Sneaky trick boomers are using to snap up homes ahead of younger generations... here's how to beat them
Many young Americans are worried they're facing a lifetime of renting while they watch baby boomers snap up homes — often paying all cash.
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BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Allianz Life: Insurance giant says most US customer data stolen in cyber-attack
Hackers have stolen personal information of a majority of insurance firm Allianz Life's 1.4 million customers in North America, its parent company said."On July 16, 2025, a malicious threat actor gained access to a third-party, cloud-based CRM system used by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life)," Allianz said in a statement to the BBC. The German parent company added that the hackers were "able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life's customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique".The data breach was only related to Allianz Life, according to the company. The insurance company disclosed the data breach in a legal filing with the attorney general in the US state of Maine. It did not specify how many people had been affected. In the statement, the insurance company said it had taken "immediate action" to contain the breach and had notified the FBI. It said that there was "no evidence the Allianz Life network or other company systems were accessed, including our policy administration system". Allianz - which has over 125 million customers globally - added that it was in the process of contacting and assisting the individuals affected by the data breach. A social engineering cyber-attack is when hackers pressure or trick users into giving away sensitive information, such as by impersonating a trusted company or person.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
From Krispy Kreme to GoPro, has meme-stock trading frenzy returned?
Shares in struggling retailers and ageing consumer brands surged, as amateur traders cast aside Wall Street's skepticism and mobilized online. It's like 2021 all over again. But the latest meme-stock rally could be even bigger than its predecessor four years ago, when investors piled into recognizable but unloved stocks, such as the video games retailer GameStop and the movie theatre chain AMC, according to the founder of the Reddit forum that helped whip up the frenzy. Retailer Kohl's, camera firm GoPro, fast-food chain Wendy's and doughnut chain Krispy Kreme each staged rapid rallies this week, driven by abrupt surges in trading volume reminiscent of the the meme-stock craze of 2021, when social media memes boosted a collection of struggling stocks, triggering extraordinary and volatile leaps in value. Actress Sydney Sweeney helped bring clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters into the mania after it was announced the Euphoria and White Lotus star would front the brand's latest marketing campaign. The company's shares surged about 10% in trading on Thursday. Meme stocks are 'about to leap-frog in size and scope and scale, so that retail traders are going to redefine what matters', according to Jaime Rogozinski, founder of the wallstreetbets Reddit forum behind many of the volatile rallies. 'The world of finance is clearly changing, with blockchain technologies encroaching, and AI agents that trade on their own,' he said. 'And the collective of retail traders is adapting along with it.' Rogozinski founded wallstreetbets in 2012, but said Reddit ousted him as a moderator in 2020. His bid to sue the social media company for trademark infringement was dismissed by the US court of appeals for the ninth circuit last month. The forum's users home in on stocks and share their own research. 'It's a decentralization of power of who can be financial analyst,' said Noor Al, a moderator on wallstreetbets. 'Great ideas can now come from anyone, anywhere. 'We're seeing the power of retail push stocks, sometimes to the tune of billions of dollars, through the power of ideas, the power of community and the power of the people,' he added. The meme-stock craze of 2021, which produced stars such as Roaring Kitty, was a product of the Covid era, when many amateur traders were stuck at home and flush with pandemic stimulus cash. Whether this latest frenzy produces similar winners is not yet clear. Kohl's finished the week up 32%, GoPro was up 66% and Krispy Kreme was up 41%. The rallies show some investors are willing to take on more risk, as stocks scale record highs and the market, dominated by big tech, becomes harder to beat. Often, meme-stock bets are unbound from economic fundamentals, as investors move to support a brand for romantic or ideological reasons. Donald Trump's Trump Media & Technology Group, home to Truth Social, is valued at more than $5bn on quarterly revenue of about $1m. The wallstreetbets ethos 'has always to some extent been about flaunting and exploiting the ironies, relevance or irrelevance' of the stock market, said Rogozinski, who pointed to Wendy's, the hamburger chain, as a good example. 'Wendy's has always been a meme that goes back a decade. It brings a smile to my face, because on Reddit there's always been this thing where they say: 'Sir, this is a Wendy's.' 'It's an inside joke, and I don't even get where it started. It's just a meme,' he added. The stock's fleeting rise – it rallied 10% in two days, but finished the week broadly flat – shows some retail investors do not necessarily care about the typical factors that drive the market, such as tariffs and war in the Middle East. 'It's this ability for us to almost make fun of the financial system.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Long-term institutional players will always get the last laugh, Rogozinski conceded, because prices will return to normal valuations. 'But in the short term there's lot of money to be had with this volatility, and the fact that stocks are able to move up and down with such ease is but a mere showcase for how the financial system needs a facelift in relevancy.' While current market conditions do not replicate the low interest rates and retail investor buoyancy of the Covid era, market records and a robust economy have made meme stocks attractive once again for some. 'You see all these indications where this is full-blown meme mania,' Brent Kochuba, founder of derivatives-data firm SpotGamma, told Bloomberg. 'The macro economic environment really favors the retail and speculative plays,' agreed Al. 'I think were only going to see more speculation and excitement. It's a good time to tune in, because retail players can react and provide insight faster.' Days traders are not necessarily bothered by a company's financial performance, said Rogozinski. 'You have this activist, elective investor who is saying, 'I don't care what the financial statements look like, I don't care what the discounted cashflow is, I like the food, I like the video-game store, I like the meme. So dude, you can go back to Excel spreadsheets if you want, but I really like the chicken tenders,'' he said. There is now a 'third component' to investment, beyond supply and demand, he claimed, 'which is, 'dude, I don't care if you think it's going to go up or not, or if they have assets or liabilities. I care about this company and I'm going to help it out. I'm going to go buy my jeans from American Eagle.''
