Latest news with #Lindner
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What Investors Should Know About American Financial Group's (AFG) 2025 Dividends
American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) is included among the 14 Stocks that Paid Special Dividends in 2025. A hand holding a blank insurance policy, signifying the wide variety of coverages available. In February 2025, American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) declared a special dividend of $2.00 per share. The company stated that the total special dividend would amount to approximately $170 million. Since the start of 2021, the company has declared special dividends totaling $52.00 per share, including $6.50 per share in 2024. AFG's Co-Chief Executive Officers, S. Craig Lindner and Carl H. Lindner III, explained that returning capital to shareholders through regular and special cash dividends, as well as opportunistic share buybacks, is a key part of the company's capital management approach. They also noted that the company plans to invest its capital in its core businesses to pursue healthy, profitable organic growth and to expand its specialty niche businesses through acquisitions and start-ups that meet its targeted return goals. American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is an insurance holding company. Its main business, conducted through Great American Insurance Group, centers on property and casualty insurance, with a focus on specialized commercial insurance products for businesses. American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) currently offers a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.49%, as of July 23. While we acknowledge the potential of AFG as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Is KC's Plaza safer under new owners? Here's what shop owners and visitors say
When Kari Lindner, in 2023, began work as general manager of the Made in KC Plaza Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza, two people that summer were shot on the street, one hit by a stray bullet, fired in the historic, Spanish-styled shopping district. Night after night, parades of motorcycles and ATV's roared down West 47th Street, shattering the summer calm. Throngs of teenagers gathering near Shake Shack created an air of menace. Car thefts and break-ins seemed almost endemic. 'My first year here, that first summer,' Lindner said, 'that's when we had the huge car thefts and car break-ins going on. I shouldn't say huge, but it was a regular occurrence. Either it was happening to us, or we were hearing about it from other people.' The summer of 2024 was more of the same. Another person was shot. Teens continued to gather, so much so that Shake Shack that June shut down its dining room and bathrooms from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., '(d)ue to substantial safety risk and business disturbance caused by violent, habitual trespassers.' The situation has changed. One year ago this month, new ownership, the HP Village Partners out of Dallas (since rebranded as The Village Collection) bought and took over what is now the 102-year-old district, promising not only to return it to its previous glory, but also — as principal partner Ray Washburne said in announcing the purchase — to make security the Plaza's first, second and third priorities in order to bring visitors back. That promise, Plaza merchants and area residents say, so far is being kept. As part of their security measures, the new owners have repainted facades, planted flowers and made other changes that may seem strictly cosmetic, but also increase security by making the Plaza more inviting, thus attracting visitors which helps reduce crime. Some $1 million in security lighting has also been added to parking garages along with 50 new security cameras on the streets bringing the number to some 250. The cameras are monitored 24/7. 'The nicer it (the Plaza) is, the more people that come,' Lindner said. 'The more people that are around, there's less opportunity for those you don't want to be here to be here. People do bad things in hiding. They don't normally do bad things in busy places with a lot of lighting.' A new emergency text alert system for Plaza tenants has also been put in place. 'We never had an alert system before,' Lindner said. Of special significance: In May, the new owners hired a new security company, Metro Public Safety, adding a beefed up presence of private security officers as well as off-duty Kansas City Police Department officers who not only are authorized to be armed, but also are authorized to detain suspects rather than simply observe and report incidents. Between eight and 20 officers are on duty at any one time depending on the day and hour. 'The new security team is absolutely amazing,' Deserae Minor, owner of KC Style Haus, 4704 Wyandotte St, said. 'They are quick to help and they check on us periodically. When there's an issue, they come over almost immediately. . . .If a store calls something suspicious in and they can't get there in time, they can look at the cameras to see where the person went and then follow up at that location. 'Since the new security team has started, theft in my store has dramatically decreased, and I've definitely seen a positive change on the Plaza.' Alyssa Cartwright, manager of eb and company, an accessory shop at 327 W. 47th St., said she no longer feels nervous walking to the parking garage at night. 'Now that there's security around, I feel like I can go to my car without issue,' she said. 'There's definitely an uptick in security. I see them walking around all the time.' Jon Van Maren manages the bar and restaurant Rye KC, at 4646 Mill Creek Parkway. 'It's definitely gotten better,' he said of security. 