Two words from Fed Chair Jerome Powell moved markets last week: “JUST BELOW.” He was talking about short-term interest rates, which are just below neutral, a Goldilocks level that is designed to neither speed up-nor slow down-economic growth. Powell’s assessment was a change from a comment he made in early October, when he said rates were a “long way” from neutral.
Read MoreJust when you were getting complacent about your data and privacy, hotel chain Marriott announced a massive data breach of its Starwood reservation system. Up to 500 million people could be impacted, going as far back as 2014.
Read MoreA rising stock market, a strengthening economy and a change in the tax code propelled charitable giving by American individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations to just over $410 billion in 2017, according to Giving USA 2018: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2017. It was the first time that giving exceeded $400 billion in a single year.
Read MoreIn a holiday-shortened week, investors learned a nasty lesson: when the bear reveals his fangs, the results can be nasty.
Read MoreAnd they’re off…with Halloween and the first snow on the East Coast behind us, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, the holiday retail sweepstakes! With U.S. economic growth on the upswing and unemployment at a 49 year low, consumers may be in a jolly mood this season.
Read MoreI have always had a special place in my heart for caregivers. According to a new study from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, family and friends are assuming more of the responsibility of caring for the nation’s growing senior population, often at the expense of their own personal and professional lives. For about one-quarter of these “informal caregivers,” the amount of time they spend providing care each week is the equivalent of a full-time job.
Read MoreThe October employment report was not just good, it was great. The economy added 250,000 jobs, the unemployment rate remained at a 49 year low of 3.7 percent and workers enjoyed the best annual wage growth in nearly a decade (April 2009).
Read MoreThere’s a FIRE spreading in the world of personal finance. FIRE is the acronym that stands for “Financial Independence, Retire Early.” It’s popular with Millennials (which Pew Research now defines as anyone born between 1981 and 1996, or ages 22 to 37 in 2018) who want to escape soul-sucking jobs that don’t reflect their values. The movement has added to the chorus of naysayers, who complain about the generation’s work ethic, but I believe that FIRE followers are doing what they should be doing: taking control of their financial lives.
Read MoreHealthcare inflation has outpaced the overall rate of price increases over the past twenty years. While costs have slowed, they are still projected to rise by 4.2 percent over the coming 20 years, according to research from HealthView Services. Please feel free to sigh, complain or yell right now. Now let’s move on to what you can actually control in this process: the choices you make for health insurance coverage.
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