| Market Mirror | Major U.S. stock indices posted slight declines yesterday. The Dow was down 23.90 points (0.14%) at 17,528.27, the NASDAQ decreased 7.51 points (0.15%) to 5,040.99, and the S&P 500 closed 4.45 points (0.22%) lower at 2,056.54. The Russell 2000 fell 6.55 points (0.57%) to 1,148.21, and the Wilshire 5000 lost 51.03 points (0.24%) to finish at 21,115.89.
On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares changed hands, and on the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded, with 1.7 declining issues for every advancing issue on both exchanges.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 3/32, decreasing its yield to 2.232%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 12/32, bringing its yield down to 2.946%. | | Sponsored message from MetLife | Looking for alternatives for your defined contribution retirement plan? Visit the Stable Value Educational Hub.Read more > | | Compliance | Retirement Plans Still Being Scrutinized by Plaintiffs’ Attorneys | “From stable value, to proprietary funds, to company stock, to excessive fees, to a mix of all of the above, there are also more plaintiffs law firms filing suits than ever,” warns David Levine, a principal at Groom Law Group specializing in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). It’s been a busy year for litigators, Levine says, and there even seems to be a developing measure of competition among plaintiffs firms to organize and file complaints first, “to come up with new theories, and to move quickly.” Where does this leave sponsors, advisers and providers?Read more > | Plan Provider Faces Excessive Fee Suit | A new lawsuit argues employees unnecessarily lost millions after plan officials and provider partners mismanaged their hard-earned retirement dollars. Putting a somewhat different spin on retirement plan litigation, it suggests Insperity breached its fiduciary duties by causing the plan participants to pay millions of dollars in excessive recordkeeping fees to its own proprietary subsidiary, Insperity Retirement Services.Read more > | JP Morgan Settles Securities Case with Public Pensions | Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a $150 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit with JP Morgan Chase & Co. over losses incurred by the bank’s investors, including the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The suit, filed in July 2012, alleged that JP Morgan Chase issued false and misleading statements regarding its trading activity, which inflated the price of its stock. Then, trading losses incurred by JP Morgan Chase caused the bank’s stock value to plummet resulting in a billion dollars of investor losses.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON THIS DATE: In 1845, U.S. President James Polk and signed legislation making Texas the 28th state of the United States. In 1848, U.S. President James Polk turned on the first gas-light at the White House. In 1851, the first American Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized, in Boston. In 1890, the U.S. Seventh Cavalry massacred more than 400 men, women and children at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. This was the last major conflict between native Americans and U.S. troops. In 1949, KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut, became the first ultrahigh frequency (UHF) television station to begin operating on a regular daily schedule. In 1952, the first transistorized hearing aid was offered for sale by Sonotone Corporation. In 1997, Hong Kong began killing 1.25 million chickens, the entire population, for fear of the spread of ‘bird flu.’ | TRIVIAL PURSUITS: In 1907, the New Year’s Eve Ball made its maiden descent from a pole atop One Times Square. The ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of two consecutive years. Can you guess which years the ball drop ceremony was suspended and why?Read more > | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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