Daily Archives: July 4, 2023

New battlefield in war over First Amendment access to courts across … – Courthouse News Service

Posted: July 4, 2023 at 12:14 pm

(CN) After a federal judge ordered the court clerk in Columbus to stop blocking access to new complaints an age-old source of news this news service asked another Ohio clerk to stop blocking access.

But the Cleveland clerk kept doing exactly as she had been. As a result, journalists must wait to report on the new filings for a day or more, at which point they have become old news.

The federal injunction against Maryellen OShaughnessy in Columbus was clear. Ms. OShaughnessy is hereby ENJOINED from restricting public access to newly e-filed, non-confidential, civil complaints until after such complaints are processed. Ms. OShaughnessy is DIRECTED to make such complaints available upon receipt.

The author of the order, U.S. District Judge Sarah Morrison, had worked as a lawyer in the courts and she had seen the journalists checking the new filings at the end of the day as part of their beat coverage. She described them in a cubicle behind the counter going through a stack of new cases that had just crossed the counter.

When they were going down and looking at them in a stack, I mean, I remember those days, when they had them there, some sitting in the little cubicle, said the Donald Trump appointee during a status conference. They were there, and thats thats what they did.

That is also what they did in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Youngstown and in courts all around the United States.

But the switch from paper documents to electronic documents allowed the clerk in Cleveland, and many others, to hold the new court complaints in an electronic database until the clerk is ready to release them to the public. The Cleveland clerk, Nailah Byrd, still follows that practice even after the Columbus ruling.

On Tuesday, Courthouse News filed a First Amendment complaint filed against Byrd. It gives a panoramic view of the American tradition of access to court records and the attacks coming in the electronic era.

Since time beyond memory, state and federal courts across the country have provided access to new, non-confidential, civil complaints when the court received the new complaint, said the complaint. Ohios federal and state courts followed that tradition.

The complaint quoted an appellate judge who also remembered how access used to work. There was a time when and some in this room may remember it when you took a pleading to the courthouse and the clerk stamped it physically and it went into different bins and it was available immediately, said Judge Bobby Shepherd from the Eighth Circuit bench last year.

The tradition described by Shepherd was in place throughout Ohio during the era of paper documents filed in person across the clerks counter. In Clevelands state court, the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, reporters would work at an empty desk behind the counter to report on the news in those filings. They could also stay after the filing window closed to make sure they saw the last of the late-filed complaints, which often contained the most meaty of controversies.

Those two basic practices letting the reporters work behind the counter and letting them stay late after the counter closed were common in courts across America. But as electronic filing and then software redaction came on the scene, the tradition was broken in many state courts.

The events in Cleveland are like a diorama of the nationwide battle to defend First Amendment access for the press and the public. And the tactic used by the clerk continuing to block access contrary to federal rulings saying the right attaches on receipt is used by government officials in most cities and states where those battles are underway.

Judge Shepherd, for example, is on the federal court of appeals that covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. His panel of judges ruled last year that Courthouse News can proceed in its First Amendment action against the court administrator in Missouri.

The ruling did not change Missouris policy of, in effect, sealing new cases for days and sometimes weeks. It also did not change the same sealing policy enforced by clerks in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, even though they are within the Eighth Circuit.

Another federal court of appeals, the Ninth Circuit, covering much of the West, ruled in 2020 that the right of public access attaches on receipt. As a result, all California courts that require e-filing now give the press and public access when new civil complaints are received in other words, traditional access. Those courts cover 87% of the population in the biggest state in the nation.

Despite that Ninth Circuit ruling, called Planet III, court directors in Oregon and Idaho, both within the Ninth Circuit, continue to deny access on receipt. They block access to the new cases for a day or more until routine clerical work is completed. The clerks and directors do not pay for their defense because it is handled by their states attorney general, who is paid by the public, and if they lose, the public pays any fees connected to the loss.

In other words, the public pays for the officials fight against public access.

Other fields of First Amendment battle are located in Vermont, where the state has appealed a loss to the Second Circuit; Maryland; Virginia, where Courthouse News appealed a loss to the Fourth Circuit; North Carolina; Texas; Missouri, where Courthouse News lost and won reversal; Iowa; New Mexico; Oregon; and Idaho.

