| | Benefits & Administration | | Middle-Income Workers Need Financial Planning Help | | Just more than one-third of American workers (37%) with annual incomes between $35,000 and $100,000 have a comprehensive financial plan, according to a study by Financial Engines, compared to nearly half (48%) of workers who earn $100,000 or more per year. The study shows employees are very interested in getting financial planning help from employers.Read more > | | U.S. Retirement Policymakers Can Learn from UK Reforms | | Faced with a daunting retirement savings shortfall, U.K. policymakers instituted a series of reforms that has expanded retirement plan coverage for workers, and a new issue brief offers a detailed analysis for U.S. policymakers about the initiatives. “U.S. policymakers would be wise to examine the reforms the U.K. has implemented,” says Jennifer Brown, report co-author.Read more > |
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| | Market Mirror | Yesterday, the Dow was up 45.82 points 90.24%) at 19,216.24, the NASDAQ gained 53.24 points (1.01%) to finish at 5,308.89, and the S&P 500 increased 12.76 points (0.58%) to 2,204.71. The Russell 2000 climbed 23.53 points (1.79%) to 1,337.78, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 166.77 points (0.73%) higher at 23,095.48.
On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues more than 2 to 1. On the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares changed hands, with a more than 3 to 1 lead for advancers.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 3/32, increasing its yield to 2.397%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond decreased 6/32, bringing its yield up to 3.074%. | | | Compliance | | Exxon Mobil Facing Retirement Plan Stock Drop Suit | | A participant in the Exxon Mobil Savings Plan has filed a complaint on behalf of himself and other similarly situated current and former employees of Exxon Mobil Corporation, or its predecessor companies, alleging plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by continuing to offer company stock when it was no longer prudent to do so.Read more > | | Supreme Court to Hear Health Care Entities’ ‘Church Plan’ Suits | | The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review three cases in which federal appellate courts found health care institutions’ pension plans were not ‘church plans’ under the definition in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.Read more > | | | From the Magazine | | Vetting Annuity Providers | | After a defined benefit (DB) plan sponsor has strategized about how to best manage its program and decided to offload a portion of liabilities through the purchase of annuities to pay benefit obligations, there follow two sets of complex tactical choices. The first addresses high-level, front-office considerations such as the risk profile of the plan and how much of the liability to settle—thus being known as settlor decisions. The second set—fiduciary decisions—is more oriented toward back office details and setting up a mechanism for paying retirees their hard-earned retirement income.Read more > | | | Small Talk | | ON THIS DATE: In 1790, the U.S. Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia. In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment abolished slavery in the U.S. In 1877, Thomas Edison demonstrated the first gramophone, with a recording of himself reciting Mary Had a Little Lamb. In 1883, “Ladies’ Home Journal” was published for the first time. In 1884, the construction of the Washington Monument was completed by Army engineers. The project took 34 years. In 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans. In 1923, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge became the first president to give a presidential address that was broadcast on radio. In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by U.S. President Harry Truman. In 1973, Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the vice-president of the United States after vice-president Spiro Agnew resigned. In 1994, Orange County, California, filed for bankruptcy protection due to investment losses of about $2 billion. The county is one of the richest in the U.S. and became the largest municipality to file for bankruptcy. In 1998, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour connected the first two building blocks of the international space station in the shuttle cargo bay. | | TRIVIAL PURSUITS: At my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I asked several men how a penalty can be declined in an NFL game. I was surprised that none could explain it to me in a way I could understand, so I looked it up, and found a great example on a website that can be useful for those who don’t know as well as those who don’t know how to explain it. What does it mean when a penalty is declined in an NFL game?Read more > | | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the NewsDash along—and tell your friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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