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February 12th, 2021
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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Investing
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A Review of QDIA Regulations
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Introduced as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, plan sponsors must follow certain rules to get the fiduciary protection that comes from offering qualified default investment alternatives. 
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| Economic Events |
Interest on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.73% for the week ending February 11, unchanged from last week, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.47%. Interest on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.19%, down from last week when it averaged 2.21%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.97%.
In the week ending February 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 793,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 812,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 823,000, a decrease of 33,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 856,500.
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| Market Mirror |
Thursday, the Dow was down 7.10 points (0.02%) at 31,430.70, the Nasdaq gained 53.24 points (0.38%) to finish at 14,025.77, and the S&P 500 closed 6.50 points (0.17%) higher at 3,916.38. The Russell 2000 was up 2.88 points (0.13%) at 2,285.32, and the Wilshire 5000 increased 66.02 points (0.16%) to 41,899.28.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 18/32, bringing its yield up to 1.164%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 31/32, increasing its yield to 1.953%.
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Products
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Investment Product and Service Launches
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Northern Trust enters alliance with IHS Market; Broadridge Financial Solutions and Third Economy create ESG advisory service; and Northern Trust grabs equity stake in EDS.
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ON THIS DATE: In 1870, in the Utah Territory, women gained the right to vote. In 1878, Frederick W. Thayer patented the baseball catcher’s mask. In 1879, the first artificial ice rink opened in North America at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 1892, President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was declared to be a national holiday. In 1909, on the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, a group that included African American leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett announced the formation of a new organization called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1915, the cornerstone of the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge made the first presidential political speech on radio. In 1971, James Cash (J.C.) Penney died at the age of 95. In 1998, a federal judge declared that the presidential line-item veto was unconstitutional. In 1999, the five-week impeachment trial of Bill Clinton came to an end, with the Senate voting to acquit the president on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice. In 2004, Mattel announced that “Barbie” and “Ken” were breaking up. The dolls had met on the set of their first television commercial together in 1961.
And now it’s time for FRIDAY FUN!
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This lawyer is not a cat.
Pet bird doesn’t want mama playing with another bird.
Possibly one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever seen.
In Auckland, New Zealand, airport authorities caught a smuggler, but it wasn’t drugs the woman was carrying. The woman pleaded guilty to violating biosecurity laws after she was caught twice with plants and seeds at Auckland International Airport when returning home to the city from China, New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries said in a statement. In March 2019, she strapped stockings containing 947 succulents and cacti, valued at over $10,000, to her body and attempted to bring them into the country. The cacti included eight endangered and threatened species. She tried to dispose of the items in the airport toilets after attracting the attention of a detector dog, authorities said. In July 2019, the woman was found in possession of 142 seeds hidden in packaged iPad covers in her luggage. She was also carrying plant pots and ornaments, which were found to contain a snail and pieces of tree fern. They were wrapped in moldy, wet paper, also a potential source of disease.
In Israel, tired of COVID-19 confinement and seeking both communion and emotional release, some Israelis have taken to group screaming. They take to nature and shout to the heavens, Reuters reports. “We decided to meet, our group together, in order to take the group screaming so that we can release our bad energies,” said Mary Peery, leading 10 mostly elderly companions on a yell-punctuated hike through an orange orchard and over a hilltop.
Hope you can find some emotional release this weekend! We are off Monday for Presidents’ Day, so NewsDash will be back in your inbox Tuesday.
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