'Just the presence. The cops that are here now, the security people, they are actually armed. And they actually will engage, whereas before they would kind of just watch from afar.' Van Maren recalled his frustration at calling the Plaza's previous security officers regarding an individual exhibiting concerning behavior outside the business. 'I had to call a few things in,' he said. 'There'd be a guy. They'd say, 'Yeah, we have eyes on him,'' to which Van Maren said he responded, ' 'Yeah, OK, well, I'm pretty sure he's smoking crack in the corner.' Now, they will come out immediately.' Summer is only six weeks old. Teenagers still gather on the Plaza. So far no significant incidents have been reported. Scott Keller, who in December took on the role of the Plaza's general manager, said the new ownership group began working to improve security soon after the Plaza was purchased. 'I think a lot of things stem from security,' he said. 'Everything from leasing to customer foot traffic. Security has got to be good for people to want to come down here. 'So immediately after acquisition, the team launched into all the things we could do quickly' — meaning $500,000 on painting, adding $1 million in new garage lighting and cameras — 'just getting stuff brighter and cleaner, because perception a lot of times is security.' 'Then we launched into a review of existing security protocols, really in-depth,' Keller said. 'When I got here in December, I spent the first three months really analyzing our security — the number of officers, how they were equipped, what their support was, the technology behind it. Which is what led us to making kind of a wholesale change in early May from Class B observe-and-report style security to Class A armed security, meaning they have the power of detainment. 'So if there is a suspect shoplifting, or doing whatever, they can detain them, hold them, call KCPD. They can pursue them. They are generally more qualified. Better trained. Better equipped.' Because the Plaza's upgraded security began only in May, there is not yet enough data to determine whether the Plaza has seen an actual statistical drop in crime. No retail center in the Kansas City area is immune to thefts, burglaries, robberies or other felonies or misdemeanors. The Plaza's 15 city blocks are no different. In the year since the Dallas ownership group took possession in July 2024, CityProtect, an online blotter system used by the Kansas City Police Department, shows 30 crimes reported on the Plaza. The great majority, 21, are listed as non-aggravated assaults, meaning no weapon was used and victims likely suffered minor or even no injuries. Several were cases listed as 'domestic violence.' The site also shows seven robberies. It also includes reports of two serious felonies, a sodomy reported in September 2024 and a rape that occurred around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2024. Both cases remain open and under investigation by Kansas City police. Residents who live on the outskirts of the Plaza insist they also sense a major change in the district on summer nights: It's significantly quieter. Street racing and tire-burning 'sideshows' in the area have faded. Residents credit both the new Plaza security and efforts by Kansas City Police, which in November began a special effort to crack down on street racing and sideshows. Kathie Conwell, a 10-year Plaza resident, said that in recent years, the sound and sight of cars and motorcycles screeching or thundering through the Plaza had practically become a summer routine. 'I face Brush Creek. It used to drive me crazy, especially Sunday nights,' Conwell said. From her home, she could see cars gathering atop the parking garage near the former Halls department store. 'They would wait until they got a good bunch of them up there. Then someone would signal. Then they'd all get in their cars and peel down the ramp, one after the other. It would just echo across the creek. It sounded like I was at the speedway. . . . 'I would call Plaza security, and it would be like, 'Yeah, and you want us to do what?'' No longer. 'None of that since the new ownership. None of that,' she said. 'It's been eerily quiet. Pleasantly. I could sit up on the roof. I could sit out on the front patio. And there is a certain peace and calm to it that there was not a year ago.' Conwell said she and a friend often walk the Plaza in the early morning. 'We've watched it deteriorate over the last couple of years,' she said. 'I've seen amazing improvements as far as feeling much more secure. I feel very safe on the Plaza walking by myself. They (security officers) really make their presence known.' Keller said that the Plaza security's response time to complaints under the old system was often 20 and 30 minutes. 'We're now down to three minutes or less,' he said. Improving safety at the Plaza, however, may be easier than changing people's perceptions. Talks with random shoppers at the district were unified in one way. All said they felt perfectly safe on the Plaza during the day. But at night, impressions were mixed. England Williams spoke of her own harrowing moment. 'I actually experienced me, at the Cheesecake Factory, hearing a gunshot about three years ago,' she said. During the day, she said she feels fine on the Plaza. At night: 'I try to watch my curfew. If I come out, I come out between seven and 10,' she said. Overland Park residents Josie Benskin, 19, and Blake Sebastian, 18, stopped outside of lululemon. Days for them are also fine, they said. 'I feel like the environment changes a little bit at night,' Benskin said. 'I don't ever feel unsafe,' Sebastian said, 'but I definitely feel a little bit safer during the day.' Nights during Christmas and Thanksgiving, the two said, is never an issue as the Plaza is often filled with people and families. Back from college, Anna Massman , 19, from Kansas City, said that although she generally feels safe on the Plaza at night, 'it's not my go-to option.' 