US Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level Since September ’17

Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive of DoubleLine Capital and the most widely followed bond investor, said the Federal Reserve’ s dovish turn in its policy statement on Wednesday took its lead from the bond market:. The Fed is doing“ what the bond market says- with a lag,” said Gundlach, who oversees more than $130 billion in assets.“ The bond market definitely helped to…

U.S. stocks opened the week mixed as investors focus on upcoming trade talks between the U.S. and China. The muted opening follows a third straight weekly gain for the S&P 500 index that included a new record and the erasure of May’s losses. Technology and financial stocks led the gainers. Broadcom, Micron, and Goldman Sachs all rose. Health care stocks were the biggest losers. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene both fell. Energy stocks also fell.

NEW YORK— All 18 of the nation’ s largest and most complex banks are strong enough to withstand a severe economic downturn and would be able to stay in business without collapsing, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The Fed adjusts its stress tests each year, depending on the economic climate. In this year’ s most dire scenario, known as the severely adverse scenario, the…

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Specifically, the Supreme Court has been asked to weigh the following questions: “Whether an ERISA plan participant or beneficiary may seek injunctive relief against fiduciary misconduct under 29 U.S.C. 1132 without demonstrating individual financial loss or the imminent risk thereof; and whether an ERISA plan participant or beneficiary may seek…

WASHINGTON- The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday but signaled that it’s prepared to start cutting rates if needed to protect the U.S. economy from trade conflicts and other threats. The Fed kept its benchmark rate- which influences many consumer and business loans- in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, where it’s been since December.

Think social media and T-shirts: RIAs should swap “fee only” for “commission free” to draw a stark contrast between themselves and brokers, experts say.

WASHINGTON— Federal Reserve officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but officials face a tough decision as economic data sends conflicting signals, trade tensions run high and political pressures mount. Mr. Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods only days after the Fed’ s last gathering, and has…

It’s been a while since the Fed has talked about rate cuts. After last cutting rates in 2008, the Fed started hiking rates in 2015 and has raised them a total of nine times since then. Now, amid the longest economic expansion ever recorded in U.S. history, the bond market is aggressively pricing in not one, but two rate cuts this year.

If you read our law firm’s previous articles on a regular basis, you have gained a basic understanding of estate planning and the documents that make up an estate plan. For this article, I’ll be addressing the process of estate planning itself and discussing how each component of an estate plan works with the other parts. Estate planning is multifaceted and…

New Jersey securities regulators should tap the brakes on new state regulations governing financial investment professionals until officials can identify whether any investor protection gaps exist under stringent new federal regulations that were announced this month, according to the Insured Retirement Institute. New Jersey is one of a handful of…

The state regulator says its proposal is necessary after the commission failed to craft a uniform fiduciary standard.

You’re busy taking care of your clients’ financial needs, but are you neglecting your own financial plan?

Asian shares are trading mixed amid a wait-and-see attitude about the direction of interest rates and the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite are rising, while shares in Australia and South Korea are falling. On Wall Street, stocks ended a choppy week of trading with modest losses as investors look forward to getting more clues about the direction of interest rates from the Fed.

When you go to the doctor, there’s an expectation that she will act in your best interest. You don’t expect to be prescribed costly pills because the office is getting a commission from the drug company, when a healthier diet will do the trick. The changes made by the Securities and Exchange Commission this month are voluminous’ one rule change alone takes up 771…

Takeaways from Reg BI’s final form.

It’s almost Father’s Day time for dads everywhere to receive new tools as gifts. But you don’t have to be a father to benefit from the skills used for home repairs. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

You may have seen alarming headlines predicting that millennials will approach middle age in worse financial shape than any generation before them. They’ ll struggle to pay off college debt, buy a house or start a family. Twin Cities financial planner Monica Eckberg counsels a thoroughly pragmatic approach: Save.

In case you missed it: Here’s this week’s headlines.

Health savings accounts are becoming a more common feature of benefit packages. But even if you are among the 25 million HSA account owners, there may still be many things you don’t know about these accounts..

Asian stocks are mostly lower as activists in Hong Kong vowed to keep protesting an extradition bill they fear would whittle the Chinese territory’s legal autonomy. The protests threaten to shake confidence in the hub for many regional and international businesses and investors. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.8%, extending the previous day’s losses, and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.3%.

