Raphael Stevens

Sawitree Pamee / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty ImagesThe recent ascent of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has enriched early investors with returns more akin to the lottery than your typical bread-and-butter investment. After all, a $10,000 investment at $100 per bitcoin would currently be worth an estimated $5 million.Of course, when an asset experiences exponential growth, it can invite some problems by way of tax exposure. Bitcoin has been called a lot of things, but the IRS views it property and not currency and taxes it accordingly. That means that all profits will be subject to short-term or long-term capital gains taxes.To the extent that you sell your bitcoins within a year of purchasing them, any gains would be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. Should you hold on for one year or longer, you would likely be subject to a long-term capital gains rate of 15%, depending on your income.More from FA Playbook:Can advisors meet growing demand for financial advice?Some safe money moves investors should make nowThis film can teach us about preventing elder financial abuseSome would venture to say 15% of a large number like $5 million is a steep price to pay for being right. How, then, can the owner of a low-cost basis investment liquidate their holdings, diversify a concentrated position, receive a tax deduction, enjoy lifetime income and pursue philanthropic endeavors at the same time?The answer may come in the form of a charitable remainder trust.A charitable remainder trust allows donors to gift an asset to a trust designated to benefit a qualified charity at the death of the donor. While the donor is still alive, they must receive income from the trust. Charities are exempt from taxes, so when they sell the low-cost basis investment, in this case bitcoin, they don’t have to pay capital gains taxes.While the charity won’t receive the gift until the donor passes away, the donor gets an immediate tax deduction. The way the IRS sees it, the deduction will be the present value of what the investments in the trust will be worth when the donor passes away.Here’s an example: A 50-year-old investor donates $5 million worth of bitcoin to a charitable remainder trust. They receive lifetime income of 5% a year, assuming a life expectancy of 81, and the present value of the remaining balance left to the charity at the death of the donor would be an estimated $1.3 million. That serves as the amount of the immediate tax deduction available to the donor.The bitcoin investor would have an opportunity to turn a low-cost basis holding into an income-producing asset that mitigates tax exposure from other sources of income. They would be able to diversify other concentrated positions without as much concern for the taxable consequences.Let’s also remember that any low-cost basis stock can take advantage of charitable remainder trust, so if you’ve owned a technology company for a decade and don’t know how to exit the position without paying an exorbitant amount in taxes, this might be the solution.It’s worth noting that this strategy is generally accompanied with the purchase of life insurance to replace the gift in the event that the donor dies prematurely. The income from the charitable remainder trust would be available to pay the insurance premiums, with minimal impact to the donor’s cash-flow.These are complicated strategies, and the trust can vary in the frequency of future donations as well as the ability to defer payments from the trust that allows the principal to grow. In the latter instance, the remaining amount left to the charity increases, as would the immediate tax deduction.Investors considering this course of action would be advised to speak with a qualified estate-planning attorney and a qualified tax advisor to help them navigate the laborious details and IRS requirements. In the end, it may be an excellent opportunity for the early adopters of crypto currencies to keep more of their profits and determine how their social capital is spent.— By Ivory Johnson, founder of Delancey Wealth Management More

In this articleURBNANFCROXAMZNPOSHNKEAEOLULUPJCOnline e-commerce website “Shein.”Philippe Lopez | AFP | Getty ImagesTeen spending is slowly ticking up from record lows, according to a new survey, as adolescents show signs they’re ready to get dressed up, go out and socialize again.A generation known to be glued to social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, Gen Z is taking cues from fashion and beauty influencers when they make their purchases, according to Piper Sandler’s 41th biannual “Taking Stock with Teens” report.One result is online brands like Shein and Princess Polly are surging in popularity, as are thrift marketplaces like Poshmark and Depop. A handful of classic teen brands, including Hollister, Urban Outfitters and American Eagle, are still ranking on the list of favorites.Teens plan to spend about $2,165 this year, according to Piper Sandler’s report, released Wednesday. That’s still down about 5% from a year earlier, but up 1% from last fall, when teen spending hit a low not seen in two decades. Reported annual spending by teens peaked at about $3,023, in the spring of 2006. Piper Sandler surveyed 7,000 teens from Feb. 19 to March 24. The average age of those surveyed was 16.1, and the average household income was $76,750.Marking a similar trend to what was spotted coming out of the Great Recession, girls are leading the recovery in teen spending, the survey found. From fall of 2009 to spring of 2012, for example, female clothing spend leaped 24%, compared with a 15% jump among males.Now at 29%, the wallet share that upper-income female teens devote to apparel has hit a high not seen since 2013. That percentage had stagnated at 25%, from the spring of 2017 to the spring of 2019, Piper Sandler said.Handbag spending among females has also improved to $93 per teen, up 4% year