On the most recent field of contest, the complaint filed Tuesday in Cleveland fires the big gun of the First Amendment. Its broad and powerful reach includes a constitutional right of access to public records filed in the courts of America at the time they cross into court hands.

In the transition from paper filing to electronic filing ('e-filing'), the federal courts and many state courts have kept the tradition of on-receipt access in place, said the complaint. Defendant has not. Defendant restricts access to new complaints until they have been completely processed. Defendants no-access-before-process policy results in access delays of one day or longer for a substantial portion of new complaints, turning them into old news.

The lawyers who filed the complaint are Jack Greiner and Darren Ford with the litigation firm of Faruki PLL in Cleveland. The matter was assigned to Senior U.S. Judge James Gwin who worked in private practice before he was appointed to the state court in Canton and then to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton.

The press and public have a constitutional right to access new complaints when the clerk receives them, said the Courthouse News complaint. Any restriction on access thereafter is an unconstitutional restriction of the presss and publics First Amendment right, unless Defendant shows the restriction satisfies constitutional scrutiny.

That scrutiny is based on the test laid out in a Supreme Court case, referred to as Press Enterprise II, that says a restriction on the First Amendment right of access must be essential to preserve higher values, and narrowly tailored to serve that interest.

The policy blocking access is not essential to preserve higher values and it is not narrowly tailored because there are less restrictive alternatives, the complaint says. Alternatives include allowing public access and making any clerical corrections afterwards. That is the policy, for example, in federal courts.

To illustrate the speed of access in federal court, Tuesdays complaint in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Ohio could be read on the courts public access system within roughly a minute of Greiners submission. The view is free at the courthouse and requires registration and payment online. Clerical corrections, which are not uncommon, can be made afterwards.

On-receipt access is the practice followed in almost all federal courts and a growing number of state courts, in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Georgia (Atlanta courts), Florida, Texas (Austin), Arizona, Utah, California and Hawaii.

In Ohio, however, the courts have put in place a particularly restrictive variation on the black-out policy. The Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland adopted a local rule that declares all new complaints confidential until clerical processing is complete. In many courts, the de facto policy of blacking out new filings is not so boldly declared.

Defendant is not permitted to make judicial decisions, rulings, or findings and is, therefore, not capable of making new complaints confidential, or sealing them, said the Courthouse News complaint, using a second piece of artillery in its arsenal of argument. By marking new complaints as confidential and restricting access thereto, Defendant is thus sealing a document from public viewing without prior court order.

Pointing to the ruling in Columbus against clerk OShaughnessy, the Courthouse News complaint highlighted the fact that OShaugnessy quickly, and without difficulty, complied with the injunction. Journalists now have traditional on receipt access to new electronic complaints filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Columbus.

When a complaint is withheld in effect sealed the news it contains grows stale. The public is left unaware that a civil action has commenced and has invoked the power of the judicial branch of government. Courts that do not withhold public access for processing allow new civil actions to be read and reported when they are received by the court, when the new action is still newsworthy and capable of commanding public attention, the complaint concluded, as reporters and the public did in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in the paper past.

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Help get word out that public employees have First Amendment rights – Washington Policy

Posted: at 12:14 pm

Get together with a group of government workers and see how many of them know they arent required to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. You might be surprised how many of them dont know this, even though this has been the law of the land since June 27, 2018.

Five years ago inJanus v. AFSCME, a Supreme Court majority stood up for workers freedoms. In a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the courtsaid,The First Amendment is violated when money is taken from nonconsenting employees for a public-sector union; employees must choose to support the union before anything is taken from them.

Workers can easily opt out of union payments atOptOutToday.com, an online tool that assists workers who want to leave union dues behind.

Taxpayers are the onespaying public employees' wages, not union bosses or lawmakers. And public-sector workers should know they don't need to lower the wages they'repaid or belong to a union that has them financing politics with which they disagree to keep their jobs. Washington voters can also get rid of politicians ifthey feel they aren't treating workers fairly.