Generally speaking, the new Regulation Best Interest rulemaking package that the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to approve last week does not introduce new fiduciary responsibilities for those advisers controlling retirement plan assets. This is because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act already holds retirement plan advisers to…

With tariffs on Mexican goods out of the picture for now, investors would appear to have only the U.S. trade dispute with China to worry about. But there are other concerns that shouldn’t be overlooked. Recent reports suggest economic growth is slowing in the U.S., corporate profits are under pressure, and politics can sway markets at any moment.

Five years ago, in the midst of an existential crisis, I called Jack Bogle and asked if we could talk. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, the Malvern-based mutual fund giant, who died in January at age 89, was a hero of mine. I had met and spoken to him before and I regarded him as a tribal elder.

On June 5, the opening day of the 2019 PLANSPONSOR National Conference, David N. Levine, a principal with Groom Law Group, and Robin M. Solomon, a partner at Ivins, Phillips& Barker, discussed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, which recently passed the House by a practically unanimous margin of 417&# x2013; 3.. Solomon said the House bill is not…

It’s no secret that college students today are in a bind. To avoid the pitfalls of crushing student debt, take a look at how we got into this sticky situation, and then make some smart course corrections.

Stocks jumped on Friday, building on strong weekly gains, as a weak jobs report spurred rate-cut hopes:. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 263 points higher, led by gains in Microsoft and Apple. The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% as the tech sector outperformed.

The American economy is showing signs of cooling, and Wall Street is counting on Jerome H. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, to come to the rescue. Just last month, Fed officials agreed to leave rates unchanged as Washington’ s trade war with China seemed on the brink of being resolved. But Mr. Trump renewed his fight just days after that April 30 and May 1…

How you govern the organization and the strategies you use for bringing people together may evolve. The values and ethics on which your organization was built remain  at the center of your culture.

In case you missed it: Here’s this week’s headlines you might have missed.

After a tumultuous week ended May 10 on an up note, it seemed U.S. stocks might escape the trade spat with only bruises. Maybe the U.S. and China won’t come to terms. JPMorgan Chase& Co’s head of cross asset fundamental strategy, John Normand, warned that stocks could fall another 10%.

The Labor Department released its latest estimate of hiring and unemployment on Friday morning. Employers added 75,000 jobs last month, a disappointing showing that will stoke fears the economy is softening as the Trump administration’ s trade war with China and potentially Mexico escalates. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it would consider a rate cut…

From Simple IRAs and Solo 401(k)s and SEP IRAs, small businesses have many retirement savings options to choose from. Here are the basics to get started.

TD Bank, a financial services company, issued the following news release:. Retirement can come with mixed emotions- a culmination of one’s professional career to celebrate, as well as the uncertainty and anxiety about life’s next chapter. “High net worth business owners face a myriad of challenges when it comes to their financial security in retirement,” said Ken…

A survey says the financial downturn led more Americans to adopt less risky financial behaviors, and they are still risk-averse a decade later.

If you own a business, you’ve always got plenty to think about: sales, marketing, employees, competition, industry trends, consumer preferences the list goes on and on. It’s easy to get so caught up in your work that you might not take time to think about retirement. But if and when that day arrives, you’ll want to be prepared which means you need a business succession…

“If you aren’ t thinking about the rate environment in two or three years, you can do drastic damage to the net income profile of your institution,” said Dan Flaningan, chief strategic officer at the $12.1 billion- asset Bremer Bank in St. Paul, Minn.. The Federal Reserve indicated this month that it is likely to stay put on rates indefinitely amid mixed signals on the…

CHICAGO— Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell, eyeing the potential for President Trump’ s trade war to inflict damage on the United States economy, said that the central bank is prepared to act to sustain the economic expansion if needed. “We do not know how or when these issues will be resolved,” Mr. Powell said of ongoing trade disputes between the United States,…

Brokers at the firm have expressed concern their employer and the CFP Board are on a collision course.

Stock markets began the week modestly lower, as events since Friday showed little sign of easing trade tensions between the United States and its partners. President Trump’ s threat to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico unsettled markets in the United States on Friday. On Sunday, China issued a defiant note with a white paper blaming the United States for…

In case you missed it: Here’s this week’s biggest headlines.

Shannon Ramirez was scrolling through LinkedIn when she came across an ad touting a program by health-care company Abbott that enables employees to pay off their student loan debt faster while still saving for retirement.