over year and reversing course from a multiyear low in the fall, the survey said.Taking an average of all teens, apparel spending came in at $508 per person for the year, down about 3% from a year earlier. Spending by teen girls rose 9% year over year, while spending by boys fell 16%.Nike remained the No. 1 apparel brand favored by teens, a spot that it has kept for more than a decade. American Eagle kept its No. 2 spot, while Adidas fell to No. 5 — the sportswear brand’s lowest level on this survey since the fall of 2017.Shein, a Chinese fast-fashion brand akin to Forever 21, was the most notable gainer on the list. At No. 8, it broke into the top 10 for the first time, climbing from a No. 11 spot in the fall. Mentions of thrift and consignment stores also notably ranked No. 10 on the list, up from 23rd a year earlier, as more teens familiarize themselves with secondhand marketplaces.Digging into Gen Z fashion trends, the 1990s are back. While leggings (i.e. those sold by Lululemon) remain the top fashion trend among female teens, “mom jeans” ranked No. 3 on the spring survey. Baggy or saggy pants ranked No. 2, and crop tops ranked No. 6.Crocs is also adding to its momentum, thanks to partnerships that the shoemaker has struck with big-name celebrities like Justin Bieber. Teens on average reported spending $270 each on footwear this year, down 5% year over year. Nike gained market share, while Crocs moved up the favorites list to No. 8 from No. 12 last spring.Amazon still reigns as teens’ favorite place to shop online, with 56% of teens claiming Amazon as their top website to visit for everything from books to electronics. Shein climbed to No. 2, surpassing Nike. The Australian fashion boutique Princess Polly climbed to No. 6, its highest spot in the survey’s history. Depop and Lululemon tied for the No. 8 spot.Many teens appear ready to get back to the mall to shop, though. When asked if they plan to visit a retailer’s store in the next six months, 78% of survey respondents said they plan to do so.— CNBC’s Courtney Reagan contributed to this report. More

A healthcare worker fills out a Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card in the Bronx borough of New York.Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWhy are politicians so good at crafting language to get themselves elected, and so bad at communicating simple policies to keep their constituents safe and alive?When President Joe Biden took office, he promised 100 million shots in arms within his first 100 days. Last week, the Biden administration reached its goal — 42 days early, no less — and raised the bar to 200 million. He deserves significant credit for turbo-charging the vaccine effort, as does the Trump administration for making safe, effective vaccines available so quickly.  For once, a bipartisan success. But politicization of the virus and ineffective communication in support of the vaccines once again threatens the nation’s health. This time, it’s over the poorly named, so-called vaccine passports.When it comes to vaccinations, the coronavirus doesn’t see or respect party lines. We are all on the same side, and we all need 85% to be vaccinated and to move on with our lives. If we fail in this task, no one wins, the virus proliferates, our freedoms are curtailed, and more people become sick and die.  Let’s not mince words anymore. This nationwide public health crisis was politicized, and partisan divides contributed to the loss of American lives. That is a fact. And mistakes in messaging continue to plague the vaccine rollout within certain communities. The question before us is whether we can rise to the challenge right now, put aside the “I told you so’s,” and move forward intelligently as well as truly united.The national conversation about vaccine passports has shown that we have learned little from messaging missteps of the past year. When the pandemic began, one side fumed over the threats of prolonged economic closures while the other side bristled when challenged to defend human “lockdowns.” Democrats weaponized science, Republicans weaponized freedom, and partisanship became a contributing cause of death to more than half a million Americans. Enough already.  To keep the nation’s vaccination discussion focused on medical facts — and not politics — we and others have specifically explored the origins of vaccine concern among Black Americans, LatinX, Republicans, rural voters, and others. Today, Republicans remain the group with the greatest levels of vaccine concern.  But a recent focus group and poll we conducted has taught us there are ways to build vaccine confidence among this population. It will take de-politicized communications — which we have not seen from the Biden White House so far — to provide concerned Republicans with the information they need to make an informed decision and overcome their reluctance to get vaccinated. Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsReturning to travel is certainly a post-Covid priority of millions of Americans, and it is clearly a vaccine motivator. The Biden administration’s recent decision to rule out vaccine passports at the federal level is a good one. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”The concept of a vaccine passport pushes nearly every partisan political button for Republicans who already don’t trust their political leaders and fear government overreach. To them, it’s a threat to the choice and freedom of those who may choose not to get vaccinated. The response from the political right should not be surprising, when it came to a vaccine passport, 47% of Trump voters opposed them compared to 10% of Biden voters.  Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsMake no mistake, there is a definitive need for some type of requirement for proof of vaccination — and the potential for widespread support if messaged correctly. Americans are asked to show proof of all sorts of things — from proof of insurance when pulled over by a police officer to documentation of vaccination when we send our children to school or summer camp. The problem here is that a vaccine passport is perceived as a potential federal government mandate that threatens our personal liberty. It doesn’t have to be this way. Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsIf you want everyone vaccinated and life to go back to normal, it starts with using the right language.  A vaccine “verification” is preferred to a passport by every population subgroup — all of them. Why?   Because it is a statement of fact, not a government-issued document. It simply communicates your status — nothing more. It is then up to you, and others around you, to decide what you do with it.      In ruling out a federally mandated vaccine passport, the Biden administration helped ease any potential equity issues that we’re seeing in vaccine distribution. A vaccine passport is only available to those who can get a vaccine, which have been disproportionately given to white Americans. A mandated government vaccine passport would potentially deny travel and access to those who have suffered most from Covid-19. Conversely, a voluntary verification or even a certificate simply states the obvious: this person is safe to travel.History books will mark our nation’s politicization of Covid-19 as a leading cause of death for the more than half a million Americans. We cannot keep making the same mistakes, particularly as we approach the moment when all American adults can get vaccinated. Americans need accurate information and genuine freedom to make their own choices. Anything that distracts from that or morphs a medical decision into a political debate makes us less safe.Brian Castrucci is an epidemiologist, public health practitioner and president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation. Frank Luntz is a Republican pollster and communication advisor. More

An employee draws up a syringe and a container with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, in Schwaz, Austria.JOHANN GRODER | AFP | Getty ImagesSheri Paulson had trouble getting out of bed months after her Covid-19 diagnosis.The 53-year-old North Dakota resident and her family fell ill with the disease after attending a wedding in August. Paulson, an endurance athlete who runs a farm outside Fargo, would later suffer from fatigue, brain fog and an elevated heart rate that led doctors to advise her to stop exercising and attend cardiac rehab.It wasn’t until about five days after she got her first Pfizer shot in February that she began to feel better.”All of a sudden, I wasn’t taking naps after cardiac rehab anymore,” said Paulson, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis. “And then I started going for walks with my dog. Then I was like, ‘hmm, I think I’m going to run a little bit, too.'”Some people who have suffered from lingering and often debilitating symptoms months after their initial bout with the virus say they are finding relief after getting vaccinated, puzzling health experts. Survivor Corps, a patient advocacy group for people with so-called long Covid, recently surveyed nearly 900 members and found 41% reported slight relief to full recovery shortly after getting the shots.The World Health Organization estimates about 1 in 10 Covid patients experience persistently ill health 12 weeks after getting the virus. Researchers at the University of Washington published data in February that found a third of patients reported ongoing symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath and sleep disorders, that persisted for as long as nine months.Symptoms of long Covid, which researchers are now calling Post-Acute Sequelae of Covid-19, or PASC, can develop well after the initial infection, and severity can range from mild to incapacitating, according to public health officials and health experts.One of the largest global studies published in early January found that many people suffering from ongoing illness after infection are unable to return to work at full capacity six months later. The study surveyed more than 3,700 people ages 18 to 80 from 56 countries.CNBC Health & ScienceRead CNBC’s latest coverage of the Covid pandemic:Biden to move deadline for states to open Covid vaccines to all U.S. adults to April 19California plans to lift most Covid restrictions June 15, keep mask mandate Qatar Airways CEO says Covid vaccines likely to be required for travel: ‘This will be the trend’  CDC director says hospitalizations among seniors are declining as more than half of the age groupDiana Berrent, who founded Survivor Corps just over a year ago, suffered for months from long Covid before most of her symptoms resolved on their own last year. She said some members of the organization were at first hesitant to get vaccinated. The members feared that the reported side effects from the shots would cause their symptoms to get worse, she said.”We were really expecting the worst” from the vaccines, she told CNBC. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out that some people were starting to get better because it was just so outside what we were expecting.”They are not alone. Facebook and Twitter are filled with stories from people who testify, to their own surprise, that their symptoms eased or even disappeared after getting a Covid vaccine.Not well understoodThe cause of the persistent symptoms is still not well understood by health experts.Most studies have focused on people with a severe or fatal illness, not those who have recovered but still report lingering side effects, the so-called long-haulers. The virus is also relatively new — discovered a little over a year ago —so there isn’t any long-term data on it.The National Institutes of Health launched an initiative in February to study long Covid and identify the causes and potential treatments. NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said at the time that researchers hope