Being free from paying a union that advances political causes or sends political messages with which a worker disagrees has been a hit with many. According to the Freedom Foundation, the four largest government unions in the country (AFSCME, SEIU, National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers) have lost 733,745 members, which is a decline of about 10 percent. This is despite schemes like limiting opt-out windows to keep union members, despite continued growth in the public workforce and despite solid communication efforts from unions or governments about the rights of public employees.

For a closer look at how the unions membership numbers have gonedownhill, read the Freedom Foundations Janus v. AFSCME at five: Government union membership at record lows. Maxford Nelsen details numbers reported to the U.S. Department of Labor.

In some non-right-to-work states and among some unions, the percentage was much higher than 10 percent. For example, Nelsen writes thatpayroll data show the percentage of Washington state workers represented by AFSCME Council 28 paying duesdeclinedfrom effectively 100 percent in June of 2018 to only 61 percent as of April 2023.

Some workers love their unions and find great value in them. Its appropriate for them to give them money for their efforts. Others disagree with their unions politics or mindset around competition, innovation and costs to taxpayers.

On this fifth anniversary of the Janus Supreme Court ruling, I want public employees reminded they have a choice: They dont have to hand over a portion of their earnings to a union if they dont want to. And lawmakers and unions should make it simple for workers to exercise their rights, rather thanerect hurdles to keep them as dues payers.

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Tudor Dixon Slams Michigan’s Bill That Could Criminalize Using … – FOX News Radio

Posted: at 12:14 pm

Former Michigan gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon joins Fox Across America With guest host Rich Zeoli to discuss a bill that recently passed in Michigans state House of Representatives which could make it a felony to intimidate a person by intentionally using the wrong gender pronouns.

Think about how scary this is. It goes even deeper than that. If you use any language that someone feels threatened by, if you have a meme that has someones face made to look like something different, anything like that, this is a complete attack on free speech. But its really scary because you start to think, okay, wait a minute, If were talking about elections and political opponents, we already see Joe Biden going after his political opponent. Thats really a great way for Democrats to go after their political opponent in Michigan. Its very, very scary. And it is definitely a First Amendment attack.

To hear what else she had to say to Rich, listen to the podcast!

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Annapolis hosted a ceremony Wednesday at the Guardians of the … – The Baltimore Banner

Posted: at 12:14 pm

Rob Hiaasen. Wendi Winters. Gerald Fischman. Rebecca Smith. John McNamara.

Its hard to wrap my head around it, but its been five years.

Five years since a man armed with a shotgun, harboring a grudge against the Capital Gazette shot his way into their newsroom in Annapolis. He killed five people that day: Rob Hiaasen. Wendi Winters. Gerald Fischman. Rebecca Smith. John McNamara.

A woman in the audience grips a newspaper clipping with the names and faces of the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting during a ceremony memorializing them on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

But this isnt about the shooter, and it never was. That man will endure whats left of his life in prison while the families, friends, co-workers and loved ones of those taken away that day continue to be there to support each other.

Today, Annapolis leaders held a ceremony at the Guardians of the First Amendment memorial, which was established June 2021. City and statewide leadership was in attendance, as were many of the family members and friends of the victims.

Maria Hiaasen, Robs widow, and Andrea Chamblee, Johns widow, both spoke during the ceremony, to thank the community for continuing to remember and honor our departed friends, and to advocate against gun violence.

Andrea Chamblee, left, the widow of reporter John McNamara, and Maria Hiaasen, widow of editor Rob Hiaasen, sit together at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

At 2:33 p.m. Wednesday the time that the attack started back in 2018 The Baltimore Banner newsroom observed a moment of silence. Others who knew the victims including those who have since moved away from the region and those who didnt were invited to participate as well.

You cannot silence a free press. We survived. We endure.

Banner columnist Rick Hutzell, the former editor of The Capital, wrote these words just a few days ago as he reflected on the various changes our community has gone through over the last five years. And hes right. Time passes, and you dont ever really move on, but you do have to move forward.

Former Capital editor, and current Baltimore Banner columnist, Rick Hutzell, center, listens to a musical performance during a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Back in 2019, then Gov. Larry Hogan declared June 28 to be Freedom of the Press Day in Maryland. So heres what Im gonna do.