Each week MDRT and AdvisorNews bring readers advice on topics encompassing the financial services industry including case studies, practice management, tips for success and much more.

An annual survey shows employees are looking at benefits that will help alleviate their financial stress as well as maintain their overall health.

You might think that HENRYs (High Earners, Not Rich Yet) would be doing just fine after college, but they’re in serious debt just like most other new grads. In fact, in some ways, they face a few added challenges.

Chris Moynes manages the finances — and lifestyles — of 75 hockey players, 10% of the NHL’s active roster.

While President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans continue to credit their tax law for the growing economy, it turns out that the legislation may have had little to do with it. So says the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan experts who provide information to federal lawmakers. A Monmouth University poll released last month said only…

The U.S. Supreme Court will not review an appellate court ruling inWhite v. The plaintiffs/appellants argued in their Supreme Court appeal that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in affirming a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit, imposed overly strict pleading standards that conflicted with its own decisions as well as those of other circuits.

A recent Kiplinger article, “5 Big Problems to Solve Before You Retire,” lumped financial advisers into two camps. “There are those who promise everything is going to be fine; you don’t have to fret about retirement, they say, because they’ll help you make more than enough money to get you through. And then there are the hand-wringers who just can’t stop with the…

It’s been bonds, not stocks, that have drawn major investment this year and municipal bonds have attracted particularly large and consistent inflows. What’s happening: Thought of as a slow and sleepy asset class preferred by retirees and risk-intolerant savers, muni bonds saw record inflows during the first quarter. The flows were spurred by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, a reduction…

After months of visiting and listening to members, the Financial Planning Association’s national leadership recognized that their centralization plan was far too much too soon for members.

Income investing is supposed to be like watching a predictable movie that you’ve seen a dozen times before. Over the past few years, most income investors settled back with their popcorn for a long period of rising interest rates, believing the Federal Reserve would slowly but surely hike rates back to more normal levels. The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate…

A new membership website, Strategic Money Management For Women Entrepreneurs, is launching on June 1, to help women business owners strengthen their financial positioning and boost the success of their businesses. The site will offer instructional videos on cash flow management, setting up systems and accounts, financial planning, and a video course on…

Consumers and businesses alike find themselves transitioning from traditional cash payment methods towards new, innovative technologically advanced alternatives. Financial technology, or fintech, is the latest tech development that is gaining promine…

Cleo Parker had a simple plan before retiring: She would work well into her 60 s as a marketing analyst in the automotive business. But recently, she has been searching for a Plan B. In 2006, just as she was about to turn 50, Parker’s longtime marketing job with a Detroit- area advertising agency was eliminated.

An IRA is a retirement savings account, right? IRA stands for Individual Retirement Arrangement. Withdrawals from such accounts are tax free as long as they are used for qualified educational expenses, but if the money is withdrawn for other purposes, the Internal Revenue Service defines the distribution as taxable income.

Stocks tumbled Thursday on Wall Street as investors’ anxiety over the U.S. trade spat with China increased and put the market on track for its third straight week of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 400 points. Technology stocks, banks and energy companies led the decline. Energy stocks fell along with a steep drop in oil prices. Apple, Microsoft and chipmakers fell. Investors fled to safer holdings, including utility stocks and bonds.

A study examined how much of a retiree’s nest egg should be invested into a longevity annuity to reduce the odds of running out of money in the later years of retirement.

The National Association of Retirement Plan Participants has released its annual ” Participant Trust& Engagement Study,” which shows that overall satisfaction with providers has declined by 24 percentage points in the past six years to a new low. NARPP says if participants were to trust their providers more, they would likely defer higher amounts to their…

On Dec. 31, 2019, the Dow Jones Industrials will be at 27,847.82, the S&P 500 will be at 3,027.98 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq will be 8,354.88. During the tech crash Barron’s did a survey of 22 Wall Street experts and their predictions for the Dow and Nasdaq for 2001 and 2002. The great “perma bull” Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs predicted in December 2007 that the S&P…

Survey data shared by TIAA shows more than half of respondents feel their parents’ financial planning for retirement has impacted their own, with almost half saying they have avoided taking on significant debt to remain in a better position to provide future assistance. At the same time, TIAA finds, 38% say they have adopted a more conservative approach to…

How to get started making some of the most important decisions a parent can make.