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"We've seen what happens when a child gets even a small financial head start. Their world expands," Michael Dell said Tuesday.
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Donald Trump Just Single-Handedly Revived a '90s Action-Movie Franchise, So I Rewatched the Old Ones. Yikes. Slate‘Rush Hour 4' will be distributed by Paramount after Trump's reported request AP NewsWhy a Jackie Chan Sequel Says a Whole Lot About Trump's Economy The BulwarkAfter bringing back Rush Hour, which franchise might Trump resurrect next? | Action and adventure films The Guardian
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 Topic: MediaPoliticsThe NYT "Needle" in 2016
The 2020 election showed that doing live reporting on election counts when the order of counting has a bias is misleading and emotionally draining. Of course, there is no actual "race" with totals moving back and forth, one candidate in the lead and then another. That's just an illusion created by the bias in the order. The result is actually a fixed fact after the polls close, and we're just uncovering different parts as time goes by.
It's a bit like scratching off a lottery card. The final result of the card is fixed, you just get some drama revealing bits of it at a time.
The press get good ratings and we can't stop them from reporting this, even when they know the reports are misleading. But instead of one number, there's really two numbers to show from partial results:
The best estimate of the final number based on your models and what data you have
The amount of uncertainty in that estimate (which you might show as a scalar, or as a distribution.)
As we know, Trump even worked to exploit that lie, known as the red mirage, to call the election into question. It's serious stuff.
This particular time, we the following large biases.
In person votes were usually counted before
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Anyone newly retired or nearly so must feel like they have the worst timing in the world. A portfolio tends to be largest near retirement, just before those savings are about to be drawn down. These days, however, most portfolios have lost value; the S&P 500 is down about 20% so far this year.
The financial industry has a name for this scenario: sequence of return risk. "It matters most at retirement when you're selling assets for income," says Wade Pfau, a professor of retirement income at The American College of Financial Services in King of Prussia, Pa. "You need to sell a larger number of shares to get the same amount of money. Those shares are then gone so even if the market bounces back, your portfolio won't recover as much."
SEE MORE Using Your 401(k) to Delay Getting Social Security and Increase Payments
The newly retired are particularly vulnerable because they're "relying on this pot of money to finance the next 20 to 30 years of their life," says Amit Sinha, head of multi-asset design at Voya Investment Management in New York City.
Sequence of return risk is less of a concern for someone further along in retirement because retirees typically shift to safer, more conservative investments and have fewer years to pay for. Plus, these investors may have benefited from portfolios boosted by strong returns early in retirement.
Similarly, if retirement is a decade or more away, what happens to markets today is mostly irrelevant. "You just allow the compounding to work for you and recover over those years," says Sinha.
Someone retiring now, of course, doesn't have that luxury. If this describes you, there are several things you can do to minimize the damage, but first, assess what it's likely to mean for your portfolio long term.
Depending on how you react now, t
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It's no surprise that many people who inherit millions of dollars are uncertain about what to do with their newfound wealth. The possibilities of becoming a multimillionaire overnight can be overwhelming, especially during a period when most are grieving the loss of a parent or other loved one.
SEE MORE How Much of Your Estate Will Be Lost to Taxes?
I often work with people in many different age groups who have suddenly become wealthy as the result of a windfall inheritance. While there is a need to develop a comprehensive financial plan, it's not the first step. Instead, I try to determine each person's starting point with money. Many people fall into one of three categories:
They are anticipating how they will handle their wealth, but the money hasn't yet arrived.They have their inheritance — often several million dollars — but they are still grieving the loss of a loved one and are looking for guidance on next steps.
The inheritance has been in their bank account for a long period, but they still lack direction and can't make any decisions.
It is important to listen to each person's personal story with a windfall of money. Losing an important person in your life is difficult, and reflecting on the impact that person made is just as important. Many people express a desire to do something to honor a parent's wishes.
Figuring out how to make the best use of an inheritance
Here is how I generally approach these conversations to help a person make the best use of their inheritance:
Define their relat
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 The U.S. Justice Department proposed on Wednesday that Congress take up legislation to curb protections that big tech platforms like Alphabet's Google and Facebook have had for decades, a senior official said, following through on U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to crack down on tech giants.
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