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| Products, Deals and People |
| Mercer has recently introduced a series of whitepapers aimed at the health benefits needs and concerns of small to mid-size employers.Read more > |
| ICMA-RC has introduced two enhancements to its mobile app: a text messaging feature and plan-level customization. Both components are designed for state and local government retirement plan sponsor and participant clients.Read more > |
| Empower to Offer New Financial Wellness Benefit |
| The company seeks to help employees pay bills and save for emergencies with a new integrated service. “One of the first steps toward saving for tomorrow is effectively managing one’s finances today,” says Edmund F. Murphy, III, president of Empower Retirement.Read more > |
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| Market Mirror |
Major U.S. stock indices closed higher as industrial companies got a boost from the weaker dollar, according to the Associated Press. The Dow closed 66.77 points (0.37%) higher at 18,005.05, the NASDAQ increased 12.89 points (0.26%) to 4,974.64, and the S&P 500 was up 6.99 points (0.33%) at 2,119.12. The Russell 2000 gained 8.98 points (0.76%) to finish at 1,188.95, and the Wilshire 5000 climbed 84.38 points (0.39%) to 21,985.12.
On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with a 2 to 1 lead for advancers. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with advancing issues outnumbering declining issues nearly 2 to 1.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 4/32, decreasing its yield to 1.704%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 20/32, bringing its yield down to 2.511%. |
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| Investing |
| Now Is Not the Time for De-Risking DBs |
| Market volatility and funding relief allowing lower required contributions have impacted the value of liability-driven investing (LDI) and other defined benefit (DB) plan de-risking strategies, SEI says.Read more > |
| Participant Demographics Key to TDF Selection |
| Morningstar believes the first order of business for sponsors and their retirement plan advisers when selecting the appropriate glide path for their plan’s demographics is to determine the participant population’s “risk capacity.”Read more > |
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| Small Talk |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1931, Robert H. Goddard patented a rocket-fueled aircraft design. In 1934, Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphonies cartoon “The Wise Little Hen.” In 1943, the withholding tax on payrolls was authorized by the U.S. Congress. In 1986, the Rogers Commission released a report on the space shuttle Challenger disaster. The report explained that the spacecraft blew up as a result of a failure in a solid rocket booster joint. In 2000, Canada and the United States signed a border security agreement. The agreement called for the establishment of a border-enforcement team. In 2000, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal gift and estate taxes. The bill called for the taxes to be phased out over 10 years. In 2011, the world’s first artificial organ transplant was performed. It was an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells. |
| SURVEY SAYS: We recently covered a survey that found employees prefer a casual dress code at work. And most employers surveyed have a business casual or casual dress code. However, managers reported that sometimes employees take “casual” a little too far. This week, I’d like to know, what is the dress code for your office, would you prefer something different, and have you seen any employees taking “casual” too far? You may respond to the survey by 6 p.m. Pacific time today.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 > |