Today, Ill celebrate the pen, and the resilience it summons whenever the sword shows up. Ill celebrate the camera, and the thousand words we try to produce with every frame. And Ill remember our absent friends, whom I miss very much.

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Rob Hiaasen. Wendi Winters. Gerald Fischman. Rebecca Smith. John McNamara.

Ulysses Muoz is a Baltimore Banner photojournalist and worked at The Capital from 2015 to 2017.

A woman in the audience wears a photo pinned to her shirt of Wendi Winters, one of the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting victims, during a ceremony memorializing her and the other victims on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Wreaths at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

To the right, former Capital Gazette staffers watch as the audience reacts to Andrea Chamblee, widow of reporter John McNamara, speaking at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Gov. Wes Moore, right, his Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and wife, Dawn Flythe Moore, place a wreath during a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Alex Mann, a current Baltimore Sun reporter and former Capital staffer, displays his Capital hat following a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Gator, a therapy dog, poses for a portrait by the Guardians of the First Amendment memorial following a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Andrea Chamblee, the widow of reporter John McNamara, wears a number of bracelets supporting The Capital and anti-gun violence groups at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

From left: Former Capital staffers E.B. Pat Furgurson, Rachael Pacella, and current staff photographer Paul Gillespie watch as the audience reacts to Andrea Chamblee, widow of reporter John McNamara, speaking at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

Five wreaths at a ceremony memorializing the victims in the 2018 Capital Gazette shooting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 in downtown Annapolis. On this day five years ago, a gunman with a grudge against the Annapolis newspaper blasted his way into their newsroom, killing five staffers inside. He is serving numerous life sentences with no chance of parole. (Ulysses Muoz/The Baltimore Banner)

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BIEN working group on Clarification of the Definition of Basic Income … – Basic Income News

Posted: at 12:14 pm

BIEN working group for Clarification for BI Definition (BIEN CBID) Online Open Forum

Date: 17 July, 9am -10.30am GMT

Speaker: Tlmaque Masson-Rcipon

Title: How distinguishing between a narrow understanding and a broad understanding of the basic income concept can help contribute to the realisation of both

Abstract: What is a Basic Income ? What debates surround the way it should be defined ? Why and how do any of these debates matter at all in practice ? This presentation will try to answer these questions and defend a proposal aiming at allowing ubi activism to benefit more directly from these debates. It consist in distinguishing between on the one hand a narrow understanding of UBI as a way to distribute ressources (namely as an equal payment in cash to everyone within a target group on a regular basis without any activity condition) ; and on the other hand a broader understanding of UBI as the aspiration to the universal and unconditional guarantee of the material means of individual autonomy. The adoption of this analytical framework, it will be argued, is likely to greatly improve the focus and efficiency of ubi activism as well as to reopen very fertile fields of UBI research that have been almost entirely neglected over the last two decades.

Register: please send email to: CBIDcbidbien@gmail.com Or Toru Yamamoritoruyamamori@gmail.com

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MEPs call for revamp of artists rights across EU and debate on AI-generated content – Yahoo News UK

Posted: at 12:13 pm

The European Parliaments culture (CULT) and employment (EMPL) committees this week presented a joint report that called for a new framework to be put in place that would ensure fair pay, facilitate cross-border mobility and dismantle structural imbalances and abuses affecting creative workers across the EU.

"We often praise Europe as a cultural powerhouse," Domnec Ruiz Devesa, an MEP and co-rapporteur of the draft report, said during its presentation. "And indeed it is. But it is [hypocritical] to do so on the back of the insecurity and poverty of cultural and creative professionals."

The initiative draws attention to particular realities those in the cultural sector face. For instance, the number of self-employed in the sector is double that of the general population, and sexual harassment is three times higher, according to data from Eurofund, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.

In 2021, 7.4 million people were employed in the cultural sector across the EU.

The pandemic has shown the situation has become simply unsustainable, Ruiz Devesa and other MEPs argued, and has made clear just how vulnerable creative workers are. Through this report they are calling on the European Commission, the EUs executive body, to encourage and support member states to introduce a so-called status of the artist that would guarantee better social protections.