'I'm sure my parents, especially when I was younger, they didn't want me getting a job where I would be working here at late hours. You hear — not always, but sometimes — about shootings. And I think it just makes you nervous. . . .I have friends who had jobs like that. I had a friend that worked at The Melting Pot. She would leave really late sometimes, and she would be like, 'This feels a little sketchy.'' The Plaza's new owners are well aware of the mixed impressions. 'You know,' Keller said, 'obviously we want to see a reduction in statistical crime. That's one big thing. 'But there's also a big challenge with the perception of crime. That's where I think it's really important for us. How our tenants feel about being on the Plaza, how our customers feel about being on the Plaza, how the nearby residents and business owners feel about being on the Plaza is really what drives us. . . 'We changed security in May, and we've seen some dramatic impact already, but the real long-term impact, particularly in perception of customers, is going to take time.' Although about 30% of the Plaza's storefronts are currently empty, Keller said the company expects to hand its future development plan to the city by the end of the year. He said he also expects, at that time, to likely make announcements on some future tenants. Renovating and building anew on the Plaza is going to take years. Once construction begins, new tenants sign on and the Plaza undergoes change, Keller said, the expectation is that perceptions will change, too. 'I think one of the things that gets overlooked,' he said, 'is that as we fix the leasing challenges at the Plaza, people will also feel more safe. It just feels less safe if you see vacant storefronts, right? 'Obviously that's way up on the priority list for us. As we fill spaces, people will feel more safe.'
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Newsweek
Devastating Texas Floods Shattered 93-Year Record
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The catastrophic floods that hit central Texas over the weekend caused the Guadalupe River to flood so high it broke a 93-year-old record by nearly a foot. Newsweek reached out to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Austin, which is the forecast region for Hunt, Texas, where the record was set, by phone for comment. Why It Matters On Friday, the NWS issued urgent warnings to people across central Texas amid heavy downpours that resulted in months' worth of rain at once, prompting the Guadalupe River to surge around 25 feet in only 45 minutes. More than a foot of rain lashed the region before the river flooding on Friday afternoon, NWS meteorologist James Wingenroth told Newsweek. The downpours caused rivers to surge with little advance notice. Floodwaters inundated central Texas, sweeping away an RV park with families still inside their vehicles. More than 80 people have died, and search-and-rescue missions continue on Monday as the region is anticipating more rain. What to Know Early data evaluation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) along the Guadalupe River in Texas show that record river height was reached in at least one location. In Hunt, Texas, preliminary data suggests the Guadalupe River peaked at 37.52 feet on July 4, according to a Facebook post from Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner. This breaks the prior record of 36.60 feet by nearly a foot. That record was set on July 2, 1932. The next highest level occurred on July 17, 1987, when the river reached 28.40 feet. During that flood event, 10 campers died when a bus evacuating them from a summer camp near Comfort, Texas, was overtaken by floodwaters. In the post, Lindner pointed out that the top three flood events for this location occurred during July. In Kerrville, Texas, the river peaked at 34.29 feet, which is the third highest on record. The record was set on July 2, 1932, when the river peaked at 39 feet, followed by a flood event on July 17, 1987, where it peaked at 37.72 feet. "The Kerrville gage rose from 1.82 ft at 5:15 am to a peak of 34.29 ft at 6:45 am or 32.47 ft in 1.5 hrs," Lindner said. "With the number of fatalities surpassing 80 on Sunday, this TX flood event appears to be the deadliest non-tropical flood event in American history since the 1979 Big Thompson Canyon Flood in Colorado which claimed 144 lives." Flooding in central Texas remains a possibility on Monday as heavy rain continues to fall. Flooding caused by a flash flood at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, is seen on July 5. Flooding caused by a flash flood at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, is seen on July 5. Ronaldo Schemidt/Getty What People Are Saying NWS Corpus Christi in a flood warning about the Guadalupe River: "Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Even 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock you off your feet and a depth of 2 feet will float your car. Never try to walk, swim, or drive through such swift water. If you come upon flood waters, stop, turn around and go another way." NWS Fort Worth in a flood warning: "Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding. Low-water crossings are inundated with water and may be impassable. It will take several hours for all the water from these storms to recede." What Happens Next? Flooding will remain a possibility through mid-week as it will take time for rivers to recede.
Local Germany
23-06-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
How long do you need to keep receipts and invoices for in Germany?
