships rather than simply fund improvem

A measure of consumer sentiment came in lower than expected on Friday, according to the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index hit 96.9 in March. Richard Curtin, surveys of consumers chief economist, said, “The continued strength in consumer sentiment has been due to optimistic views on three critical components: higher incomes and wealth, more favorable job prospects, and low inflation expectations.” “The data indicate that real consumer spending will advanc

The 2017 Trade Policy Agenda is a report, required by Congress, that highlights Administration priorities on trade. That wonderful phrase is missing from the final report—perhaps because it’s an apt description of many aspects of the Administration’s trade agenda itself. On the other hand, if aggressive sovereignty becomes a key driver of U.S. trade policy, America’s economy and trade could suffer—bigly. The Administration’s trade agenda is also devoid of practical solutions to claimed challenge

Property prices in London have surged by more than 85 percent since 2009, according to data from Hometrack’s U.K. Cities House Price index. That’s why Van-Petersen said going long London property is one of his high-conviction trades over the next five-to-ten years. Investors who go long London property, he argued, aren’t just getting real estate in one of the capitals of the world at multi-decade lows on the pound. You’re being long emerging-market billionaires, you’re being long emerging-market

The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are: BlackRock Allocation Target Shares Series S Portfolio et al v. Wells Fargo Bank NA et al, No. 14-09371; Royal Park Investments SA/NV et al v. Wells Fargo Bank NA et al, No. 14-09764; National Credit Union Administration Board v Wells Fargo Bank NA, No. 14-10067; Phoenix Light SF Ltd et al v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, No. 14-10102; and Commerzbank AG v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, No.

Most of the concessions are monetary — a month or two of free rent — but others are more creative. While concessions are hitting the luxury end, rent growth is still relatively strong moving down the rent scale. However, Class A product rent growth is still substantial in desirable suburbs adding comparatively modest new supply,” said RealPage’s Denton. Rent growth is about half that in Charlotte, North Carolina, Denver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Tampa, Florida. The real estate inves

Shares of the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) tracked for their best quarter in more than 2 years Friday, amid a leap in homebuilder sentiment to its highest in 12 years. As of Friday, XHB closed the day up nearly 10 percent for the first quarter of 2017, on pace for but not reaching its best quarter since the fourth quarter of 2014, when it gained 15.31 percent. Top performers in the ETF include:TopBuild — up 32 percent quarter to date, on pace for its best quarter ever since it went public in

“Attach a letter explaining why you missed taking it last year. Usually the IRS has waived the penalty.” “Attach a letter explaining why you missed taking it last year,” she said. “Usually the IRS has waived the penalty.” Procrastinators should also start strategizing about ways to cut next year’s tax bill, said certified public accountant Benjamin Tobias, president of Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, Florida.

Not participating in savings plans is throwing a wrench into many workers’ retirements. Twenty-six percent of workers over 55 said they do not participate in a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings plan. CareerBuilder in February and March polled over 3,200 full-time employees, including 500 over age 60. One-third of workers over 60 said they just weren’t sure how much money they’ll need to save, the report said. (In a separate survey of retirement readiness from Bank of America Merrill Lynch,

The latest data from the New York Stock Exchange show margin debt, or cash borrowed to buy shares, hit a record $528.2 billion in February, up from its prior high of $513.3 billion in January. Borrowing money to buy stocks is a sign that investors remain optimistic the market will continue to rise. In some cases, the investor will have to sell stocks that are falling in value to raise the cash. Margin debt jumped 22% from the end of 1999 before peaking in March 2000 at $278.5 billion, the same m

There is a central paradox that constantly shows up in the health care debate: Studies often find that giving people health care doesn’t always improve health in measurable ways. They found that the ACA increased insurance coverage — by 5.3 percentage points in non-expansion states and 8.3 points in expansion states. Consider just one of the seminal studies on the impact of health insurance, which focused on Oregon’s Medicaid expansion. “Do we really believe insurance doesn’t improve health when

The S&P 500 Health Care Sector gained more than 8 percent, outperforming the overall market. Investors were relieved when the American Health Care Act failed to garner enough votes. Gains for the S&P managed health care sector, which includes Aetna, UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, were more in line with the overall market, up nearly 6 percent for the quarter. Hospitals win big in first quarterHospital stocks such as Community Health Systems surged even more in the post-AHCA rally. For now, with h

A spokesman for CMS declined to comment when asked if the agency still expected EpiPen to be subject to the higher rebate on EpiPen starting Saturday. “It’s unclear why the company won’t confirm its pledge to pay the higher rebate rate,” said Grassley said. Pharmaceutical companies that want to sell their products through Medicaid participate in a program that requires them rebate Medicaid a share of their revenue from such sales. The actual rebate rate could nearly equal the total value of the

Whether you’re flipping properties or simply looking to get the best price for your home, the smartest place to spend your money isn’t necessarily the kitchen or the bathroom. In fact, it’s not even an area inside the home, says real estate mogul Sean Conlon: “The most important bit is your landscaping in the front, because your street presence is absolutely the most important. After all, it’s the first thing people see, and first impressions matter, says Conlon, who hosts CNBC’s “The Deed: Chic

WHAT’S HAPPENING: President Trump is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jin PinWHY IT MATTERS: Prices of goods like your iPhone may go upThe two most powerful leaders in the world are finally meeting after some serious social media drama. The main point of contention is trade. Trump has warned China that the U.S. may slap a tax on Chinese goods coming into America. In response, Beijing officials could do the same, or they could make doing business in their country more expensive for companies lik

Roger Jin decided he wanted to be an entrepreneur when he was 14. He was sitting in trigonometry class and had an overwhelming feeling that what he was learning wasn’t serving him. “I felt limited, and a great desire to attain the freedom of being the master of my own destiny,” Jin tells CNBC. Looking back, his only regret was that he didn’t drop out of school and start a business. Bridge didn’t work, so Jin got a job.