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| How New Overtime Rules Will Affect Retirement Plans | |
| The rules may add retirement plan related costs to employers, and could help or hurt nondiscrimination testing.Read more > | |
| Products, Deals and People | |
| With National Retirement Security Week right around the corner, financial services corporation ICMA-RC has released an educational campaign in hopes to motivate local and state government employees to increase their savings within employer-sponsored programs. “The Whole Journey” campaign provides online and mobile educational tools and webinars to public employees.Read more > | |
| Retirement Industry People Moves | |
| AXA appoints divisional VP for tax-exempt retirement plan market; Integrated Retirement partners with Advaney Associates on participant communications; Connecticut Treasurer appoints new deputy CIO for Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds; and more.Read more > | |
| Sponsored message from Betterment | |
| Digital Tools Help Address Current Issues For 401(k) Plans Today’s 401(k) is mired in contradiction: critical to retirement, but alarmingly under-supportedRead more > | |
| Economic Events | |
The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.3% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Final demand prices were unchanged in August and declined 0.4% in July. In September, the final demand goods index increased 0.7% and prices for final demand services inched up 0.1%. The U.S. Census Bureau announced that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for August, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,304.1 billion, up 0.2% from July, but virtually unchanged from August 2015. Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for September, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $459.8 billion, an increase of 0.6% from the previous month, and 2.7% above September 2015. Total sales for the July through September period were up 2.4% from the same period a year ago. THE ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Tomorrow, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will reveal the consumer price index for September. Wednesday, the Census Bureau will report about housing starts for September. Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its initial claims report, and the National Association of Realtors will report about existing home sales for September. | |
| Market Mirror | |
Friday, the Dow closed 39.44 points (0.22%) higher at 18,138.38, the NASDAQ increased by 0.83 (0.02%) to 5,214.16, and the S&P 500 increased by 0.43 (0.02%) to 2,132.98. The Russell 2000 was down 3.34 points (0.27%) at 1,212.40, and the Wilshire 5000 was virtually unchanged at 22,168.82. On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares changed hands, with a slight lead for advancing issues. On the NASDAQ, 2.9 billion shares traded, with a slight lead for decliners. The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 16/32, bringing its yield up to 1.800%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond fell 1 20/32, increasing its yield to 2.559%. WEEK’S WORTH: For the week ending October 14, the Dow was down 0.56%, the NASDAQ lost 1.48%, and the S&P 500 decreased 0.96%. The Russell 2000 fell 1.95%, and the Wilshire 5000 finished 1.02% lower. | |
| Compliance | |
| IRS Releases Information About Compliance Projects | |
| In two completed projects, the IRS found some 403(b) plans are making W-2 reporting errors, and some retirement plans were not properly vesting participants during a partial termination. The IRS is focusing on SIMPLE IRA plan eligibility.Read more > | |
| 5th Circuit Again Dismisses Verizon Pension Buyout Lawsuit | |
| Reconsidering its previous decision in light of a Supreme Court ruling, the appellate court again found a lead plaintiff did not allege an injury-in-fact.Read more > | |
| From the Magazine | |
| The Department of Labor (DOL) published a new fiduciary rule in April that expands the types of activities that make a person a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by providing investment advice for a fee. Although the fiduciary rule is targeted primarily at providers of retirement plan products and services, plan sponsors and fiduciaries are implicated by the rule as well. Through the so-called “independent fiduciary exception,” certain sales conversations between investment providers and independent plan fiduciaries do not result in fiduciary status to the provider. Some plan sponsors have been advised not to make representations required by the exception, but concerns about the risks of making such representations are vastly overblown.Read more > | |
| Small Talk | |
| ON THIS DATE: In 1777, American troops defeated British forces in Saratoga, New York. It was the turning point in the American Revolutionary War. In 1888, the first issue of “National Geographic Magazine” was released at newsstands. In 1931, Al Capone was convicted on income tax evasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. In 1933, “News-Week” appeared for the first time at newsstands. The name was later changed to “Newsweek.” In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began an oil-embargo against several countries including the U.S. and Great Britain. The incident stemmed from Western support of Israel when Egypt and Syria attacked the nation on October 6, 1973. The embargo lasted until March of 1974. In 1978, U.S. President Carter signed a bill that restored full U.S. citizenship rights to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2000, in New York City, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum opened to the public. The 42nd Street location joined Tussaud’s other exhibitions already in London, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Las Vegas. In 2000, Patrick Roy (Colorado Avalanche) achieved his 448th victory as a goalie in the NHL. Roy passed Terry Sawchuck to become the record holder for career victories. | |
| SURVEY SAYS RESPONSES: Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Which of the seven dwarfs from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” personifies you most―Dopey, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy or Doc―and why?” The good news is the largest percentage of responding readers (26.4%) chose Happy. This was followed by Sleepy, at 20.7%. Slightly more than 13% said none of the seven dwarfs personified them best. Dopey received 3.8% of reader votes, while Grumpy and Doc were each selected by 7.5% of readers. Sneezy received 9.4% of reader votes and Bashful received 11.3%. When asked for reasons for their selections, many who chose to leave a reason noted that it was hard to pick just one because they have characteristics of several dwarfs or the dwarf that personifies them most could change depending on the day and circumstances. A few suggested other dwarf names. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “It’s best to stay Happy or you’ll turn Grumpy, get sick and need Doc which will give you something to make you Sleepy, Sneezy and Dopey.” Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey!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 > |
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Editorial: Alison Cooke Mintzer alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
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