At present, Europe is not meeting the needs of its artists, Maria Walsh, an MEP and member of both the culture and employment committees, told Euronews. And ultimately, she said, well look at each other in 10 years' time and wonder what has happened to our industry?

If you think about it, employment in the arts is very irregular, said Laura Boxberg, who works closely with artists as the director of the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux. "You do a show and then you might have a slower period after. Often, in Finland for example, that sort of falls through the cracks in the social security system. So if there are recommendations for improvement in this report, I welcome them very much."

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Both Spain and Belgium, the two countries next up to take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and partially dictate policy-making during that time, have included the adoption of a "status of the artist" in their pandemic recovery plans. Spain is set to chair a ministerial debate dedicated to this topic in Autumn.

In a few other countries initiatives are being established to ensure fair remuneration for artists, such as the Netherlands Fair Practice Code, Austrias Fairness Process and Irelands Basic Income for the Arts.

Other issues addressed by the report are the need for diplomas and certifications issued by one member state to be recognised by all, as well as the slew of issues posed by digitalisation. The Commission must assess "the challenges posed by AI-generated content" as it pertains to the cultural sector, the parliaments report says.

Through this report, the parliament is asking the Commission for an official decision, rather than a directive both are binding for member states but the latter wouldve been more powerful. As such, critics say the move might lack the ambition needed to truly implement these practices across Europe.

So, will anything really change?

When asked this question, Lars Ebert, secretary general of Culture Action Europe, the association of cultural organisations, said the movement is gaining traction.

Well, youre talking to an optimist, he said, adding that while interest in artists welfare was higher while coronavirus lockdowns were in place and has somewhat dwindled since, "the topic of artists rights has a lot of momentum right now.

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What are Liquid Assets and How Can They Improve Your Portfolio – Nomad Capitalist

Posted: at 12:13 pm

This article discusses liquid assets, their types, and the difference between liquid and non-liquid assets. It will also look at the advantages of liquid assets and how purchasing them can add value to your investment portfolio.

Cash is king. Youve probably heard this many times as an investor or an entrepreneur. To a large extent, the saying is factual. A business may make billions in profits but struggle if all the revenue is tied up and cant be converted into cash. Alternatively, an individual may have a vast investment portfolio with all sorts of assets, but if none can be liquidated in a sticky situation or financial crisis, the assets essentially become worthless.

Because heres the truth mainly, in a monetary crisis or war, only cash can help you stay afloat.

So, no matter how diverse your portfolio is and how much you love your hard assets, you must keep some liquid assets aside as insurance to keep you going in an emergency.

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At Nomad Capitalist, weve helped many seven and eight-figure entrepreneurs acquire second residency or citizenship in over thirty tax-friendly jurisdictions. If you want the ultimate personal and financial security and freedom by getting a second passport or residence or investing in offshore jurisdictions, set up a call with us today.

Liquid assets are assets that can be easily converted to cash or cash equivalents in a short amount of time.

Liquid assets can be sold at or near their market value. Both individual and corporate investors and companies use liquid assets to preserve their net worth, stay afloat, protect their other assets, or as an emergency fund.

Liquid assets are integral to investment portfolios since they can be easily sold without incurring any significant financial loss. Moreover, their importance often increases in turbulent social or political conditions.

Liquidity refers to the ease with which an individual/corporate investor or company can convert an asset into cash without causing a drastic change in the assets market value or price.

Essentially, it is a trade-off between an assets selling price and how quickly it can be sold.

Not all liquid assets share the same degree of liquidity. Naturally, the most liquid asset is cash on hand because you can readily use it without going through any transaction or conversion.

Some factors that determine the liquidity of assets are mentioned below:

The following are the most common liquid assets that you may hold or invest in.

Cash on hand is the most common example of a liquid asset, as you can use it readily. Moreover, you dont have to go through any exchange or transaction to retrieve or utilize it.

Checking or savings accounts are also very common examples of liquid assets. However, their values may go up or down with each transaction (debit or credit).

Cash equivalents are the next best thing to cash on hand in terms of liquidity. They refer to items such as bank accounts, treasury notes, etc., that can be readily used to pay off bills or debts in the short term. They also involve much less risk.