To Germany's credit, the tax authorities in the country are generally given the powers and resources they need to tackle financial fraud, at least in comparison to some other countries. The German love of probity and paperwork can take its toll on law-abiding citizens, however, many of whom breathed a sign of relief when former Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) reduced the retention period for accounting documents and invoices in Germany from ten to eight years. Now, Lindner's bid to cut bureaucracy looks like being reversed by his successor, Lars Klingbeil of the centre-left SPD. What does this mean for companies, the self-employed, and landlords? If Klingbeil gets his way companies, the self-employed, and landlords will all be required to keep documents, invoices, and receipts for a period of ten years, starting from the end of the calendar year in which the document was created, or the last entry was made. READ ALSO: Five hard truths about starting out as a freelancer in Germany Ideally, this means the originals of the documents, not copies, although the rules do allow for digital storage provided strict requirements for authenticity, completeness, and traceability are met. The same individuals or organisations are also required by law to store annual financial statements, inventories, and tax returns for the same period of time. Advertisement Under German law, some business documents including commercial letters and contracts only need to be kept for six years. The tax office can legally request all these documents within the specified periods in order to audit companies and individuals and check tax returns. If you're unable to provide the documents when asked to do so, the tax office can disallow the entire expense deduction, leading to higher taxable profits and a higher tax bill. READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The best apps to help you track your German taxes In cases of gross negligence or intent (such as the systematic destruction or falsification of documents), there's a risk of fines or criminal tax proceedings. What does this mean for private individuals? While there is no general legal obligation for private individuals to keep hold of their receipts and invoices, there's often a good reason to file them away somewhere anyway. As a general rule of thumb, warranties or guarantees tend to last for two years in Germany, so it's a good idea to keep receipts for at least this length of time as proof of purchase. Providing you have the appropriate invoices, you can also deduct 20 percent of the labour costs for household-related services from your tax bill (up to €4,000 for services including cleaning, gardening, and maintenance), and 20 percent for handyman services – such as repairs, renovations, or modernisation work in your home – up to a value of €1,200. Advertisement If you own and live in your home, you can also deduct 20 percent of the costs for energy-efficient renovations from your taxes (like insulation, new windows, new heating systems, or digital energy management), up to a value of €40,000 over three years. If you do claim, remember to keep all invoices and proof of payment for at least two years in case the tax office asks to see them. Private individuals should also hang on to the tax assessment notices they receive from the tax office for at least then years, in the event of subsequent inquiries or subsidy applications.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former German minister Lindner bids farewell as FDP picks new leader
Former German finance minister Christian Lindner bid farewell to his Free Democratic Party (FDP) on Friday with heavy criticism of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's new government. Lindner stepped down as chairman of the FDP after leading the pro-business party to a disastrous result in February's national election, leaving it without a seat in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. At a party conference in the German capital, Lindner said the "majority of voters voted for less state and more freedom. What is now being delivered is more state and more debt." "If the Merz government does not flank this new fiscal policy with reforms, then this decision on direction will first come back like a boomerang in economic terms and then at the ballot box in 2029," he added. The former finance minister took a parting shot at Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in his speech, saying: "I find it difficult to make quick changes to my basic political convictions. There are many in the CDU who have more talent for this than we do." Lindner was fired as finance minister in November, leading the FDP to withdraw from former chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition, which triggered the early election. FDP appoints new chairman Christian Dürr, the party's former parliamentary leader, was chosen to replace Lindner as FDP chairman on Friday evening, receiving 82% of the vote. The FDP's current deputy leader, Wolfgang Kubicki, won re-election before the party's 600 delegates. Henning Höne, FDP leader in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and European lawmaker Svenja Hahn were selected to fill the two other deputy positions. Other appointments, including of a new secretary general, were postponed until Saturday because of time constraints. Dürr has proposed entrepreneur, Nicole Büttner, for the position of secretary general. She has been an FDP member for 20 years but has not yet stood in the national political spotlight. Before his election, Dürr said he wanted to have a new policy programme drawn up and to reform the party's structures and processes. "I want us to be the most modern party in Germany in terms of content," he said. "But I also want us to become the most modern party in the Federal Republic of Germany in terms of organization." The new programme should not be limited to fundamental principles, he said, but should translate liberal goals and convictions into the concrete reality of people's lives. Election catastrophe The FDP won just 4.3% of the vote in February's election, falling short of the 5% threshold typically required to enter the Bundestag. The party previously failed to reach 5% in 2013, leaving it on the margins of politics until 2017, when Lindner led it back into the Bundestag. In 2021, the party joined the government in an unhappy coalition with Scholz's Social Democrats and the Greens, which eventually broke up late last year amid a breakdown in trust and wide differences over budgetary policy.
