| | Sponsored message from Fidelity Investments | | Attract and obtain top talent with Fidelity's Student Debt Program | | Get the talent advantage you need with the benefit employees want.Read more > | | | Economic Events | | THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Tomorrow, the National Association of Realtors will report about existing home sales for April. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report. Friday, the Census Bureau will report about durable goods orders for April. | | | Market Mirror | Friday, the Dow was down 98.68 points (0.38%) at 25,764.00, the NASDAQ lost 81.76 points (1.04%) to finish at 7,816.29, and the S&P 500 decreased 16.79 points (0.58%) to 2,859.53. The Russell 2000 fell 21.48 points (1.38%) to 1,535.76, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 208.29 points (0.70%) lower at 29,521.58. The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 1/32, increasing its yield to 2.396%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 4/32, decreasing its yield to 2.826%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending May 17, the Dow was down 0.69%, the NASDAQ lost 1.27%, and the S&P 500 decreased 0.76%. The Russell 2000 fell 2.37%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 0.94% lower. | | | Compliance | | Next Steps for Plan Sponsors After Determination Letter Program Expansion | | A client alert from Drinker Biddle & Reath goes into detail about the IRS’ recent expansion of its determination letter program and notes that the IRS is still considering input given about further expansion.Read more > | | | Investing | | Interest Rates, Recessions and Pension Plan De-Risking | | Bob Browne, CIO at Northern Trust, argues that pension plan sponsors should not wait to de-risk their plans based solely on the assumption that interest rates will rise.Read more > | | | Small Talk | | ON THIS DATE: In 1506, in Spain, Christopher Columbus died. In 1775, North Carolina became the first colony to declare its independence. In 1861, North Carolina became the eleventh state to secede from the Union. In 1861, during the American Civil War, the capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia. In 1873, Levi Strauss began marketing blue jeans with copper rivets. In 1926, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act. The act gave the Department of Commerce the right to license pilots and planes. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris aboard his airplane the “Spirit of St. Louis.” The trip took 33 1/2 hours. In 1932, Amelia Earhart took off to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She became the first woman to achieve the feat. In 1969, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, which was referred to as Hamburger Hill. In 1978, Mavis Hutchinson, at age 53, became the first woman to run across America. It took Hutchinson 69 days to run the 3,000 miles. | | SURVEY SAYS RESPONSES: Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “What voluntary benefits do you offer employees, and do you consider these benefits a way to help employees with financial wellness?” Nearly all responding readers’ companies (94.9%) offer life insurance, and a large majority offer AD&D insurance (89.7%) and short- and/or long-term disability benefits (84.6%). Seven in 10 responding readers (71.8%) consider voluntary benefits a way to help employees with financial wellness, while 28.2% do not. In comments left by readers, there was a split between those who thought voluntary benefits were a good thing and those who thought they were not. Respondents pointed out considerations for offering voluntary benefits that plan sponsors may not think about. A couple said employees would be better off building an emergency savings fund. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “Offering voluntary benefits is important but providing employees the tools to change their behavior and improve their financial well-being can be more impactful.” A big thank you to everyone who participated in the survey!Read more > | | Share the 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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