Here are some examples of cash equivalents:

Your emergency fund could be any asset you can easily access during an emergency. Usually, its a stash of cash that people keep close by to use in times of financial distress or a country-wide crisis. Emergency funds save you from having to draw from high-interest debt options like credit cards some of which may not even be accessible in certain turbulent times.

Banks and credit unions offer money market accounts. They typically pay higher interest rates than other savings accounts. However, these account transactions can be limited and may incur additional fees.

Money market funds are fairly easy to buy and sell in the open market due to higher activity volumes and demand.

Many investment accounts are considered liquid owing to ease of withdrawal and the absence of hefty penalties. Some retirement accounts can also be considered liquid assets.

A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment company that pools money from many investors and invests it into securities such as stocks, bonds, and short-term debt. Investors can buy shares in mutual funds, which they may sell off at any time during the trading day.

Mutual funds are considered liquid because investors can expect to collect the proceeds from the sale of shares by the end of the following business day.

A stock, also known as equity, is a financial security representing fractional ownership of the issuing corporation. The units of stock are called shares. Equity holders or shareholders participate in the corporations profits by selling their shares for a gain or by collecting dividends. The stock market routinely sees the selling ad buying of shares, making stocks highly liquid.

A bond is a fixed-income instrument representing a loan made by an investor to a borrower. Bonds are usually used by public or private companies and state and federal governments to aid the development of projects and operations. Bonds are considered liquid. However, theyre harder to sell than stocks.

ETFs are investment funds that trade like stocks on public exchanges, making them fairly liquid. ETFs are less riskier than stocks, but you may incur a loss if you want to liquidate them quickly.

Weve already talked about liquid assets and their examples. Lets discuss what non-liquid assets are.

Non-liquid assets, also known as fixed or illiquid assets, are quite hard to sell. The following are some reasons why non-liquid assets are hard to sell (or liquidate):

Some common examples of non-liquid assets are mentioned below:

So far, weve discussed liquid and non-liquid assets and their examples. Now, lets discuss the types of liquid assets.

There are two types of liquid assets personal liquid assets and business liquid assets. Lets briefly discuss them below.

In personal finance, liquid assets are assets or investments that an individual can readily convert to cash at or near their market value.

An individual can use the resultant cash to pay off bills or debts. They can also use it in times of political instability or monetary crisis. Cash on hand is one of the best items to hold during a banking crisis.

Regarding investments, stocks or mutual funds are excellent liquid assets as they can be bought or sold throughout the trading day.

In business finance, liquid assets are corporate assets that can be converted into cash quickly. Business liquid assets are documented on the companys balance sheet. A businesss liquidity refers to its ability to pay off its short-term liabilities.

Investors and financial institutions like banks evaluate a companys liquidity profile to assess its fiscal health.

They invest or extend credit to the company if they feel like it can satisfy its payment obligations in less than a year by selling its liquid assets to pay for liabilities.

Now that you know all the basic terms, lets discuss the importance of liquid assets. The 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic highlighted the importance of liquid assets.

No matter how much you prefer an asset class, having a diversified investment portfolio is always a good idea to decrease your risk profile. Learn about different asset classes and figure out how each can help you and in what way.

At Nomad Capitalist, we take diversification very seriously. Getting a second passport is the best way to immune yourself and your finances to the ever-changing regulations and economic situation. If the idea of second citizenship overwhelms you, you can always start with establishing a second residency and see how it goes.

Weve helped many seven and eight-figure investors and entrepreneurs diversify their investment and passport portfolio. Their only regret was not doing it earlier. So dont make the same mistake and get in touch with us today. We guarantee itll be the best investment of your life.

Your liquid net worth refers to the amount of money you have in cash or cash equivalents after deducting your total liabilities from your liquid assets.

Gold and silver coins were used as currency and, in theory, are highly liquid. However, precious metals are less liquid than cash or cash equivalents as they must be removed from storage and exchanged for money through a dealer. In this case choosing the right dealer, who can also help broker your precious metal sales quickly, can make all the difference.

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What are Liquid Assets and How Can They Improve Your Portfolio - Nomad Capitalist

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