Money Talk: Top Companies To Present At Stephens Spring Investor Conference

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TOP COMPANIES TO PRESENT AT STEPHENS SPRING INVESTOR CONFERENCE
Dozens of top publicly-traded companies from nearly every sector of the economy will be making a trip to New York City this week to make presentations at Stephens’ Spring Investment Conference on June 2-3 at the New York (City) Palace Hotel.

One of those companies making the trip to Wall Street is Acxiom Corp., which is located less than a mile from Stephens Inc. downtown headquarters in Little Corp. Acxiom CEO Scott Howe will be making a presentation at 10 a.m. on Wednesday to Wall Street investors at the annual Stephens-hosted event.

Like many of its conferences, the privately-held Arkansas investment bank does not provide much detail concerning its investor meetings. However, the Little Rock financial services giant notes on its website that it hosted over 65 field trips, and visited more than 225 companies with more than 550 “buysiders” from the investment community in 2014.

Besides Acxiom, other companies making presentations include Atlantic Tele-Network, Palo-Alto Networks, Fred’s Inc., Denny’s Corp., Cal-Maine Foods, Sanderson Farms, Asbury Automotive Group and Equifax.

MILLENNIALS READY TO RESHAPE U.S. ECONOMY, GOLDMAN SACHS SAYS
Global investment powerhouse Goldman Sachs has dedicated an entire portal to share its research findings on how the “millennial” generation will reshape the U.S. economy over the next several decades.

The interactive online portal, called “Millennials: Coming of Age,” combines compelling graphics, financial data, and economic insight on the 92 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000 that the Wall Street titan says will be more influential than Baby Boomers and Generation Xers.

“The Millennial generation is the largest in U.S. history and as they reach their prime working and spending years, their impact on the economy is going to be huge,” said the Goldman Sachs’ takeaway. “Millennials have come of age during a time of technological change, globalization and economic disruption. That’s given them a different set of behaviors and experiences than their parents.” Check out the Goldman Sachs’ Millennial generation portal here.

FED SURVEY SAY MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE FINANCIAL WELL-BEING IS IMPROVING
The Federal Reserve Board’s latest survey of the financial and economic conditions of American households released last week finds that individuals’ overall perceptions of financial well-being improved modestly between 2013 and 2014 but their optimism about future financial prospects increased significantly.

The “2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making” provides new insight into Americans’ economic security, housing and living arrangements, banking and credit access, education and student loan debt, savings behavior, and retirement preparedness. Sixty-five percent of adult respondents consider their families to be either “doing okay” or “living comfortably” financially – an increase of 3 percentage points from the 2013 survey.

The survey was conducted on behalf of the Fed board in October and November 2014. More than 5,800 respondents completed the survey. Access the survey results here.

IRS WARNS BUSINESS CONCERNING CASH TRANSACTIONS OVER $10,000
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reminding businesses in U.S. territories that they must file Form 8300 when they engage in cash transactions in excess of $10,000. The form must be filed within 15 days of the transaction. The IRS warning comes amid a federal indictment of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert for evading the $10,000 cash report requirement.

Businesses, including individuals who are sole proprietors that receive more than $10,000 cash in a transaction or in two or more related transactions in any U.S. possession or territory must file Form 8300 with the IRS. Cash includes the coins and currency of the United States as well as foreign currency, cashier’s checks, bank drafts, traveler’s checks and money orders.

Examples of businesses that may have to file Form 8300 include those that sell jewelry, furniture, boats, aircraft, or automobiles, as well as those that are pawnbrokers, attorneys, real estate brokers, insurance companies and travel agencies.

The IRS provides additional information on the filing of Form 8300 in its reference guide here.