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Get early retirees off the golf course and back to work – why early retirement isn't good for UK plc
Early retirement is a wealthy indulgence that needs to be discouraged. As a minimum, ministers should strip away any inducement offered by the tax system for people who want to retire in their 50s. Every western country needs their more mature workers to keep going, if not full time, then part time. And if not paid work, then unpaid voluntary work that acknowledges the luck that flows from being a 21st-century baby boomer in good health. Communities, regions and countries cannot afford for older people to pack up and head for the golf course, or worse, book a permanent cruise and spend their cash in international waters. Last week, the government convened a pensions commission to consider a narrow question: how to boost the incomes of lower-paid workers in retirement. It is understandable that the government is worried about the increasing numbers of low-income workers who will soon spend a long retirement struggling to make ends meet. This is a genuine concern and a subject worthy of a commission. Yet there is a need to address a far wider question, which is how society will thrive when the age pyramid is inverted, with only a smattering of young people holding up a mountain of retirees. Retirement has its origins in the Industrial Revolution and the need to prevent older people from ending their years in abject poverty, not to fulfil a bucket list of expensive desires. The commission should ask why anyone in the 21st century should think they can put their feet up seven days a week when they are fit and well, and able to participate in economic life. Yet a prosperous retirement is the aim of so many – and not only when they are approaching their 60s. If you look at the strike record of full-time university lecturers you would think they obsess about their pensions every day. Council staff spend precious hours scrolling through WhatsApp groups discussing the most mundane changes to their retirement plans with a degree of attentiveness that, to give them credit, is in line with the generosity of their benefits. Company boardrooms are no different. Executives will set aside huge amounts of time to manage their complex and stunningly generous pensions. Having a financial consultant ready and available on the phone to talk about their retirement plans has become a must-have demand in the corporate world. Maybe its the lure of sailing on the Adriatic or cruising the Caribbean that captivates so many, or less positively, the frustration and anxiety from working near, with or for incompetent or venal managers in a succession of modestly paid jobs. Still, whatever the reason, too many people want to cash out of the economy, trading their pension and property gains for a long period of rest, with only the stress of remembering what day it is to bump their heart rate. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Some economists have argued that this moment – when boomers are no longer participating in the workplace – will trigger a profound shift in the economy. Those workers still in the labour market will bid up their wages, pushing up prices and making high inflation a permanent feature. Governments will find it harder to borrow money, in part because pension funds, after decades of growth, will have a declining need to buy their bonds. There are also extra bills to pay. In its latest report on the UK, the International Monetary Fund says the effects of population ageing on health and pension costs will account for a further 8% of GDP by 2050 compared with an extra 5.5% of GDP, on average, in other advanced European economies. These are important issues connected with the nation's finances. So, too, are the ways better-off baby boomers insulate themselves. First, they take most of the pension money and invest it abroad where the gains are much higher, either because their workforces are young, dynamic and more productive or because the companies are American and enjoy monopolistic strangleholds in their respective markets. Investing abroad gives the boomer a ring-fenced income no matter how clapped out the economy they call home. The second track is to import young workers from abroad, boosting the labour supply as boomers make their exit. Financial insulation is understandable when government finances are under strain. Yet one of the reasons the wheels are coming off the modern liberal state is because baby boomers, who by sheer force of numbers and their better education spurred the postwar recovery, are causing the downturn by bailing out. Worse, they are cashing out, too. Without a debate about what it means to be old and the responsibilities that come with receiving a pension, the government's commission will be left to merely tinker. We are only a few years away from the baby boomer generation all reaching retirement age. Everyone born in the years up to 1964 will be eligible to collect the state pension in 2031. It's a turning point that everyone should be preparing for, especially when all the Pimm's-drinking early retirees are added to the list. The commission's remit should be wider.
