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February 21st, 2025
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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| ECONOMIC EVENTS |
In the week ending February 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 214,000, the Department of Labor reported. The four-week moving average was 215,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 216,250.
Interest on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.85% for the week ending February 20, down from last week when it averaged 6.87%, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.90%. Interest on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.04%, down from last week when it averaged 6.09%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.29%.
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| MARKET MIRROR |
Thursday, the Dow fell 450.94 points (1.01%) to close at 44,176.65, the Nasdaq fell 93.89 points (0.47%) to close at 19,962.36 and the S&P 500 fell 26.63 points (0.43%) to close at 6,117.52. The Russell 2000 fell 20.71 points (0.91%) to close at 2,261.74, and the FT Wilshire 5000 Index fell 328.12 points (0.53%) to close at 61,288.47.
The 10-year Treasury note increased 2/32, bringing the yield to 4.511%. The 30-year Treasury bond increased 3/32, bringing the yield to 4.755%.
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PRODUCTS
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Product & Service Launches
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Alera Group expands its wealth management and retirement plan solutions; Berwyn Group launches a death audit solution; J.P. Morgan launches an active ETF; and more. 
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Research
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2025 DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking
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Sponsors can use the report to compare their plan features and governance with peers’, for self-assessment and self-improvement.
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ON THIS DATE: In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated on the grounds of the Mall in Washington, D.C. In 1925, the weekly magazine “The New Yorker” began publication under founding editor Harold W. Ross. In 1936, lawyer and politician Barbara Jordan, the first African American congresswoman to come from the Deep South, was born in Houston, Texas. In 1965, Malcolm X, who articulated concepts of racial pride and Black nationalism in the U.S., was assassinated. In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited to the People’s Republic of China, ending a 21-year estrangement between the communist country and the U.S. In 1995, businessman and adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. It was the first of his many aviation records. In 2018, evangelist Billy Graham—whose large-scale preaching missions, known as crusades, and friendship with numerous U.S. presidents brought him to international prominence—died at age 99.
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