to understand the underlying biological cause of the prolonged symptoms.Doctors also don’t know why some patients with long Covid say they feel better after getting immunized. Figuring that out, experts say, could provide new insights into what’s behind the persistent symptoms as well as potential new treatments to fight it.Sheri Paulson with her dog Jazzy in North Dakota.Courtesy: Sheri PaulsonThe viral reservoirOne theory, according to Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki, is that the vaccines help eliminate the so-called “viral reservoir,” where the virus may still be lingering in the body and causing chronic symptoms. The robust immune response induced by the vaccines may help clear any leftover virus, eliminating symptoms, said the scientist, who’s studying long Covid.”That’s probably the most straightforward way” the vaccines could be helping people, she told CNBC in a phone interview. “If that’s the case, people will be cured of long Covid and that will be wonderful news.”Iwasaki also hypothesized that Covid could be causing an autoimmune disease where immune cells mistakenly damage the body. If that’s the case, the vaccines could be providing “temporary relief” from symptoms and patients may eventually need to return for another dose, she said.There is no long-term data of how people feel after the vaccine, she said. “But I suspect that if the second [hypothesis] is true, then it won’t be a long-lasting relief.”Symptoms returnedDarren Brown, a 37-year-old physiotherapist based in the U.K., said his symptoms returned a few weeks after he received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.Brown suffered from fatigue, restless sleep and impaired coordination for several months. He said felt his long Covid symptoms had completely lifted about three weeks after he got his first shot. But just days before his second dose, he felt his symptoms beginning to return.”I started to notice I was getting more fatigued again,” he said.” The level that I thought I’d been able to push myself, the threshold, it felt like that had been reduced and I’d have nothing in me after returning to work. I just had to go to bed after a day at work.”He feels better since his second dose but said he worries his symptoms might return again.”I’m really cautious that this may not be long-lasting,” he said. “But I’m also really overwhelmed with excitement that it is lifted for now.”Paulson, the North Dakota farmer, said she still has some symptoms, but the fatigue and brain fog are gone since getting her second shot on March 18. She added that she is grateful to be doing well, especially since many others died from the disease.”There’s always things that put life in perspective for you and kind of put you back on your heels for a little bit,” said Paulson, who also works for a Massachusetts-based biotech company.Clinical trialsWhile the reports of relief from long Covid symptoms could be good news, they are still only anecdotal, said Dr. Paul Offit, a voting member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.There still needs to be a formal trial to determine whether the vaccines are actually helping, he said.Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto, echoed Offit’s remarks, saying he is skeptical but “open-minded.””This is an answerable question and I hope we have decent data that can confirm or refute this,” said Bogoch. “Otherwise it’s just a bunch of collective anecdotes”Iwasaki told CNBC she plans to conduct a study, in collaboration with Survivor Corps, analyzing the blood samples of long Covid patients before and after getting vaccinated. She said he hopes they can explain the relief some patients experience after vaccination.The study is still in the planning phases, she said, adding, “we are working very hard to get that up and running.””I have received numerous emails and DMs on Twitter about patient experiences … and I’m hearing every day from people who are feeling better from getting the vaccine,” she said. “From where I stand, it looks encouraging.”–CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report. More

In this article.COVID19The list of colleges and universities planning to require students be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is growing.Already, Cornell University, Rutgers University, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, have said vaccinations will be mandatory for students before returning to campus in the fall.”Medical and religious exemptions will be accommodated, but the expectation will be that our campuses and classrooms will overwhelmingly consist of vaccinated individuals, greatly reducing the risk of infection for all,” Cornell President Martha Pollack and Provost Michael Kotlikoff said in a statement.More institutions are likely to follow, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.More from Personal Finance:Vaccinating kids could slow school reopenings, parents group fearsStudy: Virtual school resulted in ‘significant’ learning lossMany schools struggle to reopen for in-person learningAcross the country, campuses struggled to remain open over the last year as fraternities, sororities and off-campus parties drove sudden spikes in coronavirus cases among undergraduates.As eligibility for Covid vaccines expands to all adults, including those 16 years and older, schools must consider how a vaccine mandate can help higher education get back on track, Pasquerella said.And, for those enrolled in school, there are many vaccination requirements already in place to prevent the spread of diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.”Adding Covid-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said.Students can also request an exemption from vaccination for medical or religious reasons and students enrolled in fully remote programs will not be required to be vaccinated.Rutgers has even received approval from the state of New Jersey to administer vaccines on campus to