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Tenants evacuated from Shenzhen’s swaying SEG Plaza skyscraper demand compensation as investigation into cause continues

Fed's Kaplan cites real estate excesses as one reason to start tapering purchases

Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan cited potential excesses in the housing market and other inflation signs as an indication that the central bank should start slowly pulling back on its asset purchase program.With the Fed still buying at least $120 billion in bonds each month, a total that includes $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities, several officials have said it’s time to at least start discussing easing off the historically aggressive injections to the fixed income market.In an interview Thursday afternoon with CNBC, Kaplan reiterated his call for a gradual change in policy.”At this stage as opposed to a year ago, these mortgage purchases for example might be having some unintended consequences and side effects, which I think we need to weight against the efficacy,” he said during a live “Closing Bell” discussion. “So, I think some restraint and moderation as we move toward weathering this pandemic, I think, would be useful in mitigating some of these excesses and imbalances.”Kaplan is not a voting member of the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee, but he does have input into its decisions. So far, only a handful of Fed officials have come out in favor of tapering asset purchases. San Francisco Fed

To get in on the hot housing market, you may have to raise your credit score. Here's how

People wait to visit a house for sale in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, on Sept. 6, 2020.Xinhua News Agency | Getty ImagesMortgage interest rates are near historic lows. Yet if you want to take advantage of those rates, check your credit score first.That three-digit number determines whether you can get a mortgage, the type of loan you’ll get, what you’ll pay in interest and potentially how much money you need for a down payment. In this hot housing market, that could make difference in your success, experts say.The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate is currently 3.090%, according to Bankrate.”You are locking that rate in for potentially 30 years, so you are saving an incredible amount of interest,” said certified financial planner Faron Daugs, founder and CEO of Harrison Wallace Financial Group, based in Libertyville, Illinois.More from Invest in You:As home prices rise, here’s what buyers can do to land a dealMom leveraged 529 plans to give her son a debt-free college educationStart-ups boomed during Covid. How some entrepreneurs found a nicheCredit scores range from 300 to 850. A good score is 670 to 739, very good is 740 to 799, and 800 and up is considered excellent, according

Biden’s bid to tax inherited assets could be a documentation nightmare for wealthy heirs

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, in Dearborn, Michigan on May 18, 2021.Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty ImagesThe wealthy may have a whole other reason to dread President Joe Biden’s proposal to overhaul taxes on inheritances: They may have to dig through decades’ worth of documents to figure out what they owe Uncle Sam.To help fund his American Families Plan, Biden is proposing higher taxes on capital gains and income for the wealthiest families.He is also calling for the elimination of a decades-old loophole that allows individuals to inherit appreciated assets at market value with no taxes on the unrealized gain. This tactic is known as the “step-up in basis at death.”Biden proposes ending this “basis step-up” for gains in excess of $1 million for single taxpayers – $2.5 million for couples – and ensuring that gains are taxed if the property isn’t donated to charity.Coupled with a bid to raise long-term capital gains rates to 39.6% from 20% for households making over $1 million, wealthy heirs could be in for a pile of taxes.But determining Uncle Sam’s cut could be difficult for certain assets. That’s because the basis – or the owner’s