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February 7th, 2020
Insight on Plan Design & Investment Strategy Every Weekday
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| Economic Events |
Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.45%, down from last week when it averaged 3.51, according to Freddie Mac. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.41%. Interest rates for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.97%, down from last week when it averaged 3%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.84%.
In the week ending February 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 202,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 217,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 211,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 214,750.
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| Market Mirror |
The Dow gained 88.92 points (0.30%) to finish at 29,379.77, the NASDAQ increased 63.47 points (0.67%) to 9,572.15, and the S&P 500 was up 11.09 points (0.33%) at 3,345.78. The Russell 2000 was down 4.46 points (0.27%) at 1,677.46, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 88.40 points (0.26%) higher at 34,012.20.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 1/32, decreasing its yield to 1.645%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 7/32, bringing its yield down to 2.112%.
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Compliance
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ERISA Pension Lawsuit Targets UPS
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The complaint stresses that, under ERISA, the “present values” of a joint and survivor annuity and a single life annuity must be equal for them to be “actuarially equivalent.” 
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Products
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Investment Product and Service Launches
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IHS Markit adds MSCI ESG ratings; HarbourVest offers private equity with Vanguard; Northern Trust automates process for bank loan trading; and more.
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ON THIS DATE: In 1936, the U.S. Vice President’s flag was established by executive order. In 1940, “Pinocchio” world premiered at the Center Theatre in Manhattan. In 1962, the U.S. government banned all Cuban imports and re-export of U.S. products to Cuba from other countries. In 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow landed at New York’s Kennedy Airport—and “Beatlemania” arrived. It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles. In 1984, space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart made the first untethered spacewalk. In 1992, after suffering through centuries of bloody conflict, the nations of Western Europe finally unite in the spirit of economic cooperation with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty of European Union. In 2000, California’s legislature declared that February 13 would be “Charles M. Schulz Day.”
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