Jon Greenberg, staff writer for Politifact, breaks down some of the rhetoric from the left and the right around the GOP tax reform bill.
Chris Ruddy of Newsmax claimed that the GOP bill would bring in $3 trillion of offshore funds back into the economy from large U.S. corporations receiving a tax cut overseas. But just how true is this? Politifact has rated the statement half true. Greenberg notes that while corporations are receiving a reduction in overseas taxes, 45% of the $3 trillion made overseas is already in the U.S.
Greenberg also weighs in on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's statement that the GOP bill would "sabotage" the healthcare of 13 million Americans. Greenberg details just what happens when the individual mandate is repealed. He explains that the repeal of the individual mandate will cause healthy people to leave the marketplace, which will cause costs to go up for those that are sick. That means some of those people won't be able to afford health insurance anymore. Politifact's overall rating of Pelosi's statement: half true.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
Markets opened slightly higher to kick off the final trading week of the year as investors continue to watch the Omicron variant in the U.S. Sean O'Hara, President, Pacer ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what drove early market activity.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.