faculty, staff and students once supply is available. All 50 states have at least some vaccine mandates for children attending public schools and even those attending private schools and daycare centers. In every case, there are medical exemptions, and some in cases religious or philosophical exemptions, as well.And yet, vaccine hesitancy remains a powerful force among parents, in particular.Only 58% of parents or caregivers said they would vaccinate their children against Covid-19, despite 70% of parents saying they would vaccinate themselves, according to a March poll by ParentsTogether, a national advocacy group.Low-income and minority households were even less likely to vaccinate their children, ParentsTogether found.Other studies have shown Black and Latino people to be more skeptical of the vaccines than the U.S. overall due to historic mistreatment in medicine. Disparities along racial lines in vaccine distribution also have been observed in the U.S.”Colleges do need to get ahead of this and think about how this is going to play out,” said Bethany Robertson, co-founder and co-director of ParentsTogether.  “We need to start the conversation with parents now, to build trust and understanding about how getting kids vaccinated against Covid-19 protects their health, their family’s health and the health of our communities,” Robertson said.    However, in addition to students, parents and community members, schools must also weigh the interests of the faculty, staff, legislators and boards of trustees, Pasquerella added.”It’s complicated,” she said. “No matter what decision one makes, one group will ultimately be displeased.”  Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. More

In this articleUPSUPS AircraftSource: UPSBeta Technologies, which agreed to sell electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to United Parcel Service, sees the deal as a major milestone for the acceptance of eVTOLs as commercially viable.”UPS is a step function change for our business,” Beta founder Kyle Clark told CNBC ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. “It telegraphs to the entire business community that electric vertical aircraft are real.”Beta Technologies will design and build 10 of its Alia-250 eVTOLs to be delivered to UPS in 2024, pending certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft is powered by an electric battery. It has five propellers, allowing it to take off vertically like a helicopter and then fly like a plane. It can carry 1,400 pounds. It can travel up to 250 miles at 170 mph once fully charged, which takes 50 minutes.UPS, headquartered in Atlanta, plans to test the eVTOLs in its Express Air delivery network to replace small planes that can carry 500 to 3,000 pounds.”Global customer acceptance of electric vertical aircraft is something that isn’t going to happen overnight, and the trust and the validation … is produced when a company like UPS safely flies these things between airports and distribution centers, and on airport and off airports,” said Clark. “That experience or just the emotive response of the general public to know that they’re not the first ones getting on — so this has been flying, hundreds of aircraft in millions of hours of packages — is the right way to approach this market, and it’ll put us significantly up on our competition.”There’s growing competition in the emerging eVTOL market, with another start-up, Archer, announcing in February an investment from United Airlines. Silicon Valley-based Archer plans to build a four-passenger aircraft that can travel 60 miles at up to 150 mph. Archer is aiming to have it’s eVTOL delivered to customers by 2024, if certified by the FAA. In December, California-based Joby Aviation bought the Uber Elevate flying taxi service, with plans to have its eVTOL aircraft entering service as soon as 2024. Wisk, established in 2019 as a joint venture between Boeing and aircraft maker Kitty Hawk Corp., started testing autonomous eVTOLs taxis in New Zealand.Beta Technologies and UPS are not disclosing the financial terms of the deal, however, UPS holds an option to purchase up to 150 more eVTOLs from Beta. UPS also has embedded a staff member at Beta’s Burlington, Vermont headquarters to identify and address any issues with “how do you load this thing, how do you unload it, what does the pilot need for a cockpit, how do you get the trucks in and out next to it,” Clark said. “All these things that make us have a better product in the future [and] are enabled by an early commitment by UPS like this.”UPS AircraftSource: UPSIt’s “the first meaningful customer order in the electric-vertical aerospace aircraft space, and it’s a real order, and that differentiates us very quickly,” said Clark. “We’ve really focused on getting a real partnership engaged with UPS, getting a real order in place and having a clear path to deployment, in our ability to recruit people, to partner with the best aerospace companies in the world, and of course to get additional orders.”Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimates there will be approximately $300 billion in eVTOL spending by 2028. Beta Technologies said it will focus on providing aircraft to commercial customers for now but will eventually sell to private individuals.Clark said the full scope of what eVTOLs can be used for is still being figured out, but he considers the aircraft Beta is delivering to UPS as the start of the next chapter for his company and the industry.”We have a new proposed form of propulsion, coming into aerospace, that will broaden the entire aerospace market. Nobody here is replacing a helicopter or a jet, or whatever. We’re actually enabling entirely new routes and missions that were inconceivable previously in aerospace,” he said. “This order from UPS just steps up the reality, steps up the funding, steps up the focus, and provides a real deployable vision for the entire industry, and of course specifically for Beta.” More